Non-competition clause does not apply if employer fails the contract, the clause included in employment contracts to prevent an employee from working for a competitor does not apply if the employer does not meet the contract obligations, said a senior Ministry of Labour official.
The clause included in employment contracts to prevent an employee from working for a competitor does not apply if the employer does not meet the contract obligations, said a senior Ministry of Labour official.
Humaid Bin Deemas, Acting Director General at the ministry, said that an employer cannot ask to enforce a ban on a worker who joined a competitor if he did not fulfil his contractual obligations.
Deemas was commenting on an employer who asked the ministry to enforce a ban on one of his previous employees because he broke the non competition clause but the ministry refused as the employer did not meet his contractual obligations according to a court ruling.
Restriction to freedom
"The non competition clause is a restriction to the worker's freedom therefore they are several rules that limit the use of the competition clause," said Deemas adding that it should not be applied without regulations. The non competition clause should not be applied for anybody who is below 21 years, it should only be applied for jobs in which the employee would have had access to the company's secrets or acquainted with its clients.
Also it should be only for a limited time period, according to article 127 in the labour law.
There are 2800 professions registered at the ministry of labour out of which only some can have a non competition clause to be included in the employment contract, according to Deemas. "It is important to understand that the non competition clause cannot be used merely as a mean to prevent the movement of workers and cannot be applied for all job categories." said Deemas. "The real purpose of the clause is to safeguard the employer's lawful interests," said Deemas.
"If a non competition clause is applied for example for constructions workers it is immediately considered not valid as the nature of the job does not enable the worker not have access on companies' secrets or make him interact with its clients," he said.
9 comments:
Sir ,
I am transfered from other country to UAE Br. and working here for last two years with
allowances only ( Basic salary is paying in origin country ) will i be able to claim for EOSB for the amount of allowances ?
It is not clear from your question about your visa status. Without visa you cant work here for 2 years. Your EOSB calculated based on your salary not on allowances
Regards
SIR
im getting 2years here in dubai on jan 21,and i pass my resignation last dec 11,i just want to ask how long i can wait to come back here in dubai and is my company provide
me ticket going back to my country.
A question on if a letter of offer has been signed, could it be legally binding till the labour contract is signed and a work permit and labour card has been sought? because i signed a offer letter (not the labour contract) with a non competition clause without knowing what are the effects. Just went through the net to find out about them. Please advice.
Sir,
im working 5years already for my company here in dubai,if i will resign how they will calculate my benefits and what are those?
having a Non-competition clause in labor contract with limited contract, can he start his own company by becoming a partner/investor after expiry of his contract?
Iam working for a company more than 2yrs &6months. my contract is from dubai unlimited & i have a non-competing clause mentioned in my contract for 2years. Can you explain me as per the new UAE Labour Law 2011, is that possible for me to join one competitor in dubai?
Dear Ahamad, Thank you for posting this usefull information. I have 2 quick questions:
My employer insists I have to work whenever required without pay. Do I have the right to refuse this and if so what happens if the employer fires me because I dont? Does this mean my no competition clause is void? I am a project manager with occassional client contact.
..just to follow on and clarify the above post. I work a standard 9hr day as per my contract but must also be on call 24hrs a day and regularly work overtime (upto 80hrs a month unpaid).
Regards
Mike
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