UAEssentials | Ask The Law
Ask the law: August 10, 2007
Get no objection certificate before resigning to avoid ban.
- Compiled by Dina Aboul Hosn
- Published: 23:15 August 9, 2007
Get no objection certificate before resigning to avoid ban
A reader in Dubai asks: I am an chemical engineer working on Dubai visa for last two-and-a-half years in a private company as a manager. Mine is an unlimited contract with one special clause - 'can't join competitors'. I have an offer from a non-competitor company in the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA). If my current company puts a ban and doesn't offer me a No Objection Certificate (NOC), what would be the consequences? Can I remove this ban? Is NOC required for JAFZA? Can I have a JAFZA visa? What about my wife and son? Do I have to exit the UAE along with my family? Please advise.
The Ministry of Labour currently requires an NOC in case the employee wishes to transfer to another employer.
For that reason, the questioner is advised to seek an NOC from his current employer otherwise he will be subject to a six-month ban, and such a ban cannot be lifted for a financial consideration.
The questioner thus will not be ale to obtain another work permit before six months even if the new employment is offered from JAFZA.
Therefore, if the questioner leaves the country, he is advised to cancel his family's visa according to the immigration and residency rules.
Visa charges
A reader in Dubai asks: I am an Indian. I came to Dubai on an employment visa, with the job stated as an account assistant, but here the work is of an accountant. The company has given me a very bad accommodation. I'm now suffering from diabetes and I want to go back home but my boss asks for the visa money. I don't have any money. Please suggest how can I go back to my country?
I confirm that the Labour Law of the UAE does not permit employers to charge any expenses related to the visa or residence from their employees, as all the expenses shall be incurred by the employer himself.
The questioner is advised to serve a notice to the employer in which he seeks resignation and expresses his wish to go back to his country.
After the expiry of the notice period, in case the employer does not respond positively to the employee's letter, the questioner is advised to approach the Ministry of Labour to solve the problem.
Laid off from job
A reader in Abu Dhabi asks: A managing director of a private company called me to join his company in a post that he said had been specially created to fit me in. I left a secure job (having worked for nine years there) to join the new company. After a year the managing director told me that the post has been made redundant. My child is on my visa and I have to support my family. Can someone play with the career of people? What can I do now?
The Ministry of Labour grants the employee full freedom to choose his place of work, and on the other hand, it also grants the employers full freedom to choose their employees.
Thus, it might be, from the employer's perspective, that the questioner is not appropriate for the job, and in that case the questioner shall have to bear the consequences, especially, as he mentioned in the question, he left a secure job for the new one.
Renewing labour card
A reader in Dubai asks: We have submitted our labour cards to the post office more than three years ago for renewal but till date we have not got them. We inquired many times but the post office said that they have no records that they have received them. According to the new law, do we have to pay the fine to renew the labour cards? How can we renew the labour card?
The questioner is advised to apply for a new labour card with the Ministry of Labour through one of the typing centres dealing with the Ministry of Labour services.
The fees for issuance of a labour card through those centres or offices shall be paid electronically. The questioner may have to bear a penalty but he can also be exempted from the penalty if he could prove to the Ministry of Labour that he had previously applied for the renewal of his labour card. The applicant's company must have a private post box so that the ministry will be able to send the new card to it. I advise the questioner that he approach the post office within 15 days from the date of submitting the application, otherwise the post office will return the card to the Ministry of Labour, and then the questioner will have to apply for a new card once again bearing further fees for issuance of the card.
Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahr Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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