Can employers in UAE terminate staff without giving proper notice?

Q

My employment contract was terminated without notice. I worked with the company for seven months and they owe me some money.

Can I request for all unpaid salaries and for anything extra as I was expecting to stay with the company for two years? BY, Sharjah

A

If an employer wants to terminate the employment of a staff, a notice must be given in accordance with the contract besides stating a valid reason.

Article 43 of the UAE’s Labour Law says: “Either party to the employment contract may terminate the contract for any legitimate reason, provided that the other party is notified in writing and work shall be performed during the notice period agreed upon in the contract, provided that such period is not less than 30 days and not more than 90 days.”

BY is entitled to payment in full for all time worked. The employer should have also followed the rule on the notice period. “The party who did not abide by the notice period shall pay to the other party compensation, which is called notice period allowance, even if the absence of notification does not cause damage to the other party and the compensation shall be equal to the worker’s wage for the full notice period or the remaining part thereof,” according to part 3 of Article 43.

BY should be paid for all days worked and for another 30 days in respect of the notice period.

I recommend that BY contact the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation on 800 60 to register a case against the employer for non-payment of money owed and for compensation.

I run a small business and am confused about days off for our staff on public holidays.

Our employees work different days, with two days off a week that are not always the traditional SaturdaySunday weekend.

UAE public holidays often fall on a weekend. While our employees who work those specific days receive a day off to compensate, the others miss out.

We have thought about taking our own steps to make it fair. Can we update our company guidance? What does the law say about this?

DP, Dubai

The topic of public holidays and who is entitled to which days off can be confusing, so I asked Sarah Brooks, managing director of UAE-based Fikrah HR to clarify the law.

“What is important to note is that all official public holidays are just that – a holiday – and this means that if an employee is working on any of these days, they must be paid overtime in accordance with Article 28, clause 2,” Ms Brooks says.

If work conditions require employees to work during public holidays, the employer shall compensate them with another day for each day they work, according to the clause.

Otherwise, the employer can pay them the wage for that day, according to the salary established for normal working days, plus an increase of not less than 50 per cent of the basic wage for that day, the clause says. These terms apply to any employee who works at the weekend, according to Article 19, clause 4.

What this means is that any employee who works during a day that is a public holiday can either be given a day off in lieu or be paid overtime. What day of the week the holiday falls on is irrelevant.

These are the minimum requirements as per the UAE law, but any employer may exceed this if they wish to do so.

The advice provided here does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only