How to take leave while serving notice period

The prescribed notice period of 30 days vis-à-vis the Labour Law is the minimum period, and the same may be formally extended, by mutual consent of both the employer and the employee.

Request your legal opinion on the hypothetical case (reference UAE Labour Law Article 116 to 119). For better understanding, the question has been split into points and sub-points.

1) An employee applied for paid leave on December 1, 2014, for 10 days (say, between January 10 and 20, 2015) out of his accrued paid leave of 45 days.

2) The employee's leave is approved on December 2, 2014.

3) The employee has been served notice of employee contract termination by the employer on January 1, 2015, with the last working day being January 31.

4) The employer was considerate and allowed the employee to avail the pre-approved leave for 10 days.

5) On returning from the leave, the employee demanded:

a) The notice period is 30 calendar days.

b) Because of the leave, he served only 20 days.

c) Hence, the last working day should be extended by 10 days.

6) The employer declined the demand saying:

a) The availed paid leave is adjusted with accrued paid leave.

b) As per law, during notice period any pre-approved leave becomes null and void. However, being a good employer, it allowed the leave.

c) Any extension of the last working day to February 10 is at the employers' own discretion.

d) Hence the last working day given in termination notice is valid and binding.

My question is: Are the points 6 (c) and 6 (d) the correct interpretation of the UAE Labour Law?

Pursuant to your question (as I understand it), it may be noted that one of the modes of termination of an employment contract is by a mutual agreement to terminate the contract between the employer and the employee, provided that the employee has provided his consent in writing.

This is in accordance with first provision of Article 113 of the Federal Law No 8 of 1980 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (the "Labour Law"), which states: "Article 113: A contract of employment shall terminate in any of the following cases: If both parties agree to its termination, on condition that the worker's consent is given in writing ..."

However, we may presume that the employment contract being referred to here is of unlimited duration and the termination of the same may be effected in accordance with the provisions of Article 117 of the Labour Law, which states: "(1) Both the employer and the worker may terminate a contract of employment of unlimited duration for a valid reason at any time following its conclusion by giving the other party notice in writing at least 30 days before the termination."

In view of the foregoing, it may be noted that the employee had availed 10 days from his annual paid leave during the notice period. Since the employment termination notice and information regarding the last day of work was duly served to the employee before the employee availed his leave, the employer here may argue that it has fulfilled its obligations with respect to the notice period. And as such, the employer may not be held liable for any deduction in the notice period.

Further, it may be noted that the prescribed notice period of 30 days vis-à-vis the Labour Law is the minimum period, and the same may be formally extended, by mutual consent of both the employer and the employee. However, since the employee did not object to availing his annual leave during the notice period, the last day of work shall remain unchanged.

You may contact the Ministry of Labour for further clarification in this regard.

Non-compete clause in free zone

I signed my first employment contract in the UAE with a media company (a foreign newspaper) located in Dubai Media City in March 2014. The contract was for a part-time position and the basic salary was Dh6,600 in addition to Dh400 for transportation. In terms of benefits, the contract only mentioned health insurance. I would receive no gratuity and wouldn't be entitled to other advantages like a yearly air ticket to go back home. Additionally, the contract did not specify an annual leave.

Back then, I was on a student visa and was enrolled in an executive Master's degree at an accredited foreign university in Dubai Knowledge Village. My student visa expired in February this year. In March 2015, I signed a new contract with the exact same terms and for the same position.

I tried to ask for some advantages like a full-time position. However, they only agreed to a Dh200 salary hike. According to the contract, I am not to join any employer who is a competitor to the employer either as shareholder, owner, agent or employee during the term of the contract. The contract also states that my probation period would be for three months. If I get an offer for a full-time job from a media company, will I be able to take it up without attracting a labour ban?

Pursuant to your question (as I understand it), it may be advised that you will need to have a clear understanding of the provisions of your employment contract, before you decide to take up another employment. The two major impediments over a change of employment and a subsequent transfer of employment visa, among other things, are - taking up employment with a competitor of your current employer and employment bans.

Pursuant to the above, it may be noted that an entity may be considered to be a competitor to one's employer, only if the entity is engaged in the same business as that of the employer within the same jurisdiction. Upon perusal of the non-compete clause as cited by you, it may be noted that the same restricts you from taking up employment with a competitor during the term of the contract.

This would generally mean that on expiry, whether by completion of the term or it's pre-termination, of the term of your employment contract, you are free to join any employer you may want to. However, it may be advised that you may thoroughly check if there are any clauses which restrict you from joining a competitor after the expiry or termination of the employment contract.

However, it may be advised that you may seek to get your employment terms perused by a legal practitioner in further detail.

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