NOTE: A crucial point here is the employee's termination will be deemed arbitrary if the cause is not work-related, and especially if it follows any serious complaint or claim filed by the employee against the employer to valid authorities (Article 122). In this case, the employee has to be compensated as assessed and ruled by the court, based on factors such as type and duration of work and damage caused to the worker. The worker is also entitled to their gratuity in such cases (Article 123).
5. When may the employee quit work without notice?
If the employer breaches their contractual obligations made to the worker, or if they or their legal representative assault the worker (Article 121).
6. Things the employer may NOT do:
a) Terminate employee for medical unfitness before their medical leaves are exhausted (Article 124).
b) Deny the employee (if the latter requests, or at end of contract period) the certificate of the end-of-service settlement, with details of joining/leaving dates, type of work, last paid salary and benefits; hold back any of the employee's certificates, documents or items at the end of contract (Article 125).
c) Take up other employment if they leave work without valid cause (with or without notice given) before the end of contract period (for non-UAE nationals only), for 1 year from the date of leaving (Articles 128, 129).
7. Things the employee may NOT do:
a) If the work involves meeting clients or the knowledge of business secrets, they cannot take part in any activity that competes with the employer's interests after the contract period (if agreed upon with the employer beforehand), and such a period may only be for a limited period of time, only allowing for the legal interests of the employer. The employee also has to be 21 years of age or over for this to apply (Article 127).
8. What are the rules on repatriation of the worker after contract termination?
a) The employer has to bear the expenses of repatriation to the location from where the employee was hired. This includes their travel ticket, and any contractual obligations on travel expenses for their family, cost of shipping of personal items etc.
b) If the termination is attributable to the worker, the latter has to be repatriated on their own expense (Article 131).
c) If company accommodation is provided, the employee has to vacate it within 30 days from date of termination, provided the employer pays the above expenses, end-of-service settlements or any other entitlements as previously agreed upon.
Making a compensation claim
If an employee contests the end-of-service settlements and repatriation expenses in court against the employeer, the labour department will specify these entitlements in a week from the date of notification. The employer then has 30 days to pay up these amounts to the Ministry of Labour. The labour law does not prejudice the right of the worker in contesting such compensations in court.
How the end-of-service (or) severance pay is calculated:
According to Article 132 of the UAE Labour Law on the calculation of gratuity/severance pay:
An employee who has completed 1 or more years of continuous service is entitled to severance pay
The amount is calculated as 21 days' basic pay for each of the first 5 years of employment; 30 days' basic pay for each extra year of service, provided the total pay does not exceed the employee's 2 years' pay. The calculation does not include any allowances (like housing, transport, travel, overtime etc), other benefits or bonus.
If the worker is under an indefinite contract term and leaves work after continuous service of not less than 1 year and not more than 3 years, he or she is entitled to one-third of the severance pay.
If the employee quits after continuous service of more than 3 years, up to 5 years, they get two-third of the severance pay.
If a worker under a definite term contract quits before the contract period expiry, they are not entitled to severance pay unless they have worked 5 years.
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