# Labour laws and visa help



## 247mum (May 15, 2016)

Hi everyone - my daughter was offered a one year contract with a company in Dubai and at the end if the year she found another job as she liked Dubai and wanted to stay. The original company had not offered her any more work. When she went to cancel her work permit the original company asked for her to have a One year ban as they claimed she had broke by her two year labour contract. It seems you cannot get a one year labour contract and she should never have been offered a one year contract. She has been battling to avoid taking a ban for several months but has recently signed it and plans to take out a case at mol to to try and get it overturned. Her new company have been supportive, are aware of the problems and want her to stay. She cancelled her visa today as her temporary work permit ended today and she now has to leave by 24th may. Can anyone offer any advice as we are very worried and stressed about the situation being Back I the uk and unable to help her. Thanks in advance.


----------



## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

What is her salary in her new job and is the new company in a Freezone ?


----------



## 247mum (May 15, 2016)

The new comapny is not in the free zone and her salary is 14,600 per month


----------



## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

The laws changed earlier this year related to contracts, notice periods and bans, she probably needs to get access to a copy of her employment contract lodged with MOL (in Arabic) as this is the legally enforceable document and will specify her previous contract duration and whether her contract was limited or unlimited, which could also affect any outcome. 

If the MOL contract is for 2 years she will ideally be able to produce any documents, offer letter or emails from the employer that states 1 year. Seems like she could well get any ban overturned but it could take time and she may not be able to leave the country or work/receive a new visa while a case is ongoing. 

An Arabic speaking friend or representative can help a lot with MOL, especially if that person is Emirati.


----------



## 247mum (May 15, 2016)

Thanks racing goat. Her MOL contract was 2 year limited and she has the emails etc stating one year. She is back at MOL today so will see what happens. She doesn't have an emirati friend unfortunately but she is taking an Arabic speaking lawyer.


----------



## Reddiva (Feb 24, 2016)

247mum said:


> Thanks racing goat. Her MOL contract was 2 year limited and she has the emails etc stating one year. She is back at MOL today so will see what happens. She doesn't have an emirati friend unfortunately but she is taking an Arabic speaking lawyer.


Limited contract are different to unlimited ones 
It was the rule that if you were on a limited contact and you leave before 2 years you have pay back a portion of your salary and get an immigration ban

http://emiratesdiary.com/uae-labour-law-2/new-uae-labour-law-rules-by-mol-2016


----------



## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

If the OP can show with the emails, that the employer has effectively terminated the two year contract at the one year point, then there isn't a ban. 

If they insist they didn't terminate, ask where her back pay is and why it hasn't been paid ?


----------



## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

Technically if MOL agreed it was termination by employer mid contract, your daughter may be entitled to a notice payment/compensation.


----------



## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Does she have a degree? Did she give and work out a notice period? If so, they have no reason and no right to ban her.

Bans can be bought out and usually will cost you about 3,000 dhs - essentially, they're a money making scheme.

New UAE labour rules kick in on January 1, 2016 | GulfNews.com


----------



## 247mum (May 15, 2016)

She does have a degree. As she worked the agreed year there was no need for notice. 
Who do you pay to buy out the ban?


----------



## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

247mum said:


> She does have a degree. As she worked the agreed year there was no need for notice.
> Who do you pay to buy out the ban?


Usually the Ministry of Labour.

You need to see what they say about all this though. If she can prove that the company only ever intended to employer for a year - paper trail, then that would help. Did they inform her that her contract would end at a year, in writing as it neared expiry?


----------



## 247mum (May 15, 2016)

Hi chocoholic they didn't inform her in writing that her contract was nearing its end. They did however ask her to write a resignation letter which was quite sneaky as she didn't need to. She actually applied for another job with them and didn't get it. They basically did not communicate at all at the end of the year and had recruited someone else for her job. It was a huge surprise to her when they asked for the ban. This all happened in sept last year and had been dragging on. She has a lawyer and has won a court case and some compensation but the judgement didn't state if her contract was one or two years and the company are still pushing for the ban. The primary reason being that she was working for another company in the same field. As everything is in Arabic and the rules seem to change on a daily basis she has struggled to understand what is happening. The bottom line is she agreed to work a year and did that. She even got an end of service payment. She then found herself another job as no job was available for her. She's done nothing wrong and her new company really want her to stay. It's very frustrating for us all.


----------



## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Ah now this is where it gets interesting. They tricked her into resigning, because effectively her contract is a 2 year one and they replaced her after a year - she could sue for unfair dismissal or replacement - and rightly so.

What a cheek, terrible company to work for.

I'd say the law is probably on her side right now.


----------



## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

Actually if the employer is trying to enforce a non - compete clause rather than a labour ban that's quite a different thing, she has possibly accepted non - compete clause which is fairly standard in many industries.

That would be a separate problem and potentially not as straightforward as proving the 1 year vs 2 year contract issue.


----------



## 247mum (May 15, 2016)

Thanks chocoholic - yes they have not been pleasant. She had a case at mol now and a decision is expected in up to 10 days but she has to leave by 24th may. Her new company are gong to be left struggling to operate. Plan to share the name of the company when this is all over to try and prevent anyone else from being treated this way. The sad thing is they are a uk owned company and the owner is British! 

Thanks for your advice and support.


----------



## 247mum (May 15, 2016)

Hi racing goat. They have not tried to enforce a non compete clause which is surprising as that was what we expected and would have made more sense since she did have one in her contract. If they had offered her another year she would probably have taken it.


----------



## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

247mum said:


> Thanks chocoholic - yes they have not been pleasant. She had a case at mol now and a decision is expected in up to 10 days but she has to leave by 24th may. Her new company are gong to be left struggling to operate. Plan to share the name of the company when this is all over to try and prevent anyone else from being treated this way. The sad thing is they are a uk owned company and the owner is British!
> 
> Thanks for your advice and support.


Just to advise you - naming and shaming is *NOT *allowed on the forum due to the very serious defamation laws in the UAE.

Please don't do that.


----------



## 247mum (May 15, 2016)

Fair enough - thanks for the advice.


----------



## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Also non-competitive clauses are insanely difficult to enforce. The 'loophole' is, a person usually has a USP, you cannot prevent someone using their USP to earn a living - that's where people come unstuck trying to enforce them, well in my industry anyway.


----------

