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.

New born baby need a visa in UAE

You must apply for a residency visa for a new-born baby within 120 days of his/her birth. If you fail to do this the child will not be allowed to leave the UAE and the legal guardian must pay an AED100 fine for each day over the 120 day period.

Documents Required:

• Application form

• Original passport for the baby (if the baby was added to one of his parent’s passport, take that one)

• Original + a copy of the baby’s birth certificate (must be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Dubai office. Tel: 04-2221144)

• 3 passport sized photos of the baby

• Original + a copy of the attested marriage certificate

• Passport copy of sponsor.

• Copy of job contract for the sponsor or a salary certificate

Procedure:

• Go to a certified typing office and have them complete the form for you after paying the fees.

• Go to the residency section at the GDRFA  (Toll free 800-5111), and hand in the documents.

• The passport with the residency visa will be sent to you through a courier service.

Fees:

- AED 100 residence fees for each year.

- AED 115 adding fees.

 

UAE Federal laws give consumers right to get purchased product exchanged within 3 months

‘Goods once sold will not be taken back or exchanged’ is no longer the norm in the UAE, thanks to the efforts of the government to protect the rights of consumers, according to lawyer Abdullah Da’aives.

The UAE has both legislation to protect the rights of consumers and bodies competent to receive consumer complaints against dealers and take action to resolve them.

Abdullah Da’aives said this during the “Good Morning Dubai” programme broadcast on the Sama Dubai channel.

He pointed out that UAE federal laws give consumers the right to get a purchased product exchanged within three months in the case of consumer goods and six months in the case of durables.

The laws give buyers the right to seek compensation if the purchased product is damaged and the seller fails to repair or replace it, he added.The lawyer said buyers must keep the purchase invoice and certificate of warranty to ensure that their rights are protected.

If the buyer fails to resolve the matter with the seller, he can approach the Consumer Protection Department in the Ministry of Economy.

He said consumers must assert their rights if a defect is found in any purchased product instead of simply buying a new one.He added that informing the authorities may help prevent harm to other buyers, particularly in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products because authorities have the right to confiscateall similar products in the market, especially if they are past their expiry date.

The lawyer also stressed the need to activate a recent decision of the Ministry of Economy to ‘Arabise’ purchase invoices since there are many consumers who do not know the English language in which most bills are currently made.

UAE labour bans still enforced — but workers can apply for lifting

Dubai: People working in the UAE can still be banned for up to a year if they try to change jobs, a Ministry of Labour official has said.
The ban can be implemented even when an employee quits his or her job after two years of service.
It can be lifted, however, if the new employer offers the candidate a better position than the existing one and a salary that suits the person’s qualification, according to a scale set by the ministry.
There are still questions about the circumstances in which an employment ban can be enforced when a resident decides to quit their job with a view to securing employment with a new company, but officials say there are exceptions which allow bans to be lifted.
The rules and regulations that stipulate when a ban can be imposed and enforced depend on a number of legal thresholds.
Traditionally, the Ministry of Labour can automatically impose a ban when an employer terminates an unlimited labour contract before completing one year of service.
As a general rule, a labour ban is still “imposed on all expatriate employees in the UAE who are working in the private sector when they want to change from one employer to another if they left the current employer without having completed a minimum of two years service,” a ministry of labour official said. “An employment ban, labour ban, work permit ban are used for the same thing which means one will not be allowed to perform any kind of work in the UAE for a certain period of time and these are imposed for six months, one year, or there could be life ban.”
The official said a one-year ban may be imposed at the request of a sponsor if a worker resigns before the completion of a limited period contract.

A permanent ban could also be given to absconding employees or those who violate the labour law.

But there are exceptions to the rules.
Residents can move to another company if the employee remains under the same UAE sponsor or if the employee has a higher level of education to fulfil a position that is needed within the country.

“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.”

He said employees working in the UAE who receive a six-month labour ban for breaking an employment contract within two years can have the ban lifted if the employee is changing job for the companies under the same sponsor.

If the employee has a NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the current sponsor then he or she will be able to move to another company under a different sponsor, the official said.

The minimum salary in a new position is Dh5,000 for high school diploma holders, Dh7,000 for post-secondary school diploma holders, and Dh12,000 for Bachelor degree holders.

No fee will be imposed for lifting the labour ban when these conditions are met, according to a senior administrator at the ministry.

“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 higher position and a salary equal or above the salary set by the minister against his or her qualifications,” he said.

The ministry said that if the employee has violated the contract in any way, then irrespective of resignation or termination, a ban can be enforced.

Women sponsored by family

A six-month ban imposed by the Ministry of Labour on people who fail to complete the period of employment stipulated under labour rules also applies to working women sponsored by their family members.

An official from the ministry said women seeking to change their jobs or leave work before completing the contractual obligation of two years with their employer would automatically attract the ban.

The official said the ban would take effect the moment a woman under the sponsorship of her husband or father cancels her labour card.

He said the mandatory six-month labour ban applies to both men and women, even if individuals are sponsored by family members, and is calculated from the date an employee’s labour card is cancelled at the Ministry of Labour.

“This is an administrative ban, meaning that a block is inserted into the ministry’s computer system preventing an application for labour approval being processed against [the] banned person’s name and passport number,” he said.

The ban cannot be lifted by paying a fine.

Complaints

Some workers have complained that the Ministry of Labour is still seeking approval from sponsors if they wish to change their jobs after two years.

Those affected point to the ministry’s earlier reforms to the labour law which did away with the need for a sponsor’s approval for employees who have been with their sponsors for two continuous years. The workers complained that they were being banned for one year for failing to secure such approval.

The labour rules, which were implemented in 2011 by the Ministry of Labour, allowed workers to switch jobs at the end of their employment contracts without the need for a no-objection certificate.

But a legal consultant at the Ministry of Labour clarified the rules and said expatriate workers would still receive a one-year ban if they failed to get their sponsor’s consent before changing jobs.

“No one is allowed to switch jobs even if they complete many years in their [current job], without the consent of their sponsor,” he said.

He also said the new law allows workers to change employment in cases such as when the company employing them has closed down and no longer exists.

“But those workers will be given one-year ban if they do not file a complaint at the Ministry in less than two months after the [closure] of their company.”