Question: My brother worked in a factory for more than two years. He died last month due to an accident at work. He has a wife and three sons, besides our mother. When I went to the company to inquire about compensation for his death they told me that they are waiting for a response from the insurance company with regards to compensation as the company has insurance on all workers and they told me that I would have to wait until receipt of compensation from the insurance company. The manager advised me to follow-up on the matter with the insurance company stating that they only were liable for my brother’s compensation. My questions are; 1. Who is liable as per the labour law for paying the compensation in this case? 2. What is the maximum compensation my brother should get? 3. How is compensation calculated as per the UAE Labour Law and how is it distributed among family members? Please advice.

 

Answer: Article no. 149 of the Federal Labour Law No. 8 of 1980 states the following: “Where a worker dies as a result of a work-related injury or an occupational disease, the members of his family shall be entitled to compensation equal to his basic wage for twenty four months, provided the amount of compensation shall neither be less than eighteen thousand nor more than thirty five thousand Dirhams. The amount of compensation shall be calculated on the basis of the last wage received by the worker before his death. The compensation shall be distributed among the deceased worker’s dependents in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 3 attached to this Law. For the purposes of this Article the expression “deceased worker’s family” refers to the following persons who were wholly or substantially dependent for their subsistence on the deceased worker’s income at the time of his death:

1. Widow(s);

2. Children, namely:

• Sons who are under 17 years of age, or regularly enrolled in educational institutions and are under 24 years of age, or who are too mentally or physically incapacitated to earn their own living. The term “sons” includes the sons-in-laws of the husband and of the wife who were dependent on the deceased worker at the time of his death;

• Unmarried daughters, which term includes also unmarried daughters-in-law of the husband and of the wife who were dependent on the deceased worker at the time of his death;

3. Parents;

4. Brothers and sisters, subject to the conditions prescribed for sons and daughters”.

Therefore as per the above article, the employer is liable for paying such compensation to the worker’s heirs immediately.

 

Unlimited contract

Q: I have worked in a company for more than two years under a contract for limited period which expires on March 2016; my question her is: am I entitled by law, upon the expiry of my current employment contract, to renew with a contract for unlimited period. My employer is saying that as per the UAE Labour Law, since my labour contract is for a limited period, I can renew my labour contract only for a limited term — I have no choice for signing an unlimited contract.

 

A; According to Article No 40 of Federal Law No (8) of 1980 where the two parties continue to perform the contract without an expressed agreement, after the expiry of its initial period or after the completion of the work agreed upon, the original contract shall be deemed to have been tacitly extended on the same conditions as those already contained therein, other than the condition respecting its duration. Therefore as per the above-mentioned article upon expiry of the questioner’s current contract he may renew with another contract for unlimited period.

 

—Questions answered by advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.