UAE company must stump up to send employee home

Keren Bobker advises a worker who has resigned before the end of the contract due to the company breaching some agreements.

I would like to know if the employer is respon­sible for the travel expenses of an employee who has resigned before the end of his/her contract due to the company breaching some of the agreements they had with the employee before employing them and flying them over to the UAE from another country. CG, Abu Dhabi

I understand that CG is referring to the cost of a flight back to a home country at the end of a period of service with an employer. This is covered in Article 131 of UAE Labour Law which states: “Expenses for repatriation of an employee to his place of origin or any other place agreed upon by both parties shall be borne by the employer. If the employee after the end of his contract takes up employment somewhere else, repatriation expenses upon termination of his service shall be paid by the last employer subject to the provisions in the preceding clauses, and if the employer has failed to repatriate the employee and has not paid the repatriation expenses, the competent authorities shall do this at the employer’s expense by way of attachment. If the cause for termination of contract is attributed to the employee, his repatriation will be arranged at his own expense if he has the means to pay.” If the employee has resigned of their own accord, then they are generally responsible for their flight back to a home country.

Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser 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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