A reader from Dubai asks: I have worked in the sales department of a company for five years on a salary plus commission; I used to receive my commission every six months. A month ago, the factory sent me a letter stating that my salary of Dh3,000 will be reduced because the company’s sales for 2014 declined by 20 per cent. However, the percentage of profit that I personally achieved increased. I responded to the letter saying that I do not agree with the decision and that it violated the labour law. My manager sent me another letter stating that if I do not accept the reduction in salary, my services will be terminated within 30 days of the second letter. Is the company legally entitled to terminate my services in this manner? Is it fair to reduce my salary because the company’s profits declined? Is this not arbitrary dismissal? The notice period stipulated in my labour contract is three months. My employer claims that not accepting the salary reduction amounts to submitting my resignation as per the UAE labour law. Is this true?

As per the UAE labour law, an employer is not entitled to terminate an employee for non-acceptance of a salary reduction, especially since the company, according to the questioner, is still achieving profits. Therefore, this termination of services may be deemed arbitrary dismissal by a competent court and the questioner is entitled to compensation. Additionally, if the employer has failed to abide by the three-month notice period as provided in the employment contract, the employer is obliged to compensate the questioner with three months salary. Or else, the questioner must be allowed by the employer to work for the three-month notice period.

Bounced cheque

A reader from Dubai asks: I have a cheque for Dh600,000 issued to me by a person against the cash I gave him as a loan one year ago. However, every time I tried to encash the cheque, he asked me to give him some time to transfer the funds to his bank account. Finally, I submitted the cheque to the police, which was subsequently forwarded to the Dubai Public Prosecution and then to the competent court. The cheque-owner was sentenced to one-year imprisonment. However, at the end of this period I was surprised to learn that the cheque-owner had left the country. How did the court allow him to leave the country without paying the cheque amount, especially since I had filed a police and criminal case against him?

I would like to clarify to the questioner that he did not follow up on his case and claim his rights under the law. After filing the criminal case, the questioner should have filed a civil lawsuit claiming the cheque amount given that the cheque-owner did not pay the cheque amount before the criminal court and instead accepted the imprisonment. I advise the questioner to now file a case before the civil court to claim the cheque amount. If the judgement is in the questioner’s favour, he may apply to Dubai Public Prosecution to issue an Interpol order to arrest the cheque-owner and bring him back to the UAE.

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

— Compiled by Bassam Za’za’, Legal and Court Correspondent