I have worked in a company for a year under a two-year limited contract which is supposed to expire in April 2019. A month ago, my company terminated my service without any notice. I would like to know how my end-of-service gratuity will be calculated as per the UAE Labour Law. Will the period of service be one year even if my limited labour contract is for two years and my employer has terminated my service before its expiry? Secondly, I had been getting a monthly commission. Shall I include this commission amount in the basic salary while calculating gratuity? Do I have the right to get a flight ticket to go back home?
I would like to clarify to the questioner that Article 132 of the UAE Labour Law states the following: “A worker who has completed a period of one or more years of continuous service shall be entitled to a severance pay on the termination of his employment. The days of absence from work without pay shall not be included in calculating the period of service. The severance pay shall be calculated as follows: 21 days’ remuneration for each year of the first five years of service; and 30 days’ remuneration for each additional year of service provided that the aggregate amount of severance pay shall not exceed two years’ remuneration.”
The employee, as per the labour law, has no right to include the commission while calculating the end-of-service gratuity. As for the air ticket, the employee must get a flight ticket to his home country as long as he is not going to join a new employer in the UAE. Finally, only the actual period the employee has worked with the employer will be taken into account for calculating the gratuity, not the total period mentioned in the labour contract.
Loan default: Bank can file cases
A year ago, I took a bank loan. I lost my job last month. I submitted all documents to the bank and asked for time to pay back the remaining instalments till I find a new job, but they rejected my request. The bank is pressuring me too much to make me pay back the entire amount right now and threatening to use the guarantee cheque I gave and open a police case against me. Does the bank have the right to do that? What is my right especially when I am jobless? Can I take any legal action to protect my right? As per the bank, the civil case against me is under process. In case the bank files a civil case against me, can it also file a police case against me?
In this case, the questioner has no choice but to settle this matter amicably with the bank. Otherwise, the bank is entitled to follow all legal means to obtain its right. The bank has the right to file a criminal case and a civil case at the same time in order to obtain its right.
— Questions are answered by lawyer Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.
