‘My resignation was not accepted by employer’

Resignation Acknowledgment

Question: I have been working in a private school since November 2011. My labour contract is for unlimited period. Due to the misunderstanding with my school management I submitted my resignation but my school management refused to accept it. The school director called me and asked me to come back to work because my resignation was not accepted by the management but I refused to go back to work and faxed my resignation to them. They Is sending resignation via fax is a legal way as per UAE labour law. I did not complete 2 years with my current employer and I’m holding a bachelor degree can I join a new school and lift my labour ban in case there is a ban. Please advice.

Answer: I would like to clarify to the questioner that as per the UAE Labour Law, resignation from the work, does not required any approval from the employer and sending resignation via fax is considered as legal as per the labour court. Therefore, the questioner as per the UAE law is considered resigned, so she shall continue her work within the agreed notice period unless the employer requests the questioner in wiring not to work within the notice period. Therefore the questioner shall approach the Ministry of Labour in the event of non-acceptance of such matter by the employer. Finally the questioner can join new employer as long as the questioner find a job with a salary of Dh12,000 because the questioner is holding bachelor degree as per the labour ministry requirement and as long as the new job required a bachelor degree.

Limited Contract

Question: I have worked in a company for more than two years under a contract for limited period which expires on January 2014. My question here is: Am I entitled by law, upon the expiry of my current employment contract, to renew contract for unlimited period. My employer insists for signing a limited contract because my previous contract was unlimited as per my employer. I do not want to sign a labour contract for a limited period any more.

Answer: Upon the expiry of his current contract he may renew with another contract for unlimited period and the employer can’t force the questioner to sign a contract with a limited period as per the UAE labour law.

Resignation

Question: I worked in a company for more than two years. I submitted my resignation but I have not got my dues for end of service until now. Three weeks back I have filed a complaint against my company in Ministry of Labour but the Ministry of Labour did not transfer my complaint to the labour court until this moment. My question here is: As per the UAE Labour Law how long does the Ministry of Labour take to transfer the complaint to the labour court. The Ministry of Labour has the right to force any party to accept the settlement. Please Advice.

Answer: Article No 6 amended, of the Federal Labour Law No 8 of 1980 state the following: “Without prejudice to the provisions concerning collective labour disputes stated in this law, if the employer or the worker or any beneficiary thereof raised a claim concerning any of the rights accruing to any of them according to the provisions of this law, he/she shall submit a request to the concerned Labour Department. This department shall summon the two parties to the dispute and shall take whatever it deems necessary to settle the dispute amicably. If the amicable settlement is not reached, the said department must within two weeks from date of submitting request, submit the dispute to the concerned court. The submission must be accompanied with a note including a summary of the dispute, the arguments of the two parties and the observation of the department. The court shall, within three says from date of receiving the request, fix a sitting to consider the claim and the two parties shall be notified thereof. The court may summon a representative of the Labour Department to explain the note submitted by it. In all cases no claim of any entitlement due under the provisions of this law, shall be heard if brought to court after the lapse of one year from the date on which such entitlement become due, and no claim shall be admitted if the procedure sated in this article are not adhered to”. Therefore the above article determined two weeks for the amicable settlement without obliging any party to accept the settlement. In case no settlement has been reached the Ministry of Labour will transfer the complaint to the competent court in two weeks times.

— Ask the Law questions are answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba, of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants