UAE: Maid makes Dh2,574 phone calls from employer's home, ordered to pay bill

A housemaid in Al Ain has been asked to pay Dh2,574 racked up in telephone bills when she made international calls to her home country using her boss' landline without her knowledge.

Official court documents stated that the female employer had filed a lawsuit against the housemaid at Al Ain Court of First Instance demanding that she pay her Dh3,000 she used on international calls using the landline without her knowledge and consent.

The Arab woman also asked the court to make the housemaid pay her another Dh2,000 for the kitchen utensils she damaged before she ran away from her home.

She also demanded that the housemaid pay her Dh5,000 in compensation for the moral and financial damages she caused her.

The woman told the court that the housemaid worked for her family for a while. And during her stay, she used to make international calls without the knowledge of anyone in the family.

She said the telephone bill for the international calls had reached Dh2,574. She also presented copies of the phone bill issued by the communications company to court.

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The employer said the housemaid ran away from the family without clearing the telephone bill.

After looking into the matter, the court said in its ruling that it was confirmed that the telephone bills for international calls made on the home phone had reached Dh2,574, based on the documents from the telecom company.

The court, therefore, ordered the housemaid to clear the bill and pay for the legal expenses.

The judge rejected other claims from the employer due to a lack of evidence.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com

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