# Banned?



## iggyb (Mar 6, 2013)

My recent former employer is threatening to have me banned from the UAE and all Gulf States.

Is there a place to appeal?

My situation:

I have no debts in the UAE.

I worked for one of the gov. ed. orgs. 

The contract said I had to give a 1-month notice if I wanted to leave before the end of the probationary period. I turned in the notice.

The company then froze Feb.'s pay in order to recover the relocaton allowance they had given me on arrival.

Fine. But, they also refused to tell me when they would pay for work I'd do in March. I found 2 other teachers who had quit previously did not receive their final settlement on the last day of work and had to leave the country empty handed.

The company requires you use savings to pay off outstanding debt, and prove you have paid it, but does not settle with you until weeks or months after you have left the country.

I paid off debts: housing, rental car, Etisalat, and bank cards. But, I couldn't afford to keep living off savings with no hope of being paid in March.

I also got another job offer in Saudi Arabia that required processing the visa in the US, and they preferred I begin the process sooner than later.

So I left.

It did not harm the company: The program had already decided not to replace me, because they were going to close another teacher's class whose enrollment had dropped below the required minimum.

There was no class for me to teach this new term. It would have made things harder for the coordinator if I had stayed. They would have had to juggle the schedule to accomodate 5 teachers with 4 classes. Then, change the schedule again mid-term when I left 2 weeks later.

But, this wonderful organization (which has had 27 people leave or turn in a notice to leave in the past couple of months) says that if I don't return to work Sunday, they are going to report me to the government and I'll be detained if I ever try to travel through the UAE or any other Gulf State...

Is that possible given the circumstances?

Where can I go to appeal if they do try it?

Since I left the country, returning to teach non-existent classes is not an option...


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## md000 (Dec 16, 2008)

They can't ban you from all gulf states. That's nonsense.

Appeal to the Min. of Labour with documentation.

-md000/Mike


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

You tend to find, these sorts of companies are very good at making threats, but there's not much in it. As md000 says, speak to the MOL.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

I am assuming that this organisation you are leaving is in UAE. You would still need to cancel your visa, otherwise the employer may report you as absconding. This will not cause a problem in KSA, but in case you need to travel to/through Dubai, it will be a problem.
Ministry of Labour is your best bet, but since you are already out of UAE it may be a problem talking to them (not so good with phones/emails). But still try calling them Ministry of Labour 800-665 (not sure what number from outside the UAE)


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## iggyb (Mar 6, 2013)

Thanks all.

I emailed the help center of the residency and foreign affairs department in Dubai. They replied quickly:

They said a ban for the UAE does not extended to other GCC nations.

I replied asking if there is a way to check your status online to see if a ban has been placed and what the appeals process is for such a ban, because I would like to appeal if this company does try it.

I did leave before the visa cancellation process was completed, but it can be cancelled without me being there.

It also seems the purpose of the process for the immigrant employee is to make sure all debts are paid before he heads to another country and collection becomes impossible. ---- I did settle all debts before leaving.

I don't know if this company will dream up debt owed them or not. The HR department already tried to tell payroll to deduct all sick days from my final settlement. My immediate supervisor caught that and asked for an explanation. The excuse they gave was that they thought all 6 days were taken in a row without a doctor's note. I didn't buy it. You don't naturally assume something that unsual.

It is the same person in HR telling me they are going to have me banned for life from all the GCC nations.

And again, this is after no harm was done to the program.


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## iggyb (Mar 6, 2013)

The help center for the immigration ministry replied again, and I found several websites that seem to have cut&pasted the same information from a definitive original source:

Yes, even without leaving debts, my former employer can have me banned from the UAE for life for leaving without notice and there doesn't appear to be an appeal process.

Google for the words abscond ban uae.

This reminds me of Korea back in the day...

Oh well, I am grateful to learn they can't ban me from other GCC nations. I can live with that...


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

I don't think you are entitled to sick pay during the probation period - perhaps I am wrong though? No disrespect, but six sick days before the end of what is probably a six-month probation period is quite a lot.


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## Asafa (Mar 8, 2013)

it does not really matter if you resign during the probation period or after it. you still face a ban. Basically the probation period does not mean much.


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