I am a resident of Dubai. I feel that my company is abusing my rights as an employee by initiating illegal disciplinary action. It does not have a disciplinary code and all disciplinary measures are imposed in an arbitrary manner. They are not based on the company code as stipulated by the UAE labour law. For example, an employee who makes a mistake gets a two-week salary cut while for the same offence another employee is given a one-week salary cut. Secondly, employees are not given a warning before the sa lary cut. What are the disciplinary measures against employees under UAE labour law?

Under UAE labour law, companies must have a disciplinary code that must be communicated to workers. The code should provide for progressive penalties that include a warning, a fine, and suspension from work with reduced pay for a period not exceeding 10 days. The rules also provide for forfeiture or deferment of periodic increments, forfeiture of promotion and dismissal without prejudice to severance pay. End of employment with forfeiture of all or part of the severance pay is the maximum penalty which may only be imposed on the grounds expressly specified in Article 120 of the labour law.

A fine shall not exceed five days remuneration and it is illegal to deduct more than five days remuneration in any one month from a worker’s remuneration in payment of fines imposed. The penalty of forfeiture of a periodic increment may not be imposed more than once in any year, and such an increment may not be deferred for more than six months.

It is also illegal to impose the penalty of forfeiture of promotion for more than one promotional step. No disciplinary penalty may be imposed on a worker for any act committed by him/her outside the workplace unless such an act is connected with the work, the employer or the responsible manager.

It is illegal to impose more than one penalty or to combine a disciplinary penalty with a deduction of part of the worker’s remuneration.

A worker may not be dismissed until after he has been notified in writing of the charge against him, his statements have been heard, he has been allowed to defend himself and the foregoing has been entered in a report placed in his personal file. The penalty shall be entered at the end of this report. A worker shall be notified in writing of any penalties imposed on him, and of the nature and amount thereof, the reasons for their imposition, and the penalty to which he will be liable in the event of a repetition of the offence.

No worker may be charged with a disciplinary offence more than 30 days since the offence is discovered nor may a disciplinary penalty be imposed for more than 60 days from the date on which the inquiry into the offence ended and the worker’s guilt was established.

Complaint at labour ministry

More than two weeks ago, I filed a complaint before the Ministry of Labour to claim my rights and challenge the absconding claim made by my manager. A representative of the employer came to the arbitrator in the ministry and promised to settle the matter. In the second sitting at the ministry, however, he asked for two more weeks to settle the matter. Thus, the arbitrator asked me to adjourn the sitting for two more weeks. What is the period as per the labour law for the complaint to remain with the Ministry of Labour? In the next sitting, can I request that my complaint be transferred to the competent court? Can I reject the ministry’s request to adjourn the case? In the next sitting, it will be one month since the case has been with the ministry.

Article No (6), amended, of Federal Labour Law No 8 of 1980, states 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 raises a claim concerning any of the rights accruing to any of them according to the provisions of this law, he shall submit a request thereof to the concerned labour department. This department shall summon the two parties to the dispute and shall take whatever steps it deems necessary to settle the dispute amicably.

If an amicable settlement is not reached, the department must within two weeks from the date of submitting the 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 days 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 stated in this article are not adhered to”.

Therefore, in accordance with the above article, in the event that no settlement has been reached, the questioner can ask the Ministry of Labour to refer the complaint to the competent court and to reject any other adjournment in this regard.

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

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