How I can claim my two-year-old end of service cheque
Employees should claim their end of service rights within two years of ending their jobs
Question 2 - A Questioner asks: I worked in a private company two years ago. I resigned from my job, and the employer gave me a cheque for the end service benefits. It was four months post-dated cheque. So, I took the cheque and travelled to my country. A month ago, I returned to the UAE and tried to cash the cheque, but the bank refused under the pretext that the cheque’s due date exceeded 6 months. I contacted the employer to demand the amount of the cheque but he refused to pay.
What is the appropriate procedure to claim my right and recover my end of service benefits? Do I have the legal right to file a labour complaint against the employer? Please advise
Answer 2 - To answer such question, I would advise the questioner that:
In general, you cannot claim any labour rights that exceeds two years from the date of the end of the employment relationship. This is mentioned in Article 54/9 of the Federal Decree Law NO. (9) OF 2024 Amending Certain Provisions OF Federal Decree Law NO. (33) OF 2021 (The lawsuit for any of the rights resulting under the provisions of this Decree-Law shall not be heard after two years from the date of the end of the relationship).
As for your case you do not have to prove your rights, which most of them exceeded two years time, because you have the cheque which will be considered as a confession from the employer.
Labour case
So you may file a labour complaint against the company, and use the cheque as a confession from the employer regarding your rights because if the employer decides to calculate the worker’s rights in a certain way - which is better for the worker than what he deserves according to the law, then his decision is considered an acquired right for the worker which he may no longer withdraw from, and the court must calculate the worker’s rights on the basis of it.
Article 51/1, 3 of the Evidence Law stipulates that, a confession is a person’s notification of a right owed to another. It is a legal act issued by one aspect - whether it is a judicial or non-judicial acknowledgment – and includes that the acknowledged person waives his right to demand his opponent to prove what he claims before him.