Nobody owes UAE employers a recruitment fee if they resign

I arrived in Dubai from the Philippines in December 2015. Now I want to resign and transfer to another company or move to Qatar. Do I really need to pay back my recruitment fee? My contract stated I need to pay Dh3,064 and I signed it, but they have given me a new memo saying if I resign after one year I only have to pay half of it. Do I have to pay anything? Will I get a ban? WO, Dubai

WO is not liable to pay his employer any monies in respect of the costs of recruiting him at the outset if he leaves. This is because employers are not permitted to pass on the costs to employees and this is covered in Ministerial Order 52 of 1989, Article 6 which makes it clear that all expenses incurred in taking on an employee must be borne by the employer and cannot be passed on. Further questioning has revealed that WO is on a fixed contract, so if he leaves before the end of the two-year term he will be liable to pay a penalty in accordance with Article 116 of UAE Labour Law which states: “Should the contract be rescinded by the worker … the worker shall be bound to compensate the employer for the loss incurred thereto by reason of the rescission of the contract, provided that the amount of compensation does not exceed the wage of half a month for the period of three months, or for the remaining period of the contract, whichever is shorter, unless otherwise stipulated in the contract.”

There were some changes to the circumstances in which employment/labour bans can be applied from January 2016 as set out in Ministerial Decree 766 of 2015: “Rules and conditions for granting a permit to a worker for employment by a new employer”. In respect of fixed-term contracts, this essentially states that provided the employee has completed more than six months of service and “both parties mutually consent to terminating the contract” there should be no ban applied. As WO has been with the employer for well over a year, he should not receive an employment ban provided the proper not­ice is given in writing upon resigning.

I have outstanding credit card debt in Dubai as I fell sick and returned home to India. I am now getting calls from credit card recovery agencies asking for repayments and also emails and calls from the bank. Can I come back to Dubai if I settle the credit cards? I am now arranging to repay. How can I check that there is no police case against me and that I won't face any problems when I arrive back in the UAE? DN, India

Once a debt has been repaid in full there should be no issues in re-entering the UAE, but DN is wise to want to check. There are two things he should do. Firstly he needs to ask the bank to confirm, in writing, that all debts have been settled and that they have cancelled any police case against him. A copy of the correspondence should be carried when travelling, just in case there is any issue at immigration. He can also ask a friend in Dubai to go to a major police station on his behalf with a copy of DN’s passport and, prefer­ably a letter of authority and inquire if there are any cases registered. No details will be provided, but the police should be able to simply confirm if any cases are registered.

Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser and senior partner with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with over 20 years’ experience. Contact her at [e-mail]. 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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