Approach labour ministry before you sue employer

Be prudent while dealing with company information and avoid facing false allegations from the employer

I was working with credit card division of a non-banking financial company when I was fired in April 2015. I joined the company in August 2014 and was a confirmed employee without any leave.
One of the clients provided false salary details to increase the credit limit. During an interrogation he admitted in writing that he mentioned a salary of Dh10,000 while he was drawing Dh6,200.
The company suspended me alleging that I was aware of his cheating as he had told me about his actual salary when his application was under process. I had a discussion with the head of the department following which I was terminated on the same day. I was denied salary of the month (until April 6). Please guide me to get my end benefits.
It is noted that you have not mentioned your current employment status, in respect of whether your employment contract has been terminated and also if your employment visa has been cancelled. You have also not mentioned if any internal investigation was initiated by your employer in adjudging the alleged fraud. It is, however, presumed that your employment is subject to the provisions of the Federal Law No 8 of 1980 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (the "Labour Law").
However, based on your specific question, it may be advised that, when the allegations of concealing information were being levelled against you, you could have approached the Ministry of Labour seeking to initiate a complaint against your employer.
The Ministry of Labour usually employs measures of reconciliation in order to bring about amicable solutions to disputes between the employer and the employee. If, however, the dispute could not be sorted amicably, the next option would have been to approach the courts.
It would have been prudent on your part to inform your employer as soon as the applicant made you aware of his actual salary. Had you done so, your employer may not have suspended you for concealing knowledge of false declaration made by the applicant.
Pursuant to the foregoing, it may be advisable on your part to approach the Ministry of Labour forthwith, if you have not done so yet.
You have not mentioned the amounts of your salaries and allowances as an employee. However, for your reference, it may be noted that, if your employment contract was of limited duration, you may still claim compensation for arbitrary termination of your employment. Such compensation is up to your three months' salary.
This is in accordance with Article 115, which states: Where an employment contract is for a definite term and the employer revokes it for reasons other than those specified in Article (120) he shall be required to compensate the worker for any damage the latter sustains, provided that the amount of compensation shall in no case exceed the aggregate wage due for a period of three months or the remaining period of the contract, whichever is shorter, unless otherwise stipulated in the contract."
If, however, you were working under a contract of unlimited duration, it may be noted that you may claim for compensation in lieu of notice in respect of the termination of your employment.
This is in accordance with the provisions of Article 119 of the Labour Law which states: If either the employer or the worker reduces the period of, or fails to serve a notice of termination on the other, the forbearing party shall pay the other a "compensation in lieu of notice", irrespective of whether or not the other party has sustained damage as a result of such failure or shorter notice. The said compensation shall be equal to the worker's wage in respect of the entire or reduced period of notice. Compensation in lieu of notice shall be calculated on the basis of the last wage received, in the case of monthly, weekly, daily and hourly paid workers, and on the basis of the average daily wage referred to in Article 57 of this Law in the case of those paid on piecemeal."
Further if it is adjudged that your employment was arbitrarily terminated you will be entitled to receive compensation as stated under Article 123 of the Labour Law which states:
> Where a worker is arbitrarily dismissed, the competent court may order the employer to pay him a compensation, to be assessed by the court with due regard to the nature of the work, the extent of damage sustained by the worker and his period of service, and after investigating the work circumstances, provided that such compensation shall in no case exceed the worker's wage for three months, calculated on the basis of his last wage.
> The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not prejudice the worker's right to the gratuity he is entitled to and the compensation in lieu of notice provided for in this law."
Apart from the above, you may also claim your unpaid salaries for the number of days that you have worked for and the same was not paid to you. You may also claim for your leave salary for the number of days of leave that you were entitled to avail. You may, however, not be entitled to receive any gratuity as you did not complete one year of service in your employment.
Further to the above, it may be noted that the above suggestions are based on the prevailing laws and on the presumption that the charges levelled against you may not be proved. The final ruling/decree of the honourable courts adjudging the matter may vary from what is said hereinabove.
Amenities not criteria
I am residing in one of the oldest buildings, having window air-conditioning, in Al Qusais. For the last two years the real estate agent has been increasing the rent saying the rent is below the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) index. My question is whether condition and amenities of buildings are being taken into consideration for rental increase index. Kindly clarify.
Pursuant to your question, it may be noted that for transparency and regulation in rents in Dubai, the Land Department, Government of Dubai, has made provisions for a rent calculator. The rental index depends on the location of the property and the area. However, it may be noted further that other specifications pertaining to your building like air conditioning, maintenance etc. are usually not taken into consideration in respect of rental increase index as your building has a provision of window air-conditioning, which has been installed by you. The rental index is an advisory by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority of the Land Department, which specifies the maximum rent for a property based on type of accommodation and its location only.
The amenities being provided at a property unit are subject to your contract with the real estate agent, and the same are negotiable with the agent. You may also consider to contact the Real Estate Regulatory Authority of the Land Department for any further queries in this regard.
(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)