A reader from Dubai asks: I would like to purchase a company and its employees. The company has a valid commercial licence. Is the buyer or seller responsible for the employees’ rights before the Ministry of Labour? We stipulated in the sale deed that the seller is responsible for the employees for a period of six months only.
I would like to clarify to the questioner that Article 126 of the UAE Labour Law states the following: “Where a change occurs in the form or legal status of the establishment, contracts of employment that are valid at the time of the change shall remain in force between the new employer and workers of the establishment. Their service shall be deemed to be continuous and both the original employer and the new employer shall be jointly liable for a period of six months for the discharge of any obligations resulting from contracts of employment during the period preceding the change; after the expiry of this period the new employer shall solely bear liability.”
Therefore, any clause in the sale deed stipulating that the seller (old employer) is only responsible for employees’ rights for a period of six months is against UAE Labour Law and will be considered null and void.
Action against erring employees
A reader from Dubai asks: I own a factory in Dubai and have more than 200 employees. I have repeated disputes with them in the Ministry of Labour and immigration department regarding their rights, fines, discipline and working hours. Does the UAE Labour Law allow me to take action against employees committing offences? Am I entitled to cut salary or terminate an employee’s services?
Article 102 of the UAE Labour Law states the following: “The disciplinary penalties that an employer or his representative may impose on the workers shall be as follows: A warning, fine, suspension from work with reduced pay for a period not exceeding 10 days, forfeiture or deferment of a periodic increment in establishments having an increment scheme, forfeiture or promotion in establishments having a promotional scheme, dismissal without prejudice to severance pay and dismissal with forfeiture of all or part of the severance pay.
This last penalty may only be imposed on the grounds expressly specified in Article 120 of this law.”
Inheritance rights
A reader asks: I am a Muslim woman working in Dubai. My mother died in Dubai recently. I have a son. My father and brother are also living in Dubai. Are my son, father and brother entitled to inherit from my mother’s legacy as per the Sharia? What is the procedure?
The questioner can approach the Sharia court and request it to issue a Decree of Distribution. The questioner has to present two Muslim witnesses who knew her mother and her family members. The court will then issue a Doctrinal Certificate in which it will state the rightful heirs of the deceased. As for the question about whether the questioner’s son, father or brother inherits the legacy, in accordance with the Sharia, only the deceased’s husband and the questioner’s brother can inherit along with the questioner. The questioner’s son has no share in the inheritance.
Questions answered by advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.
— Compiled by Bassam Za’za’, Legal and Court Correspondent
