If a worker dies in a worksite accident, who among his family is entitled to compensation? How it is calculated? Is it calculated based on the worker’s basic salary or total salary?
Article 149 of Federal Labour Law No 8 of 1980 states: “Where a worker dies as a result of an employment accident or dies during the course of his employment, the members of his family shall be entitled to compensation equal to his basic remuneration for 24 months provided that the amount of compensation shall not be less than Dh18,000 or more than Dh35,000. The amount of compensation shall be calculated on the basis of the last remuneration received by the worker before his death. The compensation shall be distributed among the deceased worker’s dependants in accordance with the provisions of schedule 3 attached to this law.
For the purpose of the provisions of this article, the expression ‘deceased worker’s family’ means the following persons wholly or principally dependent for their subsistence on the deceased worker’s income at the time of his death. They include the widow or widower;
Children, namely sons who are under 17 years of age, and sons who are regularly enrolled in educational institutions and are under 24 years of age or who are mentally or physically incapacitated to earn a living. The term ‘sons’ includes the sons of the husband or of the wife who were in the deceased worker’s care at the time of his death;
Unmarried daughters, which includes unmarried daughters of the husband or the wife who were in the deceased worker’s care at the time of his death;
Parents; brothers and sisters, subject to the conditions prescribed for sons and daughters.”
End-of-service benefits
I have worked in a company for more than three years. In May, I submitted my resignation and served the notice period. The company settled my end-of-service benefits with a post-dated cheque. I signed papers before the Ministry of Labour that I had received all my labour dues. The company cancelled by visa and I moved to a new company. However, the cheque issued to me has now been returned by the bank. Am I entitled to file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour to claim my end-of-service benefits?
The questioner is not entitled to file a complaint about the bounced cheque with the Ministry of Labour given that he signed papers before the ministry accepting that his previous employer had settled his dues. The only alternative is to file criminal complaint against the cheque-issuer. In the event of non-realisation of the cheque’s value before the criminal court, he has to file a civil case against the company.
Questions answered by advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.
— Compiled by Bassam Za’za’, Legal and Court Correspondent
