I live in Dubai. I have worked in the sales department of a company for more than two years. My contract mentions that I get a salary plus commission. In a separate agreement, it was decided that I should achieve a Dh300,000 sales target every year. In case I don’t achieve that target, my company has the right to terminate my services. A month ago, the company terminated my services as I did not achieve my target. Does the company have the right to terminate my services for that reason as per the UAE labour law, especially as this clause is mentioned in my side agreement and not in the Ministry of Labour contract. Is the company obliged to pay for my ticket in case I don’t leave the UAE and join another company?
Under the UAE labour law, if the employee does not achieve the agreed sales target, the blame does not lie with him as he was putting in the hard work, but could not achieve the agreed target maybe due to market problems or due to the other factors that do not support the employee’s efforts to achieve the agreed target. In this case, the termination may be considered an arbitrary dismissal. Finally, the employer is not required to pay for the air ticket in case the employee joins another company in the UAE.
Rental dispute
I live in Dubai. Three months ago, I leased out my villa and signed a one-year tenancy contract. The tenant gave me one post-dated cheque payable within a month. However, when I presented the cheque to the bank, it was returned unpaid. I then submitted the cheque to the police and the tenant who issued the cheque was referred to the criminal court. He was sentenced to six months in jail. I went to the Dubai Civil Court to file a case to claiming the cheque’s value, but was told that I could not file such a case before that court. I was advised to file a case at the Rental Court since the dispute concerned a rental contract.
The questioner’s case is a rental one. Therefore, the Dubai Civil Court does not have jurisdiction. Such cases must be filed before the Judicial Rental Committee since he case might be rejected in the Dubai Civil Court.
Questions answered by advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.