Most employees in Dubai do not know their rights upon the termination of their contracts of employment, so the issue has to be carefully looked into. The article below shall elaborate on the duties employers have regarding registration of employees and the rights of the employees after the termination of their labor contracts in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In general terms, all foreign employees wishing to work in the Dubai must be employed by an approved licensed company and he/she must be issued with an entry permit for employment purposes, a work permit and a Dubai residence visa. In compliance with the law, employment relations in the private sector in Dubai are regulated and govern by Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 regulating Labor Relations. Employing foreign workers in Dubai entails complying with certain administrative procedures such as residence visa. Without a work permit and or company sponsorship, the employer is obligated by virtue of article 13 of the Labor Law to obtain permission and or company sponsorship from the Ministry of Labor.

With respect to the probation period, it is worth noting that any provisions of the contract of employment is invalid if it contradicts in any way conflicts with the public interest or the UAE labor law. These provisions can relate to formation of the period of probation or to any penalty applied to the worker. And by virtue of Law No.8 of the Federal Law of 1980, probation period for employees cannot exceed a period of six months.

The employee has seven rights as provided for by the Dubai Labor code which the employer has to take into consideration upon the termination of the contract of employment. Hence, the employee upon terminating his/her contract of employment has the following rights:

  • Right to receive all unpaid salaries
  • To be paid charges for extra hours of work
  • Get a compensation for unfair dismissal
  • Get an air ticket
  • Get gratuity
  • Notice period salary
  • And have annual leave

That notwithstanding, additional rights can be agreed upon the signing of the contract of employment such as commission and bonuses. Nevertheless, if the termination of the employment contract is within the 6 months probation period or less and depending on the contract, if this happens, the employee cannot claim the above mentioned rights as he will only be entitled to unpaid salary.

With regards to how to claim the labor rights, it is important to note that for an employee to be able to apply for Dubai Labor Authorities regarding any employment matter, the worker should have a work permit and or company sponsorship. Without these, the Labor Authorities will not deal with the case.

With an overview of the Dubai Labor code, one may wonder why going through the above mentioned procedures is necessary. Indeed, it is an important requirement of the Labor Code and applying through these labor authorities helps to settle a high rate of issues between employers and employees. Besides, such procedures save time and reduces the number of cases before the Labor Courts. Also, filing a claim to the labor authorities of Dubai-UAE does not cost anything, and to me, this is an added advantage of this procedure.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.