Eid Al Fitr holiday announced in UAE

Federal government offices in the UAE will be closed from Wednesday, August 7, corresponding to Ramadan 29 and will reopen on the fourth day of the month of Shawal in celebration of Eid Al Fitr.

Shawal 4 falls on Sunday, August 11, if Eid begins on Thursday, August 8.

Work in the government will resume on Monday, August 12, if the start of the new lunar month of Shawal is not confirmed by Ramadan 29 and subsequently Ramadan completes 30 days.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by the Federal Authority of Human Resources.

Dubai property buyers' protection law Tanweer is ready and waiting for final approval

The Real Estate Investor Protection law, or ‘Tanweer’, as it is called now, is ready and awaiting clearance from higher authorities“Tanweer is ready we are just waiting for final approvals from higher authorities,” said Majida Ali Rashid, Chairwoman of the Real Estate Investment and Promotion Centre, Dubai Land Department.
“Tanweer is the first of its kind regionally and globally, the senior management has devoted considerable time and efforts in discussing its provisions with a large segment of workers in the real estate market and with consulting and legal firms to draft legal articles to reach the ambitions of the emirate in protecting investors,” Majida said.

She added: “This law will take full, complete and accurate inter legislative laws and regulations issued between 2003 and 2008 to ensure optimal application of those laws and legislations.”
Law allows full refund

In June 2012, the draft of investor protection law was released to get suggestions from industry participants.

The draft allows investors to get full refund if the developer fails to complete or handover a property within a certain timeframe or deliberately defrauds an investor or alters the specifications of the unit without obtaining requisite permission.

Investors can also claim compensation for breach of any warranty or undertaking contained in the contract for sale by the seller and the broker, misrepresentation by the developer or investor or broker, and specification in violation of the contract for sale after obtaining an expert’s report to that effect.

Can I leave my free zone job in UAE without penalty?

I joined a company under Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) seven months back. The contract states that if an employee leaves within one year of joining, he has to reimburse the cost of visa and other expenses incurred by the company on him. I am now considering taking up a job with a company outside JAFZA. Kindly advise whether the company can enforce the terms of the contract and also if they would be entitled to put a ban on me.

In respect to the article in your contract which states that "if an employee leaves within one year of joining, he has to reimburse the cost of visa and other expenses incurred by the company on him", it is considered void and contrary to the Labour Law. But in this case, the employer is entitled to claim the compensation for the employee's violation of the labour contract, as the labour contracts in Free Zones like JAFZA are usually limited to two years.

Therefore, if the reader revokes the contract prematurely, then the company in this case has the right to claim ... compensation as he terminated the labour contract prematurely, and the amount of compensation varies between a maximum of Dh1,500 and Dh2,000.

Such an amount shall be determined according to the employee's position as well as salary.

The employer has the right to ask JAFZA to put a work ban for a year as such a work ban is applicable for JAFZA only.

Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahar Advocates and Legal consultants

One-year ban for false work permits:UAE Labour ministry

A one-year ban will be imposed on anyone who obtains a labour card with a company they are not really working for, said a senior Ministry of Labour official.
According to Humaid Bin Deemas Al Suwaidi, Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs, the ministry is determined to overcome the problem of false labour ties between sponsors and workers.

Al Suwaidi said the ministry is moving forward with the implementation of measures to reduce such practices. He said the failure of the employer to cancel or renew a labour card for a worker may be considered a deception.
“The ministry is investigating all companies who are asking the ministry to reduce fines on labour cards,” he said.
“We also check if this specific establishment is really operating effectively and the number of the workers sponsored by this company and also if the company is abiding by the labour law,” he said.

He said if all conditions required by the ministry are applicable the ministry may reduce the fine, especially if it is proved that the employer is not aware of the procedures necessary to issue or renew labour cards.

“It cannot be flexible if is shown that there is no real working relationship between the employer and the worker,” he said.
He said in such cases fines will be imposed on such companies and no new work permits will be issued to such companies until all issues are settled with the ministry.

He said the fine imposed for delaying issuing or renewing labour cards after 60 days from the date the worker enters the country or from the date of the expiration of the labour card is Dh1,000 for each month of delay or part thereof.

He said the Ministry of Labour last year referred to the public prosecution 297 companies proved to be closed and which had many workers still on their sponsorship.

He added that last year 950,000 labour cards were issued by the ministry to various companies in the country.Workers who obtain false work permits from any company will not be allowed to work here for one year, he added.

Failure to pay workers' salary for two months or more can affect all companies under same owner - UAE Ministry of Labour

The Ministry of Labour has begun applying new procedures for issuing work permits.

This came within the implementation of a decree issued by the Minister of Labour, Saqr Ghobash, through which he re-regulated the procedures adopted.

New procedures will also be in place for opening records for business owners whose companies commit five types of violations.

The violations include failing to pay workers' salary for two months or more - taking into account the period during which the wages were stopped being paid and the number of workers affected by the violation.

These procedures will also be applied on companies owned by partners of the violating company.

The new procedures are based on a mechanism of notifying the concerned business owner of the committed violation.

It also grants business owners a grace period to settle the violation before their other businesses can be suspended, taking into account the imposed sanctions of the violating institution in accordance with the relating decrees.

Suspension of the other institutions includes preventing them from getting any type of work permits, whether for recruiting full or part-time workers or transferring labourers.

Other violations include failing to pay administrative claims of the ministry for months from the due date, not renewing or applying for work permits of workers for four months from his/her entry to the country or the date of joining the company.