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No severance pay for those not completing limited contract period

Q: One of my employees, who is on a limited contract, has resigned after working for one year and three months, citing personal reasons. Is he eligible for leave salary and air ticket? Has the company got the right to deduct 45-day salary for termination of contract by the employee? If so, is the deduction on the basic salary or gross salary? The appointment letter to the employee states that he has to give three-month notice before the termination of the contract, which is accepted by the employee. But the contract does not specify the same. Is the company justified in deducting a further notice pay?

Answer: Article No. 116 of the Labour Law No. 8 of 1980 stipulates: "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 prejudice the latter sustains as a result: provided the amount of the compensation shall not exceed half the worker’s remuneration for three months or the residual period of the contract, whichever is shorter, unless the contract contains a provision to the contrary."

Also, Article No. 138 of the same law stipulates: "Where a worker who is bound by a contract for a limited period leaves his work on his own accord before the expiry of his contract period, he shall not be entitled to severance pay, unless his continuous period of service exceeds five years."

Sponsorship transfer

Q: One of my friends is working in a private company in Dubai. He has been offered a better job with better salary and perks by some other company. On approaching his boss for the release, the boss blindly refused to give him any release or any chance of transferring his visa to the new company. Instead, he threatened him with visa cancellation and sending him back home with a six-month ban. Can my friend get any justice?

Answer: According to the labour relation principles between the employer and the employee, the signed contract between the two should be executed. If the labour contract is limited by a certain period and the period has not expired, any of the two parties has no right to revoke it with his own decision. Whereas, if the contract is unlimited, any of the two parties can revoke the contract by giving the other party a one-month notice.

However, a sufficient period should have passed from the date of the contract, and revoking it cannot be after a few months or a few days. Should the worker have completed one year in service with the company and is eligible for sponsorship transfer rules, then he can apply for a sponsorship transfer and get, in this case, the signature of the current employer on the application. Should the employer refuse to sign on the sponsorship transfer application, he should seek the support of the Ministry of Labour which will try to solve this problem amicably or grant the sponsorship transfer without the consent of the current employer.

Divorcee's visa

Q: Since I and my wife were not on good terms, we had filed a divorce case with the Dubai Courts. Ultimately, my application was granted and we got divorced as per the Hindu Act through the court. Now, I am unemployed for a long period as the company has been closed down. I cancelled my labour card and need to cancel my residence visa from the DNRD. According to the rules of the DNRD, I have to cancel the visas of the dependants first. My divorcee does not want to cancel the visa, but to transfer her sponsorship to her employer where she has been working for several years. So, who can be approached to make this settlement? Secondly, I came to understand from some reliable sources that I have a travel ban on my passport. There is no criminal case or offence committed by me due to which I should be given a travel ban. Kindly suggest some remedy to me so that I can carry out visa cancellation and check out with the travel ban problem.

Answer: For the first part of the enquiry, you should obtain an official copy of the executive divorce document stating that the divorce is final. You should then approach the DNRD and submit a notification to your divorcee to bring her passport to the concerned authority for the cancellation of her visa and the cancellation of the sponsorship file. Regarding the second part of the enquiry, before you listen to others and suspect a travel ban on you, you should personally approach the Civil Court to check if there was a travel ban filed by someone against you.

Also, you should approach to the Criminal Investigation Department of the police to check if there was any complaint, including a criminal one, made against you. When you come to know if there is a criminal or civil travel ban against, you should face the fact and prepare to defend yourself with documents and proofs you have to clear your record and get the removal of the travel ban.

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