Is your boss in UAE foul-mouthed? Here's what to do

You may explore the possibility to initiate a criminal complaint against the manager.

Q- I work in a mainland company in Dubai. One of our managers uses foul language and expletives while directing or checking our work progress. Is there a law against this kind of behaviour? Where do we complain?
Answer
Pursuant to your queries, you and other employees, who have objection to foul language being used by your manager, may write a letter to him to refrain from using such abusive language and copy this letter to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. This is in accordance with Article 155 of the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 regulating employment relations in the UAE (the 'Employment Law'), which states: "Where a dispute occurs between one or more employers and all or certain of their employees and the parties fail to settle it amicably, they shall observe the following procedures:
1-The employees shall submit their complaint or claim in writing to the employer and at the same time send a copy of it to the employment department;
2-The employer shall reply in writing to the employee's complaint or claim within seven working days from the date of receipt of the complaint. He shall at the same time send the ministry a copy of his reply;
3-Where the employer fails to reply within the prescribed time limit or where his reply does not lead to a settlement of the dispute, the competent ministry shall, either of its own motion or at the request of one of the parties to the dispute, mediate with a view to reaching an amicable settlement;
4-Where the complainant is the employer, he shall submit his complaint directly to the ministry, which shall mediate between the parties to settle the dispute amicably."
You may also explore the possibility to initiate a criminal complaint against the manager who used abusive language against you and other employees.
Know the law
If a dispute occurs, the employees should submit their complaint or claim in writing to the employer and at the same time send a copy of it to the employment department.
Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai