Dubai court cuts Dh1.2m labour fine to Dh60,000 on appeal

Dubai: A Dubai court has reduced a Dh1.2 million labour law penalty to Dh60,000 after partially accepting an appeal filed by a company manager convicted of shutting down a business without resolving the status of 12 sponsored workers.

In a ruling issued on May 12, 2026, the Dubai Court of Appeal upheld the conviction against a 60-year-old Bangladeshi manager and partner of a Dubai-based technical services company but exercised judicial leniency by lowering the fine from Dh100,000 per worker to Dh5,000 per worker, reducing the total penalty to Dh60,000.

The case stemmed from allegations that the company had stopped operations without taking the legally required steps to regularise the status and rights of employees sponsored under the firm. Prosecutors charged the manager under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 regulating labour relations after labour inspectors concluded during a March 7, 2025, inspection that the establishment appeared non-operational.

A misdemeanour court initially imposed the maximum penalty permitted under the law, fining the manager Dh100,000 for each of the 12 workers linked to the case. Prosecutors argued that the company had effectively stopped operating and failed to fulfil its legal obligations toward employees.

However, the appeal centred on the defence mounted by lawyer Mohammed Al Awami Al Mansoori , who represented the manager and challenged the prosecution’s evidence and interpretation of the company’s operational status.

Before the appellate court, Al Mansoori argued that prosecutors had failed to prove the essential elements of the offence, insisting the company had not permanently shut down and that labour inspectors relied on assumptions rather than conclusive evidence. He told the court that inspectors based their findings largely on observations such as a locked office door, unanswered telephones and the absence of signage without carrying out deeper verification into the company’s activities.

The lawyer explained that the company operated in the technical services sector, where employees are often assigned to external projects rather than remaining at office premises. According to the defence, all 12 workers were deployed to an active project in Abu Dhabi at the time of the inspection, which accounted for the empty office.

To support the appeal, Al Mansoori submitted official records showing the company’s trade licence remained valid until November 2025 and that the office lease had been renewed until October 2026.

The defence also presented Wage Protection System records for February 2025 showing salaries for all workers continued to be paid after the inspection period. Al Mansoori argued that a company that had genuinely abandoned operations would not continue transferring salaries or maintaining labour obligations.

In another key argument, the lawyer challenged the allegation of criminal intent, telling the court there was no evidence the manager intended to abandon workers or evade legal responsibilities. He further pointed out that none of the workers had lodged complaints with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation over unpaid wages, labour violations or residency issues.

Al Mansoori also sought to challenge the investigation procedures by requesting the court summon labour inspectors and additional witnesses, including building personnel and a security guard, for cross-examination. According to the defence, a building receptionist had informed inspectors that maintenance work was being carried out at the premises and that the office had not been abandoned.

The defence maintained that the original judgment relied on “probabilities and assumptions” rather than definitive proof, arguing investigators had failed to produce company closure documents, trade licence cancellation records or evidence confirming permanent shutdown of the business.

Although the Court of Appeal rejected requests to summon additional witnesses, ruling that the technical reports and evidence already on file were sufficient, judges acknowledged the mitigating circumstances raised during the appeal.

Invoking Articles 100/1 and 101 of the UAE Crimes and Penalties Law, the court exercised judicial discretion to sharply reduce the penalty from Dh1.2 million to Dh60,000, while upholding the manager’s conviction for failing to regularise the legal status of the workers.