Dubai: Two court rulings serve as a deterrent to employers who file malicious absconding reports against their staff after two employees won their labour disputes and had their absconding reports removed.

The former employers had [independently] lodged absconding reports against their two Indian employees out of malice and refused to pay them their end-of-service benefits, Dh145,000 and Dh62,000, respectively.

Despite not being able to find new jobs due to the malicious absconding reports, the Indian employees [executives in different companies] refused to surrender to the tremendous financial and psychological pressures exerted on them by their former employers and pursued their labour disputes before the Dubai Labour Court.

The claimants are identified as V.N. and M.T.

V.N. lodged a labour lawsuit against his former employer in which he claimed Dh145,000 in compensation against his end-of-service benefits and unpaid wages.

V.N. sued his former employer, who had kept him without a salary for three months.

His lawyer, Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba, argued before the Dubai Labour Court: “My client was asked to resign… then his employer lodged a malicious absconding report. He agreed to leave after his employer promised to pay his dues in full. When the company failed to do so, he complained to the Ministry of Labour. When the litigants failed to reach reconciliation, the case was referred to court. My client [V.N.] was dismissed arbitrarily and without getting his dues.”

The Dubai Labour Court ordered V.N.’s former employer to pay him Dh44,000 in compensation.

The claimant appealed the primary ruling before the Appeal Court.

The appellate court cancelled the primary judgement and ordered the defendant to pay Dh87,000 in compensation to V.N. plus nine per cent legal interest.

M.T. faced a similar situation where his former employer kept him without a salary for four months.

The Ministry of Labour referred M.T.’s labour complaint to the respective court after failing to reach a settlement or reconciliation. He was claiming Dh62,000 in compensation against his unpaid salaries and end-of-service benefits.

The Dubai Labour Court ordered M.T.’s former company to pay him the price of a return ticket.

However, the Appeal Court cancelled the primary ruling and ordered the defendant to pay M.T. Dh35,000.

Advocate Al Shaiba, who also represented M.T., argued before the labour court: “My client did not resign willingly but he was pushed to leave … he left after the defendant promised to pay his unpaid salaries and end-of-service benefits after he resigns. The former employer used to transfer my client’s salary to his bank account in compliance with the ministry’s wage protection system… they he would immediately withdraw it before M.T. could collect it. When my client complained to the ministry, he was shocked to know that his employer had lodged an absconding report against him. It was filed out of malice.”

Advocate Al Shaiba, thereafter, lodged two requests before the Labour Ministry to lift the absconding reports against V.N. and M.T.

The lawyer provided the ministry with all the required court documents, after which the employees’ absconding reports were removed.

Speaking to Gulf News in light of the lifting of the absconding reports, Al Shaiba said: “My two clients suffered a lot. They could not find jobs because of the malicious absconding reports filed against them. I call on the authorities to come up with a new mechanism to immediately inform employees, via SMS or email, in case their ex-employers’ lodge absconding reports against them. This abusive and unwanted practice of lodging malicious absconding reports against employees has to be stopped. The UAE is a land of justice and anyone can claim his/her rights through the fair and just legal system that we have.”