Al Ain court orders firm to pay Dh344,338 after firing employee over commission

Dubai: The Al Ain Civil, Commercial and Administrative Court has ordered a company to pay Dh344,338 to a former employee who accused it of terminating his services to avoid paying commission on a major project he secured for the firm.

The court rejected the company’s defence that the commission would only become payable after the project was completed and all dues were collected from the client.

According to court records, the employee filed a lawsuit seeking Dh341,339 in unpaid commissions, along with Dh20,000 in compensation for material and moral damages, plus interest, costs and legal fees., Emarat Al Youm reported.

He said he had worked for the company for about four years on a total monthly salary of Dh6,000 plus commission on projects he brought in. The plaintiff told the court he secured a project for the company valued at Dh60.293 million, a contract that was signed and put into effect. He said the company’s general manager informed him by email that, due to the project’s large value, a reduced commission rate of 0.5 per cent would apply, amounting to Dh301,469. He also claimed Dh39,869 in outstanding commission for 2024.

When he later requested payment, he said the company terminated his employment instead of settling the dues. The company’s lawyer disputed the claim, arguing the case lacked legal basis and had been filed prematurely because the project was still under execution. The defence said the commission was contractually linked to receipt of the final payment from the client and asked the court to dismiss the case and order the claimant to pay costs.

A court-appointed expert reported that the project contract was worth Dh60.293 million and that the parties had agreed, as an exception to earlier arrangements, that the employee would receive a percentage of the contract value. The report found the company had already received Dh23.401 million under the contract by the time the employee’s service ended, and Dh30.252 million by the time technical handover to the factory took place.

In its ruling, the court said the evidence showed there was an agreement entitling the claimant to a percentage commission on project value. It added that the company failed to prove the existence of any condition linking payment strictly to full settlement by the client, noting that such a clause was not supported by the documents submitted.

Relying on the expert report, the court ruled that the commission was due based on the contract value regardless of collected instalments, and awarded the employee Dh301,469 plus Dh39,869 for earlier outstanding dues.

The court ordered the company to pay a total of Dh344,338, along with court costs and Dh1,000 in legal fees.