11 months without pay: Khor Fakkan clinic fined after withholding worker’s entitlements

Sharjah: A labour court in Khor Fakkan has ordered a private medical clinic to pay a former employee Dh48,559 after finding that the clinic failed to pay his salary for 11 months and violated multiple contractual obligations. The ruling also requires the clinic to issue the worker an official experience certificate.

According to court records, the employee worked at the clinic from 2022 to 2025. Although the employer submitted a labor contract indicating a monthly salary of Dh3,500, the worker told the court he had never signed that contract and that his actual salary had been Dh6,000.

When the clinic stopped paying his wages and withheld other entitlements, he filed an official complaint with the relevant authorities. After attempts at an amicable settlement failed, the case was referred to court, Emarat Al Youm reported.

Documents extracted from the Wage Protection System showed that the last salary the clinic paid was Dh6,000 in April 2024, with no record of payments for the months in dispute.

The records also confirmed that the worker’s last day of employment was in March 2025, and that his employment began on April 1, 2022. The most recent labor contract on file was dated July 16, 2024, listing a total salary of Dh3,500 and a basic salary of Dh1,000.

During the proceedings, the court applied the provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 regulating labor relations, which obligates employers to pay wages on time and use the Wage Protection System as proof of payment.

The court relied on the written contract as the binding legal document and awarded the worker Dh38,500 in unpaid wages for the 11-month period.

The court also ruled that the worker had not received any annual leave throughout his employment, and that the clinic failed to provide evidence showing that leave allowances had been paid.

As a result, the employee was granted compensation for 60 days of unused leave, calculated at the basic salary rate, amounting to Dh1,980. He was additionally awarded Dh2,079 in end-of-service benefits based on his basic salary and length of service.

The court further found that the worker had been constructively dismissed. Although he submitted his resignation to the dispute resolution committee, judges determined that his decision to leave was directly caused by the employer’s failure to pay his wages, a violation considered under UAE labor law to constitute unfair dismissal. Based on Article 47 of the Labor Law, the court awarded him Dh6,000 in compensation.

However, the court rejected the worker’s claim for notice pay, noting that the employer had not terminated the contract and that the worker had voluntarily submitted his resignation as part of the official dispute process.

In its final judgment, the court ordered the clinic to pay the full amount due, provide an official experience certificate, and bear all court fees and expenses.