Grounds for suing a contractor over an unfinished villa

■ Two years ago, I signed up a contractor to build my villa. According to the contract, the villa was to be delivered within 13 months. In the event of a delay, a fine of Dh500 would be imposed on the contractor for each day of delay. The contractor has stopped construction and only 70 per cent of the work is complete. My question: What action can I take against the contractor? Do I have the legal right to shift to a new contractor? If I file a lawsuit against the contractor, do I have the right to claim a delay fine and compensation, since I am currently renting a villa? Article 877 of the Civil Transaction Law states: “The contractor shall perform his work according to the conditions of the contract. If it is established that he is fulfilling his obligations in a manner that is defective or contrary to the agreement, the owner may ask for the immediate cancellation of the contract, if remedying the situation is impossible. Otherwise, the owner may summon the contractor to abide by the terms of the contract and rectify, within a reasonable time, the manner in which he is performing the work. If, at the expiration of the fixed delay, the contractor fails to comply with this requirement, the owner may ask the judge for the cancellation of the contract or authorise him to hand over the completion of the work to another contractor at the expense of the first contractor.”

It is better to send him a legal notice before taking any action. If he abides with the legal notice and finishes the work within a reasonable time, you will still have the right to file a case to claim compensation, including the fines for delay and compensation for renting a villa for more than the agreed time.

In case he does not abide with the notice, you have the right to file a case to cancel the contract or to ask the judge to authorise you to hand over the work to another contractor at the expense of the first. At the same time, you may request compensation for the damages you suffered from total or partial non-performance by the first contractor, taking into consideration that the burden of proof lies with you and it is up to the court to decide about them.

Legal grounds for suspending employee

■ I own a private company and I want to know when an employer has the right to suspend a worker, how long can the suspension be, and is it without pay? If I discover that the worker is guilty and I terminate his services, can I deprive him of his end-of-service dues? Can I claim the damages I suffered due to his action? As per article 40 of the Labour Law, the employer may suspend the worker temporarily in the following cases:

a.) For a period not exceeding thirty days, in order to conduct a disciplinary investigation if required, along with suspending half the wage during this period. If the investigation concludes keeping the case, non-violation or punishment of the worker by warning, the worker shall be paid the wage that was suspended.

b.) When he is accused of committing a crime of assault on oneself, money, or crimes related to breach of honour, until a final judgement is issued by the judicial authority. His wage shall be suspended for the suspension period.

If a judgement is issued for not putting the worker on trial, if he was acquitted for absence of felony or the investigation concluded keeping the case due to lack of evidence, he shall be returned to work, along with paying his full suspended wage.

As for the end-of-service dues, the new law did not mention specific cases to deprive the employee of this, which will be a matter for the court to decide on.

Regarding the damages you suffered due to the employee’s action, you have the right to request the court, but the burden of proof lies with you.

Questions are answered by lawyer Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.