A reader from Dubai asks: I am a civil engineer who was employed in a company in Dubai between 2010 and 2013. Last year, I went to my home country on annual vacation, but I returned late. Immigration authorities in Sharjah detained me as the company had declared me an absconder. They blacklisted me and imposed a one-year ban on my entry into the UAE. After a year, another company issued a visit visa so I could return and work for them. However, immigration authorities in Sharjah refused to let me enter the country because I was still on the blacklist. Upon my request, my former company agreed to give me a no-objection certificate so I could be employed by the new company. My new employer in Dubai wants to remove my name from the blacklist, but does not know the procedure. What is the procedure to remove my name from the blacklist. I hold a higher diploma in engineering.

The questioner can file an appeal with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs to find out about his blacklist status. He has to provide proof that the one-year ban has elapsed. He also needs to obtain a NOC from his earlier sponsor. An appropriate decision will be made by the relevant department whether to remove the questioner’s name from the blacklist or not. If he continues to be blacklisted, the questioner needs to check if it is so because due to another matter.

 

Unsatisfactory performance

A reader from Abu Dhabi asks: I have worked in a company in Abu Dhabi for six months and two weeks. My services were terminated at the end of my six-month probation because of unsatisfactory performance. The company owes me two months’ salary, but has refused to clear my dues for a month now. They want to adjust my dues with my visa expenses. I was absent from work for six days in this period, but they are counting these as 10 days by including Fridays and official holidays. They have also charged me Dh4,000 for the course I had to attend during my probation. I informed my company that it is illegal to charge me for training courses, but my manager said that as per UAE labour law, the employee pays for training courses during probation. All this charges and deductions have left me without any salary for the months of August and September. Some of my colleagues were also charged for visa expenses and the training course. We were also asked to work overtime, but received no compensation although the manhours were logged.

The questioner must file a complaint before the Ministry of Labour to claim his salary as well as overtime wages. The questioner should also claim compensation for arbitrary dismissal. If the questioner’s performance was unsatisfactory, the company should have terminated his services during the probation period and not after it elapsed. Deduction of the questioner’s visa and training course expenses is a violation of the labour law. According to the law, the employer is solely responsible for the payment of the workers’ visa expenses and other expenses incurred in course of their work. If the questioner cannot obtain all his rights before the Ministry of Labour, he may request the ministry to refer the case to the competent court.

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

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