UAE labour law: When can an employee be suspended?
In case of crime against life, property, compromising honesty or carrying out a strike
Question
Under what conditions can an employer suspend an employee from work? Since one month, I haven’t been allowed to go to work as my employer suspended me. As per UAE Labour Law, what action can I take against my company?
Answer
Article 112 of the UAE Labour Law as amended by Federal Law No. 12 of October 29, 1986 states the following:
Reasons of suspension
“The worker may be temporarily suspended from work upon the charging thereof of a deliberate crime against life, property, honour, honesty or of carrying out a strike. The suspension period shall commence on the date of the notification of the incident to the competent authorities and until the issuance of a decision thereby in such regard.
The worker shall not be entitled to his wage during the said suspension period.
Pay during suspension
Should a decision be issued for the non-prosecution or the acquittal of the worker, the latter shall be reinstated and paid the full wage for the suspension period.
If a decision or court order is handed down determining the acquittal of the employee/worker, then he should be reinstated and compensated for the entire period if suspension is established to be on a malicious basis on the part of the employer. Such entitlement of the pay purports that suspension is malicious.
Employee must prove malice
The onus of proof of such malice rests on the employee/worker.
It is established by the Supreme Court that the evaluation of malicious suspension is left to the discretion of the Court of Merits, without any review once its judgment is built on sound permissible grounds duly supported in the documents.
Therefore, the employer is not legally permitted to suspend the employee unless the offence is one of the offences mentioned in Article 112. In case there is no amicable settlement with the employer, the questioner should contact the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Ministry of Labour) to file a complaint and he may ask the Ministry to refer the complaint to the competent court.
Ask the Law questions are answered by lawyer Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.