UAE: Employee sues company after 12 years of service over unpaid wages

Abu Dhabi: For nearly 12 years, he showed up to work each month for Dh4,000, half of it basic salary, the rest allowances. When his employment ended, he says, the money he had earned did not follow him.

This week, the Abu Dhabi Labour Court of First Instance ruled in his favour. The court ordered the company that had employed him for more than a decade to pay Dh80,900 in unpaid wages and end-of-service benefits, concluding that the worker was legally entitled to his dues under the UAE Labour Law.

According to Al Khaleej newspaper, the employee’s monthly basic salary was Dh2,000, with a total package of Dh4,000. He told the court that after his service came to an end, the company failed to pay 15 months of outstanding wages, amounting to Dh60,000, in addition to Dh20,900 in end-of-service gratuity.

For someone earning Dh4,000 a month, the unpaid sum represented not merely a contractual dispute, but more than a year’s income.

The company argued that the employee had stopped reporting to work at one point, though it acknowledged that it had not formally initiated any legal procedures in response to his absence.

The court, however, focused on the documentary evidence, a valid employment contract and a confirmed working relationship that continued until the termination of services. 

In the absence of proper legal action by the employer, the court found the worker’s claim to be substantiated.

In its ruling, the court ordered the company to pay Dh80,900, along with legal costs.

Labour disputes in the UAE often hinge on documentation and procedural compliance. In this case, the absence of formal action by the employer proved decisive.