I am working as an accountant on unlimited contract with a company from July 2013. Now,  HR department sent me a termination letter, in which it is mentioned "termination due to redundancy" and a one-month notice period. I want to know: (a) Since October 2015, my duty timings were 8am to 6.30pm - which is more than my eight-hour work requirements. Can I ask for a full year's overtime?

(b) Will the company pay three months' salary or just one?

Pursuant to your queries we advise you as below:

(a)  Remuneration for overtime: You are entitled for overtime remuneration in case your designation is not a manager or supervisor as laid down by Article 72 (1) of the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 regulating Employment Relations in the UAE (the "Employment Law"). However, if you do not fall under the category of manager or supervisor, you are entitled to overtime remuneration as mentioned in Article 67 of the Employment Law which states: "Where the circumstances of the work require an employee to work more than the normal number of hours, any period worked in excess shall be treated as overtime, for which the worker shall receive remuneration equal to that corresponding to his normal hours of work, plus a supplement of at least 25 per cent of the remuneration." But, you should have documentary evidence with you to prove you worked for more than eight hours per day during the course of your employment.

(b) Termination entitlements: Since your employer has terminated your employment with a one-month notice period this termination may be considered as arbitrary dismissal. This is in accordance with Article 122 of Employment Law which states: "An employee's service shall be deemed to have been arbitrarily terminated by his employer if the reason for the termination is irrelevant to the worker and, more particularly, if the reason is that the employee has submitted a serious complaint to the competent authorities or has instituted legal proceedings against the employer that has proved to be valid."

In continuance, you may claim up to three months of remuneration from your employer in accordance with Article 123(a) of the Employment Law which reads: "Where an employee is arbitrarily dismissed, the competent court may order the employer to pay compensation. The court shall assess such compensation with due regard to nature of the work, the amount of prejudice he has sustained and his period of service, and after investigating the circumstances of the work. The amount of the compensation shall in no case exceed the employee's remuneration for three months calculated on the basis of his last remuneration."

Further, unlimited contract can be terminated by both employer and employee by serving 30 days of notice with a valid reason as stated in Article 117 (1) of the Employment Law. 

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