Ask the law: Employee leaks company secrets, business lost to competitor

Question:

I own a company. A month ago, I discovered that one of the employees had disclosed information to competing companies. As a result, a competing company took over the project because of this employee. My question is, do I have the legal right to suspend him from work, how long is the suspension period, and is it without salary? What are the legal procedures that I must follow against this employee, and is it permissible to file a civil lawsuit as well to claim compensation? Please advise.

Answer:

I would advise the following:

You have the right to suspend him temporarily from work in order to conduct an investigation with him as per Article 40 of the Labour Law, for a period not exceeding (30) thirty days, if the investigation interest so requires, along with suspending half the wage during the suspension period.

If the investigation concluded keeping the case, non-violation or punishment of the worker by warning, the worker shall be paid the wage that was suspended during the suspension period.

In case he was not innocent, you have the right to terminate him as per Article 44 of the Labour Law and to file a criminal case against him.

Article 44 of the Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 states that (The employer may dismiss the worker without notice after conducting a written investigation with him and the dismissal decision shall be in writing and justified and the employer or its representative shall hand it over to the worker in case the worker disclosed one work secret related to industrial or intellectual property, which resulted in losses to the employer, missed opportunity or achieving a personal benefit for the worker).

Disclosing confidential information in the occasion of work is a criminal act as per UAE Penal Code No. 31 of 2021 which states that it (“Shall be sentenced to detention for a minimum period of one year and to a minimum fine of twenty thousand dirham (Dh20,000) or one of these two penalties whoever by virtue of his profession, craft, position or art is entrusted with a secret and divulge it in cases other than those allowed by law or if used for his own personal interest or for the interest of another person, unless authorized by the confiding person to disclose or use it.”)

Moreover, you can file a civil claim for compensation and may be entitled to material and moral compensation, provided that the elements of the case can be proven. This case is recommended to be filed after you get the judgment from the criminal court.