We had a car repairing garage in Sharjah. But when my father returned to India for a long time due to some work and I could not handle the business. Rent cheques for the garage were issued from my father’s personal account to the landlord. As soon as I realised we could not pay, so I vacated the place. I was cleared from the case, but the landlord filed a police case against the cheque issued by my father. Unfortunately, the landlord expired recently. What happens to the case against me?

Dishonour of a cheque is a criminal offence punishable with detention or fine in accordance with Article (401) of the Federal Law No 3 of 1987 on the Issuance of Penal Code, which states: “Detention or a fine shall be imposed upon anyone who, in bad faith, gives a draft (cheque) without a sufficient and drawable balance or who, after giving a cheque, withdraws all or part of the balance, making the balance insufficient for settlement of the cheque, or if he orders a drawee not to cash a cheque or makes or signs the cheque in a manner that prevents it from being cashed.

The same penalty shall apply to any one who endorses a cheque in favour of another or gives him a bearer draft, knowing that there is no sufficient balance to honor the cheque or that it is not drawable.”

It is assumed that you are not a signatory to the cheques issued to the landlord. Therefore you shall not have any criminal liability on the cheques signed and issued by your father to the landlord. The criminal case filed by the landlord against your father will not go away due to the demise of the landlord. Should your father return to the UAE, he will have to deal with the consequences of this criminal case filed by the deceased landlord against him.

End-of-service benefits vary

When I called the labour department and asked about my end of the service benefits, they said I am entitled to three-months salary and gratuity. Then, on June 17, my employer told me to sign on the cancellation papers as I had resigned and he said he would just give me the current month’s salary. I objected to this and told him to pay me three months salary, which he refused point blank.

My employer has been harassing me since then through mail and finding fault for silly reasons, like not wearing formal clothes and that I do not complete my job on time.

I still have 10 days to complete my notice period. He doesn’t want to give me my end of the service benefits, that’s why he is trying to threaten me.

I also hear that he is trying to put an absconding complaint about me. What do I do?

It is assumed that your employment is governed by the provisions of the Federal Law No 8 of 1980 on Labour Regulations (the Labour Law). According to various provisions of the Labour Law, the quantum of end-of-service benefits for an employee may vary, depending on whether the employee is employed for a limited duration or unlimited duration and the reasons leading to termination of the employment contract.

An employee may be entitled to compensation equivalent to its three months’ salary, for the prejudice suffered where its employment contract was limited in nature and the same was terminated by its employer without a justified reason; in accordance with Article 115 of the Labour Law, which states: “Where a contract of employment is for a limited period of time and the employer revokes it for reasons other than those specified in article (120) he shall be required to compensate the worker for any prejudice the latter sustains: provided that the amount of compensation shall in no case exceed the aggregate remuneration due for a period of the contract whichever is shorter unless the contract contains a provision to the contrary.”

You have not specifically mentioned whether you are employed on a limited duration contract or an unlimited duration contract. However, it is understood that you resigned under your limited duration employment contract. This implies that the reason for termination of employment contract may be attributable to you, and which may further imply that you may not be entitled to any compensatory benefits from the employer as part of your end-of-service benefits. On the contrary, you may be required to compensate your employer, in accordance with the provisions of 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 prejudice the latter sustains as a result provided that the amount of 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.”

Pursuant to the aforementioned provision of the Labour Law, you may not be entitled to a compensation amounting to three months of your salary as part of your end of service benefits.

However, should your employment contract be of unlimited duration, your gratuity shall be calculated in accordance with the provisions of Article 137 of the Labour Law, which states: “Where a worker who is bound by a contract of unlimited duration leaves his work of his own accord after continuous service of not less than one year and not more than three years’ he shall be entitled to one-third of the severance pay provided for in the preceding article; where the continuous period of service exceeds three years but does not exceed five years, he shall be entitled to two-third of such severance pay; where the continuous period of service exceeds five years, he shall be entitled to the full severance pay.”

Further, it is assumed that you had submitted your resignation on the condition of working for the period of notice which you are currently serving. Therefore your employer may not have a bonafide reason to initiate an absconding case against you, since you are currently attending office and are not absconding.