Ask Gulf News: Can you resign without notice if your employer breaches your contract?

Question: I started working for a company three months prior to the date mentioned in my labour contract. The company was delaying my salary, and I resigned without serving the notice period. If I want to file a case against the company, which start date should I use? Does the company have the right to claim one month’s notice from me, given that my resignation was due to their breach?

Answer: You have the right to state the date three months prior to the labour contract as your start date, but the burden of proving that you were working during that period falls on you. Otherwise, the start date mentioned in the labour contract will be considered by the court. To prove your actual start date, you may submit salary transfers, payslips, attendance records (if any), emails, or any documents that show your real start date.

The company does not have the right to claim the one-month notice period if you notified the Ministry fourteen (14) working days before your resignation, and the employer failed to rectify the breach despite being notified by the Ministry. This is in accordance with Article (45) of the Labour Law, which states that a worker may leave work without notice, while retaining their end-of-service rights, in certain cases, including the employer’s breach of their obligations under the contract or the law, provided that the worker has notified the Ministry fourteen (14) working days prior to leaving and the employer has not remedied the breach.

However, if you did not notify the Ministry and resigned without serving the notice period, then the company has the right to claim compensation for the notice period, and the court will decide on the matter.