How to claim unpaid salaries in UAE?

■ I have been working in a private company for seven months. Last month, the company made a residence permit for me. However, my services for the last six months are not being considered as part of my probationary period because the company is insisting that my probation begins only from the date when my residency permit was issued. Is this legally allowed? What about all those months when I had worked for the company, prior to the issuance of my residency permit? Do I legally have the right to ask for two months’ wages that I had not received during those months?

Yes, you have the right to request for two months of unpaid salaries as long as you can prove your date of joining and that you have really accomplished the work for which you were hired. It is decided by Dubai Supreme Court in Cassation No 212/2018

(labour) that according to Article 912 of the Civil Transactions Law, wage is a right of the worker, to be collected from the employer in return for performing the agreed-upon work and the employer is not relieved from this responsibility except with evidence in writing, acknowledgement or oath pursuant to the text of Article 58 of the Law Regulating Labour Relations.

Didn’t get possession of property. What next?

■ I bought a property from a developer four years ago. The property was due for delivery in February 2019, but I did not receive possession. According to the developer, the property was ready, but the electricity and water connections and the completion certificate were still not ready. My question is: Am I legally entitled to file a lawsuit to cancel the purchase contract?

You have the right to file a case to cancel the purchase contract and to request for compensation. However, the decision, whether the developer has really breached his or her contractual obligations or not, relies on the court after examining the documents submitted. As a general principle, the contract shall be implemented according to the provisions contained therein and in a manner consistent with the requirements of good faith. It is not restricted to what is contained therein, but shall extend to its essentials in accordance with the law, custom and the nature of the transaction. None of the contracting parties may revoke, modify or rescind it except by mutual consent, order of the court or a legal provision and once the terms of the contract are clear, it is not permissible to deviate from them.