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In accordance with the Labour Law if the employee, who is under a
contract for unlimited period, wished to submit his resignation from
work, in this case, he shall give notice to the employer on the same
and shall work within such period if so required by the employer, i.e.
the Labour Law obliges the employee to work within such period and the
latter is not entitled to refrain from working within such period,
otherwise he will be contrary to Labour Law and be subject to penalty,
but he may immediately leave work if the employer allowed him to do
so. The contract shall remain in force until the end of the notice
period in accordance with the article no. 118 of the Federal Labour
Law no. 8 of 1980. As per the law, notice period is one month and may
be agreed to increase the same and may not decrease it. Finally, in
according to the Ministry of Labour's decisions now applicable, if the
employee has completed two years with the existing employer, he may
work with a new sponsor without a need for No Objection Certificate
from the existing sponsor.
Frequently Asked Questions
30 day notice period must for resigning
Q: I have been working as an auditor for
a private company under an unlimited contract. Now I've got a better
job and I've given the resignation but the company says that I have to
give a minimum of three months' notice as per the offer letter I had
signed while joining the firm. There is nothing mentioned about the
notice period in the original labour contract which is registered at
the Labour Department. Please tell me whether the 30-day notice period
is required in my case.
A: Both an employer and employee are
entitled, as per Article 117 of the labour law, to terminate the
unlimited contract of employment any time, yet with legal and
acceptable reasons. However, both parties (employer and employee) are
bound to notify each other in writing (notice) at least 30 days before
ending their labour relationship, either by termination or
resignation.
Such a notice period is an indispensable term whether it is stipulated
in the contract of employment or not. In other words, no matter this
condition is mentioned in the contract or not, it is applicable and
guaranteed by law to protect the rights of both parties.
Reducing notice period against contract
Q: I am working in a company and my labour contract is for
three years. My contract is unlimited and I have already completed two
years of service. In my contract, it is said that I have to give a
three-month notice period before resigning. I am planning to quit. Is
it possible to give a one-month notice period? If not, what are the
consequences?
A: The established principles of law in the UAE are that the
contracting parties must observe all the provisions of the relevant
contract and must fulfil their obligations accordingly. Since three
months' prior notice is mentioned in your employment contract, as per
the UAE Labour Law, you must give three-month prior notice for
resigning the job. Otherwise, you will be held responsible for
compensation in lieu of notice as per Article 119 of the UAE Labour
Law.
According to the article, 'If the employer or the employee has failed
to serve notice to the other party for termination of the contract or
has reduced the notice period, the party obliged to serve the notice
shall pay to the other party an indemnity called 'Compensation in lieu
of notice', and the indemnity shall be equal to the employee's pay for
the notice period in full or in proportion to the diminished part'.
Compensation for not serving notice period
Q: I have been working at an entity based at the Jebel Ali Free
Zone (JAFZ) in Dubai for the last 20 months. I submitted my
resignation on a notice period of 15 days instead of the required 30
days, as I had to return to my home country urgently. The company had
sent me for offshore field service jobs and also gave me some training
during this period. The company has asked me to repay the money it
spent on my visa and training, along with 45 days' full salary, to
proceed with the cancellation process. Do I have to pay the money?
A: You have not mentioned about the nature of your employment
contract as to whether the same is of limited or unlimited duration.
And therefore, our response is based on your working on an unlimited
period employment contract vis-a-vis limited period employment
contract. In accordance with the labour regulations applicable at the
JAFZ, the presence of a written contract drawn on JAFZA template
signifies the existence of a limited period contract. Otherwise, it is
presumed that the employer and the employee have an unlimited period
contract between them. Owing to this, the rules pertaining to
termination of employment will follow the provisions of the Federal
Law No 8 of 1980 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (the 'Labour
Law').
In view of the foregoing, if your employment contract is of unlimited
duration, then you are within your rights to terminate your employment
by giving a prior notice of 30 days. This is in accordance with
Article 117 of the Labour Law which states:
(1) Both the employer and the worker may terminate a contract of
employment of unlimited duration for a valid reason at any time
following its conclusion by giving the other party notice in writing
at least 30 days before the termination.
However, it may also be noted that if the employee fails to give
proper notice of termination or reduces the period of notice, then he
shall be liable to compensate his employer for the number of days so
reduced. This is in accordance with Article 119 of the Labour Law
which states:
'Where an employer or a worker fails to give the other party notice of
the termination of the contract or reduces the period of notice, the
party obliged to give notice shall pay the other party compensation,
called 'compensation in lieu of notice' even where no prejudice has
been sustained by the other party as a result of such failure or
reduction. The said compensation shall be equal to the worker's
remuneration in respect of the entire period of notice or the time by
which it was reduced. Compensation in lieu of notice shall be
calculated on the basis of the remuneration last received, the case of
worker remunerated on a monthly, weekly, daily or hourly basis or in
the case of a worker remunerated at piece rates, on the basis of the
average daily remuneration referred to in article 57 of this Law.'
Pursuant to the foregoing, if you were employed under an unlimited
period contract, and you had given a prior notice of 15 days instead
of the required 30 days, then you shall be liable to compensate your
employer for the reduced period of notice that is, your salary for 15
days calculated on the basis of your last drawn full salary.
If however, your employment was of limited duration, you will be
liable to compensate your employer with an amount equal to your 45
days' remuneration. This is in accordance with Article 116 of the
Labour Law which states:
'Where a contract is revoked by the worker for reasons other than
those specified in Article (121), he shall be required to compensate
the employer for any damage the latter sustains as a result, provided
that the amount of compensation shall not exceed half a month wage
for three months or for the remaining period of the contract,
whichever is shorter, unless otherwise stipulated in the contract.'
In view of this, you may be required to compensate your employer for
an amount, which is equal to your salary for 45 days.
Further, you are not required to repay your employer for the cost
of your employment visa, as this is against the laws of the UAE.
The issue of repayment of training expenses will depend on the
applicable regulations in JAFZ and also in accordance with the
specific tewrms in your employment contract with respect to training.
In view of the foregoing, you may try and prevail upon your employer
to cancel your visa in accordance with the law. However, if you and
your employer fail to settle the matter amicably, in accordance with
the provisions of law, you may consider to approach the relevant
section at Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, which deals with the
disputes between the employers and employees.
Employer cannot recover Visa renewal cost
Q: I have been working in a foodstuff trading company since
1998. My residence visa was renewed in February 2012, but my labour
card is expiring in February 2013 and my job contract is unlimited.
Recently, due to some health problems of my father in India, I was
unable to continue my work in Dubai, and hence submitted my
resignation giving a 30-day notice period, which the company has
accepted. I wish to cancel my visa and travel back to India. But the
company told me they would impose a one-year ban and recover my salary
for 45 days towards my visa renewal charges. Is this legal?
A: It is not legal for your employer to recover the visa's cost
if you have given 30-day prior notice unless otherwise provided in
your employment contract.
Under UAE laws, if an employee leaves a job without completing two
years, then the Ministry of Labour will impose a work ban for six
months or for one year if it is imposed by the company and during that
time, the individual is not allowed to work in the UAE. Both these
situations are not applicable to you as you have completed 14 years in
the same company. Furthermore, a work ban is not applicable if the
current or new employer is based in a free zone in Dubai.
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