# Surely this agreement is illegal?



## notoriouseddie (Jan 24, 2011)

Now I don't know much about employment law in Dubai so perhaps current residents of Dubai could help me out.

Im currently job hunting at the moment in Dubai, hoping to find work as a dentist. I've had a few e-mails from various clinics expressing an interest however the one I was most interested in have sent me an 'agreement' that I need to read and sign before they get the ball rolling for applying for visa's, Health Authority Licenses etc. My brother currently works in Dubai and his advise is to avoid this company at all cost. Im pretty sure I will but any input would be greatly appreciated.

Here's the e-mail. Ive blocked out names and company info for obvious reasons:

Dear Dr XXXXXX

Please find below the standerd initial agreement of our polyclinic,that you need to read and then you can sign and eamil back. However, if you have any enquirey just come back to us.

Regards,

Dr xxxxxx

_1ST PARTY: Dr XXXX of the XXX clinic
2ND PARTY:

POSITION: FULL TIME DENTIST

1-POST OPENING TO BE CONFIRMED

2-CONTRACT PERIOD OF TWO YEARS ,RENEWABLE

3-PROBATION PERIOD OF SIX MONTHS

4-DUTIES;GENERAL DENTISTRY AND ITS FIELDS THAT DENTIST MENTION THEM ON THE EMAIL.

5-VISA PROCESSING/Mal practice insurence and DHA license fees WILL BE 50% PAID BY THE clinic,however in case of stopping working for the polyclinic for any reason like termination ,resignation ...etc,the employee has to pay back all those fees to the polyclinic.

6-THERE WILL BE A CLINIC POLICY AND INSTRUCTIONS THAT EMPOLYEE NEEDS TO READ AND SIGN.

7-STERILISATION WILL BE TOTALLY RESPONSIBILITY OF THE NURSE ,DOCTORS SOULD FOLLOW UP.THERERFORE CLINIC MANAGEMENT WILL TAKE ALL LEGAL STRICT MEASUREMENTS AND SUE ANY NURSE LEGALLY FOR THAT IF ANY CARELESSSNESS HAS BEEN FOUND.

8-ONE MONTH LEAVE EVERY YEAR, NOT PAID AS YOU ARE WORKING FOR A PERCENTAGE.

9-WORKING HOURS WILL BE FOURTY EIGHT HOUR/WEEK,INCLUDING THE HOLLY MONTH OF RAMADAN

10-MONTHLY SALARY WILL BE 50% OF THE INCOME AFTER DEDUCTION OF MATERIAL,LABORATORY ...ETC. DOCTOR'S INCOME DONE BY HIM/HERSELF,BUT NO PAYMENT WILL BE DONE FOR ANY REFERRALS TO ANY DEPARTMENT BY THAT DOCTOR/DENTIST.

11-I/WE GIVE THE AUTHORITY TO DR XXXXXX TO NEGOTIATE AND SIGN FOR DIFFERENT ADVERTISEMENT DEALS THAT XXXXXX CLINIC MAY DO AT ANY TIME AS PROMOTION FOR ALL THE CLINIC DEPARTMENTS AND DOCTORS WORKING FOR THIS POLYCLINIC.

12-IN CASE OF RESIGNATION OR TEMINATION OR contract expiration,you WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO compete or practice in DUBAI AND ITS FREE ZONES FOR THE PERIOD OF TWO YEARS_


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## katiepotato (Apr 29, 2008)

Apart from the fact that whoever wrote this agreement can't spell, there are a few points in here which do not comply with labour law - see comments in blue below: 



notoriouseddie said:


> Now I don't know much about employment law in Dubai so perhaps current residents of Dubai could help me out.
> 
> Im currently job hunting at the moment in Dubai, hoping to find work as a dentist. I've had a few e-mails from various clinics expressing an interest however the one I was most interested in have sent me an 'agreement' that I need to read and sign before they get the ball rolling for applying for visa's, Health Authority Licenses etc. My brother currently works in Dubai and his advise is to avoid this company at all cost. Im pretty sure I will but any input would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> ...


_

Hope that's of some help, and best of luck with your job search!_


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## notoriouseddie (Jan 24, 2011)

katiepotato said:


> Hope that's of some help, and best of luck with your job search!


Thanks a lot for your response

The thing that I'm not sure about is whether I would employed by the practice or whether I am considered as self-employed.

How it works as a dentist in the UK, assuming you dont own the practice, you basically generate your earnings from treatment carried out. The total at the end of the month has costs like lab bills, supperanuation etc deducted from it, then whats left over is split 50/50 between the dentist and the practice owners. Almost all dentists are therefore self-employed as their salary is totally dependant on the amount of work carried out.

I have no clue if its a similar set up in Dubai. I think I read somewhere that another practice was offering a fixed salary + a percentage of practice profits - im unsure what the norm is in Dubai

Is it standard to be offered relocation allowance, housing benefits etc or is this only if you work for a massive company?

Thanks


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## Amal_44 (Nov 15, 2011)

relocation and accomodation is pretty standard and should be for your position. And you should not bear any of the visa expense. honestly the email sounds pretty shifty and I dont know exactly what they are trying to accomplish.


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

Amal_44 said:


> relocation and accomodation is pretty standard and should be for your position. And you should not bear any of the visa expense. honestly the email sounds pretty shifty and I dont know exactly what they are trying to accomplish.


I am impressed how some private companies try to dodge the law. Someone has to impose some big time fines on them


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Seriously I cannot think why anyone who has trained for the number of years you have would even consider an offer made by an organization which cannot even construct an offer letter in a format that can be clearly understood, let alone cannot spell or construct a sentence properly. Would you let them near YOUR teeth?


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

BedouGirl said:


> Seriously I cannot think why anyone who has trained for the number of years you have would even consider an offer made by an organization which cannot even construct an offer letter in a format that can be clearly understood, let alone cannot spell or construct a sentence properly. Would you let them near YOUR teeth?


 

I do not think "bad English" a good excuse to drop an offer. Back 40 years ago who could possibly speak good English in this country ? And even though people came, strived....and are still coming

Why some of you have the idea that you are living UK ? you are not. Grab some flyers and you see some mistakes...grab some expat forum posts and you will see some mistakes....grab some of myposts and will see lots of mistakes 

There are local companies here where people barely speak English but they are not bad companies at all. And they will hire English speaking professionals nonetheless.

As our other buddy said earlier, do some research..inquire the company if you feel that they are not following the labour law. Remind them. Things here in the UAE are not always black & white sometimes.

Cheers!!!


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Canuck_Sens said:


> I do not think "bad English" a good excuse to drop an offer. Back 40 years ago who could possibly speak good English in this country ? And even though people came, strived....and are still coming
> 
> Why some of you have the idea that you are living UK ? you are not. Grab some flyers and you see some mistakes...grab some expat forum posts and you will see some mistakes....grab some of myposts and will see lots of mistakes
> 
> ...


I certainly don't think I am still living in the UK nor do I expect everything to be written in the "Queen's English" - if there is such a "thing" any more. I also don't think you can compare a communication offering employment with a forum post - they are worlds' apart. What I do think, however, is that the formal document the poster quoted on here is unclear because of the poor English. If this is how they communicate then that, for me, would be a fairly good indication that they would not be a good company to work for. It's interesting though because what your post made me think about was how the interview was conducted? I wonder if the standard was comparable to the offer? I guess that's a moot point anyway because it doesn't look like will be taking the job anyway.

Regardless of everything, most business here is conducted in English and I know many people whose first language is not English who probably write better business communications than many people whose first language is English .


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Canuck_Sens said:


> There are local companies here where people barely speak English but they are not bad companies at all. And they will hire English speaking professionals nonetheless.


On the contrary, I feel that apart from govt companies, generally any private company that communicates in the way the OP's company has done, is almost never a fair/professional place to work in. It may not be a direct correlation, but such offer letters may stem from a lack of organizational structure or professionalism .

The situation may be different in places where English is less common like Turkey or Korea , but in Dubai of all places, a place that types "empolyee" or "holly" in official correspondence will raise question marks.

The point that struck me the most was them asking for visas fees back from the employee even if he is terminated...


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## Rutilius (Jan 22, 2011)

Tropicana said:


> On the contrary, I feel that apart from govt companies, generally any private company that communicates in the way the OP's company has done, is almost never a fair/professional place to work in. It may not be a direct correlation, but such offer letters may stem from a lack of organizational structure or professionalism .
> 
> The situation may be different in places where English is less common like Turkey or Korea , but in Dubai of all places, a place that types "empolyee" or "holly" in official correspondence will raise question marks.
> 
> The point that struck me the most was them asking for visas fees back from the employee even if he is terminated...


At best his fate would like that of the DHS10/haircut barbers around the city.

You are being ripped off my some shady illiterate that's is probably running a sham operation. There are quite a few UAE Labour Laws rules being flouted in that offer.

I bet you do not even know the area where this polyclinic is located in Dubai and if people do actually frequent it. Since many employers provide a medical cover that include dental, I would assume that people frequent the better and respectable ones.

Assume that this is a small time freezone operation run by some non English speaking individuals who are allegedly doctors, would any of you dare visit it?


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## katiepotato (Apr 29, 2008)

notoriouseddie said:


> The thing that I'm not sure about is whether I would employed by the practice or whether I am considered as self-employed.
> 
> How it works as a dentist in the UK, assuming you dont own the practice, you basically generate your earnings from treatment carried out. The total at the end of the month has costs like lab bills, supperanuation etc deducted from it, then whats left over is split 50/50 between the dentist and the practice owners. Almost all dentists are therefore self-employed as their salary is totally dependant on the amount of work carried out.
> 
> I have no clue if its a similar set up in Dubai. I think I read somewhere that another practice was offering a fixed salary + a percentage of practice profits - im unsure what the norm is in Dubai


I don't have experience of the employment structure for dentists here so cannot comment with certaintly, but unless you were to set up your own trade license you would have to be employed by whichever practise you worked for in order to obtain an employment visa. It is possible that earnings would be based on treatment carried out and therefore revenue brought into the practise but I would expect this to be a lot more clearly defined than in the email provided. 

As you are being recruited from overseas I would expect the package to contain some sort of relocation allowance, but as I have said in previous threads more and more companies are moving away from offering traditional expat packages. I am sure you have already had a look at the offers sticky so have an idea of what you would need to cover expenses and enjoy the kind of lifestyle you want - use that as a guide rather than expecting to see a standard set of allowances.


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## Kawasutra (May 2, 2011)

notoriouseddie said:


> My brother currently works in Dubai and his advise is to avoid this company at all cost.


...and he is absolutely right...!


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## notoriouseddie (Jan 24, 2011)

Rutilius said:


> Assume that this is a small time freezone operation run by some non English speaking individuals who are allegedly doctors, would any of you dare visit it?


Thank you all for your comments. The clinic from what I can see appears to be a very modern practice in a nice area (the greens).

A lot of people have commented on the poor english in the agreement. I was maybe udner the impression that this could have been poorly translated by the receptionist/admin worker?

I am going to e-mail them with my concerns and we will see how they respond!

Thanks to all for the input


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