# Emploment Law(!)



## 26bowsher (Jan 28, 2010)

Hi there,

my friend took up a position last year with a free zone company. Her contract stated that she was entitled to UNPAID leave in her first 12 months only. In hindsight we should have questioned this but we were a bit naive. Is this contract legal if it contradicts UAE Labour law. usually one gets 2 days per month or at least 21 days PAID leave.

Any help greatly appreciated, thanks!


----------



## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Statutory Law supersedes any individual employment contract as far as I'm aware.


----------



## 26bowsher (Jan 28, 2010)

Gavtek said:


> Statutory Law supersedes any individual employment contract as far as I'm aware.


With that in mind would my friend be entitled to his end of year holiday encashment?

ie payment for holiday taken and holiday owed?


----------



## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

As far as I'm aware, you are entitled to 30 calendar days paid vacation AFTER you have completed one year of service with the company. So, the company is not necessarily wrong with what is written in the contract.
It really differs from each company out here though and they do manage to manipulate the laws to a certain extent. Technically, your friend does earn 2 and a half days of paid vacation at the end of each month, but it is really up to the discretion of the company whether they would like to calculate it this way or not.


----------



## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

pamela0810 said:


> As far as I'm aware, you are entitled to 30 calendar days paid vacation AFTER you have completed one year of service with the company.


I don't think it's as much as 30 days is it? Unless the 30 days includes the 12 public holiday days?


----------



## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Gavtek said:


> I don't think it's as much as 30 days is it? Unless the 30 days includes the 12 public holiday days?


Isn't it 30 calendar days or 20 business days?
We follow the "business day" policy, so it's 20 business days for us where the weekends are not included as part of the vacation. So that's 4 weeks of annual vacation.


----------



## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

pamela0810 said:


> Isn't it 30 calendar days or 20 business days?
> We follow the "business day" policy, so it's 20 business days for us where the weekends are not included as part of the vacation. So that's 4 weeks of annual vacation.


Correct - It can be 20 working days or 30 calendar days, in which case weekends are also counted as annual leave. Obviously, the company is free to be more generous and offer additional days if they so wish.


----------



## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

UAE Labour Law ( which supercedes any individial contracts if individual terms are worse) states that for every year of service, an employee is entitled to annual leave of not less than the following:

1. Two days leave for every month if his service is more than six months and less than one year.
2. A minimum of thirty days annually, if his service exceeds one year. At the end of his service the employee is entitled to annual leave for the fraction of the last year he spent in service.

Annual leave is usually calculated on the basis of a calendar month rather than by working days. 

-


----------



## 26bowsher (Jan 28, 2010)

Elphaba said:


> UAE Labour Law ( which supercedes any individial contracts if individual terms are worse) states that for every year of service, an employee is entitled to annual leave of not less than the following:
> 
> 1. Two days leave for every month if his service is more than six months and less than one year.
> 2. A minimum of thirty days annually, if his service exceeds one year. At the end of his service the employee is entitled to annual leave for the fraction of the last year he spent in service.
> ...


Thanks for this, so back to the person in question, they took about 10 days off through the year unpaid, my question is....at the end of the first year should the person get a cheque for those 10 days taken, plus encashment for any days not taken? 

sorry to be a pain, it's just so unclear!


----------

