Employer has filed an absconding case

A reader from Dubai asks: My husband was working in a trading company for the past three years and after completing his third year, he renewed his visa. But during the global economic recession, the manager of the company asked my husband to look for a new job. My husband managed to get a job offer from another company, but when requested the company to cancel his visa, he learnt that the local sponsor of his old company had filed an absconding case against my husband and some others working in the company. They claimed that my husband had completed only one year with the company, however, my husband’s residency visa shows the date of joining the company. We tried to contact the manager regarding this issue, but we could not get hold of him as the company was closed permanently. We finally contacted the company’s local sponsor, who told my husband that he should go home and stay there for six months and then he will cancel his visa, so my husband left the UAE and stayed in India for seven months. However, when I contacted the sponsor following the elapse of this period, he asked me to bring my husband’s labour card to cancel the visa, which I did. He then asked me to call him after one week, but when I did, he told me that he will cancel the visa but does not know when it will happen, adding that it may even take a year. I’m in a very difficult situation because I am living here with my son while my husband is out of the country and we need him with us. What can I do now?

I would like to clarify to the questioner that if she failed to reach an amicable solution with the employer concerning her husband, she shall file a complaint before the Ministry of Labour to request the cancellation of her husband’s visa. The Ministry of Labour will call the sponsor in this regard and settle the matter. Also, she should make sure whether the employer has filed an absconder complaint against her husband while abroad, as the Labour Law does not entitle the employer to file an absconder complaint against the worker while he is outside the country.

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

How is severance payment calculated? in U.A.E

I have worked in a company for almost five years under a limited period contract which expires next month. Upon expiry, I will quit my job as I am planning to work with a new company. Last year, I had asked the company to give me four months leave without pay to take care of my son. The company approved my request and I proceeded on unpaid leave and resumed work after the leave. My first question is related to my service period. The company says that, as per the law, the unpaid leave period will not be included in the calculation of the total service period. The total service period will be calculated less than five years at the end of the current employment contract. The second question is, do I need a No Objection Certificate to transfer my sponsorship? The company has no intention in giving me such certificate

Article no. 132 of the Federal Labour Law No. 8 of 1980 states the following: A worker who has completed a period of one or more years of continuous service shall be entitled to severance pay on the termination of his employment. The days of absence from work without pay shall not be included in calculating the period of service. The severance pay is calculated as follows:

1. Twenty-one days’ remuneration for each year of the first five years of service.
2. Thirty days remuneration for each additional year of service provided that the aggregate amounts of service pay shall not exceed two year’s remuneration.
As for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to transfer the sponsorship, the questioner does not require such certificate as per the Labour Law since he has completed more than three years in service.
Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahar Advocates and Legal Consultants for Gulf news
Related Articles U.A.E. LABOUR LAW- FEDERAL LAW NO. (8) OF 1980
SECTION (2) END OF SERVICE REMUNERATION

ARTICLE (132)*

The employee who has completed one year or more in the continuous service, is entitled to the end of service remuneration at the end of his service. Days of absence from work without pay are not included in computing the period of service, and the remuneration is to be calculated as follows :-

1. Twenty one day's pay for each year of the first five years of service.

2. Thirty days pay for each additional year.

Provided that the entire total remuneration shall not exceed two year's pay.

ARTICLE (133)

The employee shall be entitled to end of service remuneration in respect of fractions of the year payable pro rata to the time actually worked provided that he has completed one year of continuous service.

ARTICLE (134)

"Without prejudice to the provisions of some laws regarding the granting of pensions and gratuities to employees of some establishments, the end of service gratuity shall be computed on the basis of last wage which the employee was entitled to, in respect of those drawing their salary per month, week or day, and on the basis of average daily wage stipulated in Article (57) in respect of those drawing their wages on piece work basis. The wage which is considered as basis for computation of the end of service gratuity shall not include anything given to the labourer in kind, housing allowance, transport allowance, travel allowance, overtime allowance, representation allowance, cashier's allowance, children education allowance, recreation and social services allowance or any other allowances".

ARTICLE (135)
The employer may deduct any amounts due to him from the employee's end of service remuneration.
ARTICLE (136)

In fulfillment of the provisions of Article (132), cases of employment preceding the effective date of this Law shall not be considered as cases entitling the employee to end of service gratuity. Without prejudice to rights acquired by the employee under any repealed labour law or contracts of employment, agreements, by-laws or regulations of the establishment. In the event of his death, the employee's gratuity shall be paid to his legal heirs.

ARTICLE (137)

If an employee under a contract with unlimited period has left his work at his own option after a continuous service of not less than one year and not more than three years, he shall be entitled to one third of the end of service gratuity provided for in the previous Article.

If the period of his continued service is more than 3 years and less than 5 years he becomes entitled to 2/3 of the said gratuity, but if his continued service exceeds 5 years, he becomes entitled to the entire gratuity.
ARTICLE (138)
If an employee under a contract with limited period leaves his work at his own option before the end of the contract period he shall not be entitled to end of service gratuity unless the period of his continuous service exceeds five years.
ARTICLE (139)

The employee shall be fully deprived of the end of service gratuity in any of the following cases:

a. if he is dismissed from service for any reason in accordance with Article (120) of this Law or if he leaves his work to avoid dismissal in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

b. If he leaves his work willingly and without notice in cases other than those enumerated in Article (121) under this law with respect to unlimited period contracts or before he completes five years of continuous service with respect to limited period contracts.

ARTICLE (140)

In any establishment where a saving fund is raised for employees and if the regulations of such fund provide that payments made by the employer to the fund for the account of employee is a legal commitment against the end of service gratuity, the amount of savings or benefits due hereunder shall be paid whichever is greater. If the fund regulations have no provisions that amounts paid by employers is a legal commitment for the end of service gratuity, the employee shall collect amount due to him from the saving fund in addition to the legal gratuity.

ARTICLE (141)

In any establishment where a pension or security schemes or similar schemes are maintained, the employee who is entitled to retirement pension may select either this latter or the prescribed gratuity or whichever from both thus is more favourable to him.

UAE will introduce a new initiative on bounced cheques -Ali Ibrahim, deputy director of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development

Bouncing cheques in the Emirates is a serious business. Many expatriates in the UAE will have had the embarrassing experience (especially in the age when bills were paid by cheques rather than by credit cards, phone and Internet banking) of writing a cheque and then finding that you (or was it your bank?) did not have the funds in your account when the cheque was cashed. Banks usually have a standard fee that they charge for such a misdemeanour.

The UAE will introduce a new initiative in relation to bounced cheques in the next few weeks, the deputy director of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development said on Monday.“You will hear very soon a new initiative regarding that in the next two to three weeks,” Ali Ibrahim, deputy director of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development and managing director of emcredit, Dubai’s official credit information company, said at a media roundtable in Dubai.

“The bounced cheque is an issue with the federal and the emirates, it is not only Dubai. We are working on that issue and we have had discussion,” he added.In March, it was reported that Dubai was planning to introduce an online system allowing banks to file cases of bounced cheques.

Major General Khamis Mattar al Mazeina, deputy chief of Dubai Police, said that the system could eventually be brought in across the UAE.The online system will cut police paperwork and speed up the collection of information, the paper reports. But, it will not replace investigation work which will continue to be carried out by police officers.

According to the report the number of bounced cheque cases rose between January and May last year to about one in 18 of the 9.75 million issued.

The Dubai has waived the degree requirement for Kenyans

The United Arab Emirates has waived the degree requirement for Kenyans seeking entry into Dubai.

Foreign minister Moses Wetangula said Wednesday the Arab country, which attracts many Kenyan businesspeople, had lifted the demand on Kenyans applying for a visa after holding talks with a delegation from the government led by Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula and his Labour counterpart John Munyes.

It emerged that at the heart of the diplomatic rift between the two countries was the sudden influx of non-Kenyans travelling to Dubai from Mogadishu using forged Kenyan passports.

Forged passports

Addressing the press Wednesday, Mr Wetangula disclosed that UAE authorities had expressed concern at the number of non-Kenyans arriving in the oil-rich emirate from Mogadishu using forged Kenyan passports.

“Besides the issue of the deportation of their nationals, UAE raised concern about many people who arrive in Dubai, having flown in directly from Mogadishu and other countries other than Kenya but holding Kenyan passports that are obviously forged,” said the minister, who was flanked by the head of political affairs at the ministry, Mr P Wamoto.

Mr Wetangula flew to Dubai last month after the UAE imposed new and stringent requirements for Kenyans seeking to travel to the oil-rich emirate.

“Besides the issue of the deportation of their nationals, UAE raised concern about many people who arrive in Dubai, having flown in directly from Mogadishu and other countries other than Kenya but holding Kenyan passports that are obviously forged,” said the minister, who was flanked by the head of political affairs at the ministry, Mr P Wamoto.

Mr Wetangula flew to Dubai last month after the UAE imposed new and stringent requirements for Kenyans seeking to travel to the oil-rich emirate.

The row stemmed from the overzealous actions of officers from the anti-terrorism police unit based in Mombasa over the Easter weekend.

The security officers are said to have arrested four people they claimed were terror suspects and locked them up at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa.

Grilled for hours

The four, who had already spent a week in the country had flown to the coastal city that fateful weekend when they were arrested by the detectives, grilled for hours before being flown back to Nairobi.

A decision was then made to deport them to Dubai on grounds that they posed a serious threat to the country’s security.There are over 37,000 Kenyans living and working in Dubai, mainly in the hospitality and construction industries whose jobs were at stake following the imposition of the new requirements.

The Kenyan delegation, which also included Kisauni MP Ali Hassan Joho, held talks with representatives of the Kenyan labour force in Dubai with a view to seeking ways of protecting their jobs in the wake of the new requirements.

ID cards mandatory for government and banking services in UAE

Abu Dhabi: Anyone without the Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) ID cards will soon be denied government and banking services across the country, a senior government official said on Monday.

"Applications submitted to the various governmental departments and banks across the country will shortly be rejected if the applicant has no ID card," Eida higher committee deputy head Dr Ali Al Khouri said.

Al Khouri was speaking on the sidelines of the ID World Forum a day after the card was made mandatory for residents to be able to access services such as vehicle registration and renewal.

Al Khouri did not give a time frame for the move, but said the beginning was to make the card mandatory for services offered by the traffic departments.

"The card will gradually be required to access services of other departments of the Interior and Labour ministries," he said.

"Then come services of banks, with the eventual goal of making the card mandatory for all services offered by the government and private sectors."

Al Khouri said the move was prompted by the lukewarm response from the public to register with the Eida. "A little bit more than 1.8 million Emiratis and residents have registered for the cards, which shows people have been slow in applying," he said.

With the threat of services of traffic departments being denied, around 5,000 people registered for the card on Monday, which is believed to be the highest number of applications made in a single day.

He said registration devices would be deployed at traffic departments across the country to meet the rush of people needing to register for the ID card.

Al Khouri expected that with the access of service being linked to the ID card, the number of people registered on a daily basis would double.

By the end of this year, applicants wishing to obtain residence visa or renew it will be required to produce the ID card, he said. By then Eida will be registering 9,000 to 12,000 people a day, he said.

Apart from being unable to avail themselves of certain government and banking transactions, no further fines will be issued to people who are not registered, at least for the time being, Al Khouri said.

Application forms are now available online at www.emiratesid.ae and at various printing and post offices, where applicants can provide documents, fill out forms, pay fees and make appointments to visit a registration centre for the final steps.

At registration centres, applicants will only be photographed and fingerprinted, which will take no more than five to seven minutes, he said. Currently there are 22 registration centres and 25 preventive medicine centres, which also offer registration services.

Two hundred new registration devices will be deployed to mobile centres to serve labourers.

Children younger than 15 need not apply for the cards in person.

Emiratis can use the national ID card to travel between all GCC countries except Saudi Arabia.

The government also plans to combine it with the driving licence and the labour card.

By the end of this month, the authority will receive the first shipment out of two million new cards with a swipe feature. The swipe cards are faster and can hold more data, Al Khouri said.

Holders of the older cards will be able to get the new swipe cards when they renew them. Nationals renew their cards every five years.

Residents renew each time their residency visa expires.

There are plans to add features to the ID cards, such as a so-called e-purse, an electronic signature and a Metro fare-paying facility.

Civil registry: Everyone must apply

Dr Ali Al Khouri, deputy head of the higher committee at Emirates Identity Authority (Eida), said the authority would open a centre in Abu Dhabi that will be bigger than the one in Al Mushrif. "It will process up to 1,200 applications a shift," he said. "Another registration centre will be set up in Mussaffah by the end of this year to serve workers in industrial zones."

The existing 25 medical centres, where residents are tested before receiving their residency visas, will also serve as registration centres.

Combining the residency visa obtaining-and-renewal process with the ID cards will help the authority to finish registering all residents in the country within three years", Al Khouri said.

"The authority will also co-ordinate with schools and universities to activate their role in students' registration," he said.

Everyone in the country should be registered with a view to creating a civil registry of Emiratis and residents in the country.

Technology: Global standard

ID World Abu Dhabi brings together government representatives, law enforcement and border control authorities, cargo and passenger carriers, to discuss strategies in enhancing the reliability of our security and ICT infrastructures as well as plans in adopting smart technologies to achieve security and mobility.

Over 400 leaders and technology experts gathered to discuss tested strategies, best practices and innovations in elevating the automatic identification industry in the Middle East.