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Resignation Not Requiredat End of Contract Period

Q: I have been working in a contracting company here since January 
2007 on an unlimited contract. My residence visa will expire by January 2010. I do not want to renew my 
visa as I have some problems at home in India and want to go back. I have submitted an official letter to my company in this regard. Do I need to submit my resignation as well as the 
company insists?

A: You do not need to submit resignation letter since you have no plan to discontinue the contract before January 2010. In this regard your letter is to be considered as your notice to the management of your intention not to renew the visa.

Q: I used to work in a hotel here on an unlimited contract. I joined the hotel on August 1, 2007, and quit on July 11, 2009. I have taken a 45-day paid leave. While processing my entitlements, the hotel management wants to charge me my visa expenses worth Dh2,277. Do I have to pay visa expenses after completing one year in service? If yes, how much?

A: As per the UAE labour law the employer is solely responsible for the payment of his employee’s visa expenses. Since your contract is unlimited your employer has no right to claim any compensation for any loss resulting from the cancellation of the contract by you. Therefore if your employer is insisting that you pay visa expenses or any amount as compensation, you may file a complaint at the Ministry of Labour.

Q: A friend of mine is under a limited contract. He has gone to India on leave, but did not come back since he had to attend to his old parents. Neither did he submit his resignation. It is now four months, and he wants to get an employment in the UAE. What ban is he be liable to?

A: Not reporting to work after leave is a violation of the Labour Law. As per Article 120 (10) of the UAE labour law, employer may dismiss an employee without any notice ‘‘if he absents himself without a legitimate reason for more than twenty intermittent days or more than seven continuous days within one year.’’ This provision also gives the employer the right to file an absconding case against such an employee. Therefore, your friend’s employer may have filed an absconding case against him. If so, upon entering UAE, he may be arrested. You may ask your friend to settle this issue with his employer and cancel his visa and obtain the NOC from the present employer in order to get another job in the UAE.

Compiled by Ahmed Shaaban

• UAE