UAE Labour Law: My work contract is different from my offer letter, what action can I take?
What if I started working right after receiving the offer letter?
Dubai: If you are about to sign your employment contract after accepting a job offer, you may want to carefully read the fine print. In case there are provisions in the contract which are not the same as your job offer letter. This would be a violation of the UAE’s Labour Law.
But what should you do if the company you wish to work with does give you a work contract that is different from the offer letter? Gulf News spoke with legal experts to find out what your rights are in such a scenario.
Contract should be in line with offer letter
Dubai-based lawyer Ayesha Zia, from Dr. Mahmood Hussain Advocates and Legal Consultancy LLC, said that the offer letter given by a company and then signed by a job seeker confirms the intent of both the parties to get into the agreement, based on the stated terms. The ultimate job contract, then, should also include the same terms.
“This understanding was legally codified by virtue of Ministerial Decree No. 46 of 2022, which was issued pursuant to the New Labour Law – Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021,” she said.
Article 2 of this decree states that employers should “utilise the approved standard employment contract that conforms with the job offer when requesting the issuance of the work permit [from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE)]”.
Similarly, Zia stated that Article 4 of Ministerial Decision No. 764 of 2015, states that “the employer must extract from the Ministry's system the Standard Employment Contract (SEC) that perfectly matches the employment offer signed by the employee, and the employer must submit such contract to the Ministry after being signed by the employee….”
While Ministerial Decision No. 764 of 2015 was issued before the new Labour Law came into effect this year, Zia said that it was still applicable, as no decrees have been announced abrogating or superseding it.
“Based on the above-mentioned articles of the Ministerial Decree No. 46 and the Ministerial Decision 764, it is explicitly clear that the standard employment contract to be entered into between the employer and the employee (post the execution of the offer letter between them) shall conform with the job offer,” she said.
This means that the essential elements of the employment, agreed between the parties, like salary, probation period etc. need to be clearly stated in both the offer letter and the contract.
It is explicitly clear that the standard employment contract to be entered into between the employer and the employee (post the execution of the offer letter between them) shall conform with the job offer.
What if the contract is different from the offer letter?
If you do find yourself in a situation where the employment contract has terms that were not stated in your offer letter, you can raise the issue with your employer.
“If the terms of the employment contract shared with you by your employer contradict, and do not conform with the essential terms of the offer letter signed by you, then this can certainly be raised with your employer and the employer can be requested to amend the terms of the employment contract so as to ensure that it conforms to the signed offer letter,” Zia said.
What if I started working right after receiving the offer letter?
As per the UAE Labour Law, you should only start working with an employer after signing the work contract and after the work permit is issued to you by MOHRE. But what if you started to work for the company simply based on the offer letter?
“In the event you have commenced performance of your respective obligations pursuant to the signed offer letter and the employer is also compensating you in accordance with the terms in the offer letter, then, this further materialises your employer’s and your intention to proceed on the basis of the terms identified in the offer letter. This shall be used as grounds to request your employer to amend the employment contract accordingly,” Zia said.
What can you do as an employee?
Sunil Ambalavelil, a Dubai-based corporate lawyer and legal expert, spoke about how a contradiction between an offer letter and job contract may negatively affect a worker – whether it has to do with taking on new tasks or responsibilities or being transferred to new locations, that were not agreed upon.
“If an employee comes across such a situation where he has signed a job contract which is different from the offer letter, he or she is advised to notify the employer of such changes and provide the employer with a reasonable period to resolve the issue. In the event that the employer refuses to rectify the issue, the employee may approach the relevant Labour Department of the respective Emirate or the Free Zone,” he said.
He advised workers to ensure that they maintain a record of exchanges that take place between them and their company, in relation to the employment contract and thoroughly read documents before signing them.
“If an employee comes across such a situation where he has signed a job contract which is different from the offer letter, he or she is advised to notify the employer of such changes and provide the employer with a reasonable period to resolve the issue. In the event that the employer refuses to rectify the issue, the employee may approach the relevant Labour Department of the respective Emirate or the Free Zone
What changes can be made to my contract legally?
While in general your employment contract should conform with your offer letter, there are instances where changes can be made to the contract. For example, the Labour Law and its implementing regulations, allow employers to add more benefits to the worker in the contract, or add annexes or terms to the contract, provided that this is done by mutual agreement and is not in violation of the law, according to Zia.
She listed the following requirements that need to be met to ensure that the changes that have been made are within the legal framework:
a) The employee’s approval of the proposed amended terms;
b) That the proposed amended term do not prejudice the existing rights of the employee;
c) The Ministry’s approval of the amended contract; and
d) The fact that the proposed amendment is in compliance with the New Labour Law and its executive regulations.
Changes that violate the labour law
Ambalavelil, too, stressed on the need to ensure that any changes made are not in contradiction with the Labour Law and its executive regulations. He also provided some example of amended clauses in the contract that would be considered in conflict with the law:
• Any condition in the employment contract which states that expenses in relation to the employment visa are to be borne by the employee;
• Any condition which states that the employee waives his end-of-service benefits or gratuity; and
• Any condition which absolves the employee’s right provided under the Labour Law, for instance waiver of leave entitlements.