How to overcome the six-month labour ban in UAE

Employees who have been slapped with a six-month labour ban for breaking their contracts before the expiry of two years can work for a new company, provided they hold at least a high school diploma and have been offered a good position and salary by the new company, employers were told by the Ministry of Labour .

To lift the ban, an employee should have been offered a minimum salary of Dh5,000 for high school graduates, Dh7,000 for diploma holders and Dh12,000 for bachelor's degree holders.The salary must be mentioned in the labour contract.

No fee will be imposed for lifting the ban when these conditions are met, Ali Al Shehi, Senior Administrator at the ministry, said in a seminar held to inform employers about their rights and duties as well as recent ministerial decisions.

"We are still imposing the six-month labour ban on employees who quit their jobs before completing two years of service, but the ban can be lifted if the new employer offers the candidate a good position and an appropriate salary," he said.

The new employer needs to submit the employee's educational certificate, which does not need to be attested at this stage. It will be scanned and entered into the Tas'heel system, and a new labour permit will be issued accordingly.

Al Shehi told employers that as of January 2012, company categories will have a different scale when it comes to labour permit applications.

"When a new company is registered, it will be charged Dh1,500 for each of the first four work permits to be issued to the company, which corresponds with category B2," he said.

Afterwards, the company can move up or down categories B1, B2 or B3, or C depending on its activity, the number of employees it hires, their qualifications and diversification in the nationalities of workers.

Companies in B1 category pay Dh600 per work permit, while B2 companies pay Dh1,500 and B3 companies pay Dh2,000 for each permit.

Diversification

"This step aims to encourage diversification and hiring employees from various nationalities, so companies who hire workers from one nationality will not be upgraded, while those that hire from more nationalities will move up to categories B3, B2 and so on," Al Shehi said, adding that companies will also upgrade their categories by hiring skilled workers.

He advised people who want to start new companies to check their sponsor's record at the Department of Economic Development to ensure that their record is clear and they have no other companies facing problems, which will hinder their application.

"The sponsor of a company has to clear any outstanding dues or labour issues before he can sponsor another one, so we advise those who want to open a new business to look for a sponsor who has no other companies registered under his name," Al Shehi said.

Six-hour a day work for private sector in UAE during Ramadan

The rule applies to all workers regardless of their religion, whether they are fasting or not.
"As per Article 65 from the Federal Labour Law, the working hours are reduced by two hours during the month of Ramadan to six hours (36 hours per week) from eight hours (48 hours per week). Based on this, the working hours for those working in commercial establishments, hotels and even security, are also reduced to six hours a day,"
However, a worker could be employed for more than six hours daily during Ramadan if the extra hours are considered as overtime and he or she is compensated for it by 25 per cent of the basic pay per hour during day, and 50 per cent during night, . Each company is allowed to organise its working hours to serve its best interests, but on the condition that workers are compensated for the overtime hours, which should not be more than two hours a day.
An official source at the Ministry of Labour, meanwhile, has said the company officials must place signboards or issue notices indicating the reduced working hours for all workers during Ramadan. Notices must be in all languages spoken by the employees or labourers at the particular establishment, and must be placed in such a way that they are visible to all staff.
He called on the workers to report the establishments to the ministry or labour offices across the emirates if they are forced to work for the regular working hours during the month.
He said the ministry would intensify inspections at the establishments during this period, and the violating firms would face penalties as per the labour law

Ramadan timings for public sector in UAE

DUBAI - Work at the UAE federal ministries and departments will be from 9am till 2pm during the holy month of Ramadan, the state news agency WAM said.

Meanwhile, the working hours of private sector companies will be reduced from eight to six hours during the Holy month of Ramadan, without affecting the salaries of employees, WAM reported.

Renowned UAE astronomer, Ebrahim al-Jarwan, has predicted that the holy month of Ramadan will start on August 1 and will last for 30 days.

According to the Sharjah-based astronomer, the Ramadan 'Hilal' (crescent moon) will rise on July 30.

"It will then take shape 21 hours and 23 minutes later. It will be difficult to sight the moon from the UAE, but Ramadan will start on August 1," Al Jarwan said.

"The dawn-to-dusk fasting month for Muslims, will last 30 days this year. This means Eid Al Fitr will be on August 31," he added.

During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food, drink and sensual pleasures from sunrise to sunset and are required to focus on their relationship with god.

Non-competition clause in UAE Labour Law

A labour contract may contain a condition specifying that after the completion of the contract, the employee shall not work with a competitor of the employer. This is to protect the interests of the business of the employer.

The UAE Labour Law states that if the job allotted to the employee allows him to know the employer’s clients or to know the secrets of the job, the employer may stipulate that after the end of his contract, the employee shall not compete with him or share information in any competing project.

A non-competition agreement may be signed before or during the term of the employment, but as per the law, it will only come into effect on termination of the employment contract. The employers may include a clause in the labour contract or sign an additional agreement banning the employees from working for competitors for a certain period. In order to apply non-competition clause certain conditions have to be fulfilled. The employee has to be 21 years old or more at the time of signing the contract. The agreement shall be, as far as time, place and nature of work are concerned, limited to what is necessary to protect the legal interests of the employer. If the job assigned to the employee allows him to know the secrets and know-how of the employer’s business dealings, then the employer may impose non-competition clause.

In the event that the employee works in a company, where such secrecy nature does not apply then the non-competition clause cannot be used.

To impose a non-competition clause against an employee, the non-competition agreement signed between the parties is to be restricted as per the provisions mentioned in the UAE Civil Code and the Labour Law.

Such a stipulation shall not be valid unless it is clearly restricted to certain time, place and type of work, in a sufficiently determined manner so as to constitute a real protection of the legitimate employer’s interests.If the employer terminates the employee or the employee terminates the contract due to a reason that is ascribed to the employer’s fault, then the non-competition conditions shall not be applied against the employee.

Maternity leave for working woman in UAE

I have worked in a company for 6 months only. I have completed the probation period, but currently I am in my ninth month of pregnancy and I have some questions in this regard:
1. Is the woman entitled to maternity leave each time or for once only within her employment with the company?
2. In case of depletion of the maternity leave, am I entitled to extend such period, if necessary, is it paid or without pay and what is the period of such leave?
3. For the period of my service, am I entitled to the whole maternity leave, which is, to my knowledge, 45 days and is it paid or without pay?
I would like to clarify to the questioner that as per the Labour Law the working woman is entitled to maternity leave each time she becomes pregnant and requires such leave, not for once. As for the questioner’s other enquiries, article no. 30 of the Federal Labour Law no. 8 of 1980 states the following:

“A female worker shall be entitled to maternity leave with full pay for a period of forty-five days, including both pre- and post-natal periods, provided that she has completed not less than one year of continuous service with her employer.

A female worker who has not completed the aforesaid period of service shall be entitled to maternity leave with half pay.

A female worker who has exhausted her maternity leave may be absent from work without pay for a maximum period of 100 consecutive or nonconsecutive days if such absence is due to an illness preventing her from resuming her work.
A medical certificate issued by a duly authorised medical institution or authenticated by the competent health authority confirming that the illness is a result of pregnancy or delivery shall document such illness. The leave provided for in the preceding two paragraphs shall not be deducted from other leave periods”.
Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.