Question: I have worked in a contracting company for more than 10 years. I submitted my resignation two weeks ago. However, after serving the notice period for only one week, I received a letter from the company asking me to leave. Thereafter I left the company. However, with regard to the calculation of end-of-service benefits, I was told by my former employer that the same shall not be more than the total salaries for one year. Moreover, the notice period would also not be considered since I did not complete it - although it was the employer who had asked me to leave without serving the full tenure of the notice period. I would like to know how are end-of-service benefits calculated, in keeping with Labour Law, and whether my former employer can impose a ban on me for not having served the full tenure of my notice period. Moreover, will I be allowed to transfer my sponsorship without obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the employer?
Answer: We would like to inform the questioner that the calculation of end-of-service benefits, according to Article 132 of Labour Law, is as following:
'A worker who has completed a period of one or more years of continuous service shall be entitled to severance pay on termination of his employment. The days of absence from work without pay shall not be included in calculating the period of service. The severance pay shall be calculated as:
- 21 days' remuneration for each year for the first 5 years of service.
- 30 days' remuneration for each additional year of service, provided the aggregate amount of severance pay shall not exceed 2 years' remunerations.
As for the question on the notice period, the questioner is entitled to one month's salary for the notice period since the employer is the one who asked the questioner to quit during the notice period.
As for the ban, no ban can be imposed on the questioner and he may transfer his sponsorship to a new employer without the consent of his former employer since the questioner has spent more than three years with his previous employer.
- Questions answered by advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahar Advocates and Legal Consultants.
