# Any good lawfirms



## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

I am looking to get some recommendations on the law firms who can read up an employment contract and advise if it is worthwhile for one of my friend to file a complaint with the Labor department. My friend does now want to tick off his employers unnecessarily and that is why he want to seek the advise of a lawyer. Since it is money out of my friends pocket , I will prefer someone who is reasonable and has a good reputation.

If they are bilingual it will be even better. 

Please feel free to PM me with any recommendations.


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

qwert97 said:


> I am looking to get some recommendations on the law firms who can read up my employment contract and advise me if it is worthwhile for me to file a complaint with the Labor department. I do not want to tick off my employers unnecessarily and that is why I want to seek the advise of a lawyer. Since it is money out of my pocket , I will prefer someone who is reasonable and has a good reputation.
> 
> If they are bilingual it will be even better.
> 
> Please feel free to PM me with any recommendations.


I'm bilingual (English/Arabic). What is the nature of the complaint? You may get some free information on here to see whether it is relevant to pursue it legally and then on to the labour department.

HTH


----------



## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

crazymazy1980 said:


> I'm bilingual (English/Arabic). What is the nature of the complaint? You may get some free information on here to see whether it is relevant to pursue it legally and then on to the labour department.
> 
> HTH


Ideally I would want a lawyer who works on a percentage basis i.e. if I end up filing a case in the court he retains a portion of the award as his fees so if he cannot get me any award nothing is payable.


----------



## Hamish (Dec 8, 2008)

Very few good lawyers will do that, but good luck.


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

qwert97 said:


> Ideally I would want a lawyer who works on a percentage basis i.e. if I end up filing a case in the court he retains a portion of the award as his fees so if he cannot get me any award nothing is payable.


What I was saying is you should state what your problem is on here and see what advice you get for free, you may then not need to pay as much for legal advice...


----------



## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

I am trying to help a friend who has been made redundant recently. Here is the situations:

1. He was hired in the US in July and the company paid for his relocation and family tickets.
2. He came to Dubai in early Sept and was made redundant after 87 days (just 3 days before completion of probation period)
3. In his employment letter it is stated that the company will give him 3 months notice in case he is terminated. The exact wording is as follows: " the employment will be for an unlimited period, however each party can terminate the contract by giving 3 months notice in writing".
4. The Company is arguing that since he was made redundant within probation period no notice pay is payable. 

He is thinking of lodging a complaint with Labor department but apparently when he called the labor department he was told that since he had not completed probation period, the notice clause is not applicable.

There has been some clarification in Khaleej times today which states that Article 120 of labor law can only be invoked if there are performance issues. Thus an employee can be fired within probation period without any notice pay if the performance was not up to the mark. Aparently more and more employers are using this clause to their advantage and as per Khaleej times the labour department will accept the complaints if article 120 has been wrongly invoked. In the case of my friend the letter clearly states that he is terminated due to redundancy so technically Article 120 is not applicable.

He has paid 1 year advance rent; the company has however agreed to keep his visa open until he finds a suitable job, otherwise they will havew to repatriate him back to the US. My friend is planning to go back to US but I want to help him collect any dues if it is payable. 

I will like to pick brains of other members of the forum on this issue.


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

qwert97 said:


> I am trying to help a friend who has been made redundant recently. Here is the situations:
> 
> 1. He was hired in the US in July and the company paid for his relocation and family tickets.
> 2. He came to Dubai in early Sept and was made redundant after 87 days (just 3 days before completion of probation period)
> ...


The one thing I would check is how the probation period section is worded. It is often that all the above clauses only come into effect once your probation is over.

My contract states that up until the successful completion of my probation neither parties need give any notice. *After* that it's one month.

If this is the case then the company are within their rights to terminate service without prior notice at any time up until the date probation ends. This is why a lot of companies encourage the employee to come out initially alone, serve out the probation period and then move the rest of the family out.

The other thing is if he's been made redundant then it's not performance related, it's simply that the company is not in a financially viable position to keep employing him and so it's probably unlikely they will have the cash available to pay him anyway.

If he does choose to go home he may want to consider trying to recoup some of the costs by seeing if the landlord will let him transfer the lease if he can find an appropriate replacement...

HTH


----------



## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

crazymazy1980 said:


> The one thing I would check is how the probation period section is worded. It is often that all the above clauses only come into effect once your probation is over.
> 
> My contract states that up until the successful completion of my probation neither parties need give any notice. *After* that it's one month.
> 
> ...


There is no mention of terms of probation in the appointment letter. However it does make a generic remark that "all the other terms of the contract are as per UAE Labor law" and the labor law prescribes 3 months of probation so my guess is that the labor law will apply. That is the reason I wanted to speak to the lawyer since I am told that you can drag the company in the court and sue them for the hardship viz upfront rent etc.


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

qwert97 said:


> There is no mention of terms of probation in the appointment letter. However it does make a generic remark that "all the other terms of the contract are as per UAE Labor law" and the labor law prescribes 3 months of probation so my guess is that the labor law will apply. That is the reason I wanted to speak to the lawyer since I am told that you can drag the company in the court and sue them for the hardship viz upfront rent etc.


Do you think the costs involved and the additional stress will balance on the potential compensation?

It seems that for the most part employment law here is very much in favour of the employer rather than the employee. It also seems from your account above that they have played it to the letter of the labour law to minimise the costs of severence by releasing him within the probation period


----------



## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

crazymazy1980 said:


> Do you think the costs involved and the additional stress will balance on the potential compensation?
> 
> It seems that for the most part employment law here is very much in favour of the employer rather than the employee. It also seems from your account above that they have played it to the letter of the labour law to minimise the costs of severence by releasing him within the probation period


You are probably right. Its probably not worth it.

However an article in Khaleej times today was an eye opener. It said that many employers are using article 120 to their advantage. The intent of Article 120 was that if an employer is not satisfied with employee's performance he can terminate the employment without notice. Apparently as per the paper a construction Company in Jebel Ali was using this article to their advantage since they did not want to pay the employees any notice pay. Thus the labor department is asking those employees to come forward and lodge a complaint if they have been subject to unjust termination as per Article 120.


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

qwert97 said:


> You are probably right. Its probably not worth it.
> 
> However an article in Khaleej times today was an eye opener. It said that many employers are using article 120 to their advantage. The intent of Article 120 was that if an employer is not satisfied with employee's performance he can terminate the employment without notice. Apparently as per the paper a construction Company in Jebel Ali was using this article to their advantage since they did not want to pay the employees any notice pay. Thus the labor department is asking those employees to come forward and lodge a complaint if they have been subject to unjust termination as per Article 120.


Does it cost anything to lodge the complaint and can it be done by anyone?

If the answer is little of nothing to the first and that anyone can do it to the second I would just get the appropriate forms from the Ministry of Labour and submit a complaint yourself and see what happens.

As long as you can show in simplistic international English why the severence conditions have not been met you should have a case.


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

Some useful information:

_Where there is a dispute between the employee and the employer, an application must be made to the Ministry in the emirate
in which the employer’s establishment is located. The complaint must be submitted in writing to the complaints department
at the Ministry, setting out a summary of the facts, calculation of the amount due, and enclosing a copy of the labour contract.
The application will be filed with the Ministry upon payment of *AED.100* registration fee.

The employer or the employee will be summoned to state teir respective cases before the labour office at the Ministry who
must make a recommendation within two weeks from the date in which the application is filed. Should the party fail to settle
the dispute as recommended by the Ministry, the matter will then have to be referred to court to be litigated in the normal
manner. In such a case, the Ministry will issue a summary of the facts of the case, and a memorandum together with its
recommendation, and the arguments put forward by both parties. Within three days from the date the application is received,
the court will schedule a hearing and summon the other party to hear the matter._


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

Does the dismissal fall into one of these categories, if not then you have a case for the above complaint procedure:

Article 120

An employer may dismiss a worker without notice if and only if the worker:


Assumes a false identity or nationality or submits forged certificates or documents.
*Is engaged on probation and is dismissed during or at the end of the probationary period;* 
commits a fault resulting in substantial material loss to the employer, provided that the latter notifies the labour department of the incident within 48 hours of his becoming aware of its occurrence;
disobeys instructions on the safety of work or workplace, provided that such instructions are in writing and posted at a conspicuous place and are communicated verbally to the worker, in case he is illiterate;
defaults on his basic duties under the contract and fails to redress such default despite a written interrogation and a warning that he will be dismissed if such default is repeated;
is finally convicted by a competent court of a crime against honour, honesty or public morals
reveals any confidential information of his employer;
is found in a state of drunkenness or under the influence of a narcotic drug during working hours;
assaults the employer, the manager in charge or any of his workmates during working hours; or
absents himself from work without a valid reason for more than 20 non-successive days in one single year, or for more than seven successive days.


----------



## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

crazymazy1980 said:


> Does the dismissal fall into one of these categories, if not then you have a case for the above complaint procedure:
> 
> Article 120
> 
> ...


Thanks for all the information crazymazy. 

Yeah the complaint does fall in the above category. 

However as per Khaleej Times article when the employee was terminated during the probation period and the termination was not related to performance then article 120 cannot be invoked. What they are trying to say that many employers are now wrongly terminating employees using Article 120 and article 120 only applies if the performance is not up to the mark. In my friends case they wrote in the letter that he is being terminated due to redundancy (and not performance) hence article 120 cannot be applied and according to me he may have a case to get his 3 month notice pay as er his offer of employment. I am planning to take my friend to the labor department this week and talk to a complaint officer.


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

qwert97 said:


> Thanks for all the information crazymazy.
> 
> Yeah the complaint does fall in the above category.
> 
> However as per Khaleej Times article when the employee was terminated during the probation period and the termination was not related to performance then article 120 cannot be invoked. What they are trying to say that many employers are now wrongly terminating employees using Article 120 and article 120 only applies if the performance is not up to the mark. In my friends case they wrote in the letter that he is being terminated due to redundancy (and not performance) hence article 120 cannot be applied and according to me he may have a case to get his 3 month notice pay as er his offer of employment. I am planning to take my friend to the labor department this week and talk to a complaint officer.


Aye, I read it (like to get all the facts ) - Khaleej Times Online - Firms Can’t Use Article 120 to Avoid Paying Workers’ Dues

The trouble is the labour law doesn't have the provisos negate (Ie what 120 can't be used for).

A company has a number of routes to which they could go to explain why the probation period was not successful and performance in trade does not need to be one of them.

The board of the company will look at the strategic level for their HR plans and if they know the future is going to be bleak (which I think is fairly clear now at least for the next couple of years - globally that is) it may be a decision made in the best interests of the company to simply state that the reason for termination is SNLR (services no longer required). 

If the board looks at the future market and sees that there is going to be less work and they will have to let people go to stay afloat they are going to do that in a cost effective manner. It's not nice if you're the one facing the chop but until the precedent is set and the labour law adjusted to accommodate this 'loophole' they are following the letter of the law and it will be down to the MoL to make that decision. 

On the flip-side if this opens the flood-gates to a mass of complainants then it could cause companies desperately trying to stay afloat by making prudent (and to all intent and purpose legal) cutbacks in a difficult economy to go under and that will result in more redundancies and more families in difficulty.

...but, as with everything in life, you've got to go with your gut and do what's right in your circumstances.

Good Luck and let us know on here how it all panned out.


----------



## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

I 100% agree with you. 

My friend understands the current economic situation, however when I look from his perspective I understand his situation as well. He left his good job in the US , sold his cars and personal effects- luckily he did not sell his house but put it on rent. He has plans to stay here until June and does not want to unnecessarily piss off the company- the Company has ageed to keep his visa open for as long as he needs which is important for his school going children. I am hoping he will find a job soon and since he was made redundant no labor ban will be put on him . If however he was fired for performance the labor ban would have been automatic. So there is some good things as well. Personally he hated the job and now that he is free to look around things are not that bad. If however, he did get a notice pay that will give him afloat for a few months.

Thanks for your help in this.


----------

