Should I receive a gratuity as an expatriate contractor? I was seconded to a big company in the Northern Emirates by a supply company that pays my salary and sends an invoice to the UAE company, which it has a service agreement with, every month. My contract with the supply company is a simple day-rate contract.
I have decided to retire after three years and four months of service. My contract states that the lump-sum daily rate is inclusive of all costs and the gratuity. I signed it without knowing that the gratuity is mandatory after a full year of service. Can I request this benefit from the supply company and ask them to bill the other company for my last month? It seems strange they are allowed to offer a contract with no provision for the payment after more than three years of employment. TP, Fujairah
The answer to this question centres around who TP’s actual employer is.
If TP is paid by the supply company and it provides the residency visa, they will be deemed to be the employer at law and not the company he is seconded to.
That second company is only responsible for the agreed fees invoiced to them. TP said he signed a standard UAE employment contract and a separate agreement with the sponsoring employer with terms that stated a daily rate of pay that included a gratuity paid on an ongoing basis.
The sponsoring employer is a mainland company, not a government or semi-government entity, and thus the UAE’s Labour Law applies.
The gratuity is a benefit for non-Emirati employees as set out in law.
This is based on a basic salary and is dependent on the type of contract – whether limited or unlimited – and period of service. The amount to be paid varies if an employee resigns with fewer than five years of service.
It is a standard clause in the contract that is lodged with Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
While employers are permitted to offer enhanced terms to employees, they cannot offer reduced terms of their choosing, even if the employee agrees to this.
If an employer has a retirement scheme, this can be offered as an alternative benefit, but specific rules will apply.
In this case, I believe the specific wording will be relevant.
Although an employer cannot contract around the law and fail to pay a gratuity that is owed, the outcome for TP may change if it can be proved that the benefit is being paid on an ongoing basis – even if this is against the spirit of the law.
TP must ask for guidance from a legal counsellor at the ministry to find out if he has a case against the sponsoring employer.
I lost my job in February of this year. My residency visa could not be cancelled as I have an outstanding police case in Sharjah related to property. What can I do to ensure that the visa is cancelled as I am owed money by my employer? They will only pay it in full once my visa is cancelled. I cannot secure another job either until it is cancelled. AJ, Sharjah
For a visa to be cancelled in the UAE, any outstanding police cases or unpaid fines will need to be settled.
This was confirmed by the Ministry of Interior last year.
The computer systems for the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigner Affairs, which has divisions in each emirate, are linked not only to the police but also to other government departments.
This means the information is centralised and an outstanding issue or fine in any emirate can prevent several actions, such as the issuance of a new work-related visa or even one’s bid to leave the country.
As AJ has an outstanding police case, she must settle this with the party that registered the case against her. That is the only course of action in any police case.
If money is owed it will need to be paid, or an agreement reached so that the other party withdraws the case filed against her.
Once this has been done, the existing visa can be cancelled, and any new employer can apply for a new residence visa and work permit.
Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser and senior partner with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with more than 25 years’ experience. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com. Follow her on Twitter at @FinancialUAE
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2018/19
July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US
Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK
Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
The biog
Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
RESULTS - ELITE MEN
1. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 57:03
2. Mario Mola (ESP) 57:09
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) 57:25
4. Leo Bergere (FRA)57:34
5. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 57:40
6. Joao Silva (POR) 57:45
7. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 57:56
8. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 57:57
9. Gustav Iden (NOR) 57:58
10. Richard Murray (RSA) 57:59
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
