I live in Abu Dhabi. Two months ago, I completed my six-month probation as a human resources manager in a company. Soon after, the management terminated my services without notice, citing a disciplinary matter and low performance. According to my two-year limited labour contract, the company is required to provide return air tickets for me and my wife, but I paid for our tickets when we arrived in Dubai. I now want to settle the matter amicably and return to my home country, but the management insists that I sign the cancellation papers without even informing me what my total dues are. I have not received my salary for two months, but they refuse to pay saying that as I did not complete my visa period, the money will be used as visa expenses. Is my employer required to pay me three months’ salary as compensation for terminating my contract without legal reason? Can I claim a refund for the air tickets I bought? This same thing has happened to my other colleagues. The management has threatened to impose a one-year ban on me if I file a labour case against them.
The company holds mine and my family’s passports. Which authority should I contact to get them back? Can the company force me to sign cancellation papers without giving me my dues and passports?
If the questioner fails to reach an amicable settlement with the employer, he can file a complaint before the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation to claim his dues. The questioner is not obliged to sign any cancellation paper provided by the sponsor unless he obtains his dues. Then he will be requested to sign a paper issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation accepting that he has received his end-of-service gratuity. As for tickets, the questioner’s claim is valid if such a clause is mentioned in the labour contract. The questioner also has the right to approach a court and demand that the employer pays him three months’ salary as compensation for breaking a limited contract. With respect to the questioner’s passport, he may file a complaint before the ministry, or approach a court to claim it because the law does not permit a sponsor to hold a worker’s passport. If the questioner has cannot come to an amicable settlement, he can ask the ministry to refer the complaint to court. Finally, as per the labour law, visa expenses have to be borne by the employer even if the employee has not completed the two-year visa period in service.
Original certificates with employer
I work as an IT engineer in a private company in Dubai. I want to know if my employer has the right to keep my original certificates in his custody? My employer claims that he is retaining custody of the certificates to facilitate legal formalities with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and other authorities. He said that the original certificates will be released only upon my resignation, or termination of the labour contract. Who will be responsible in case these certificates are lost?
Article 125 of the labour law states: “An employer shall provide a worker, at the latter’s request and on the termination of his contract, with a certificate of termination of his service, which shall be free of charge; it shall specify the dates of his entering and leaving the employer’s service, his total period of service, the nature of the work he has performed, his last remuneration and any bonuses he has received. It shall also be the duty of the employer to return any certificates, documents and tools belonging to the worker.”
Therefore, the above article entitles the employer to retain the worker’s certificates till the end of service. Therefore, if the questioner has given his original certificates and other important documents to his employer, he should request written acknowledgement that the original certificates and documents are held by the employer so that he can claim the same when needed.
Questions answered by advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.
