Some bosses still trying to prevent employees from switching companies, UAE judge says

Sweeping changes made to UAE labour laws in February further protect the rights of employees and have made it easier for them to switch jobs.

This includes shorter probation periods, the right to join a competitor immediately after resigning and the possibility of refusing to work during the notice period if the employee can prove mistreatment at the hands of the employer.

Here, The National explains the rights of the employees that have received less coverage until now.

Is the probation period mandatory in the UAE? Can I skip it?

The new clauses in the labour laws have brought changes to the probation period.

Probation is not automatic and an employee has to agree to that period at the start of their employment.

It is customary to have a probation period of two or three months for employees. This can go up to a maximum of six months.

Courts still see cases of employees who worked without contracts and of others who are requesting to regain documents like passports, degrees and even birth certificates that were seized by their employers

Dr Ali Al Hosani,
judge at Dubai Labour Court

This is currently the case but exceptions are permitted if mutually agreed on before signing the employment contract.

“Employees and employers can agree on the duration of the probation period, which can be as short as one month,” said Dr Ahmad Al Shehhi, head of labour complaints at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.

He was speaking at the Second Employer Forum organised by Sharjah’s Labour Standards Development Authority (LSDA) on Tuesday.

“Rights such as salary and leave days will be applicable immediately after completing the probation period," he said.

Legal consultant Ashraf Sakr told The National that under the new labour laws, it is possible to cancel the probation period entirely.

“When the old law used the phrase 'no more than six months', it was only to make the maximum duration of the probation period clear to all,” he said.

“This means that employers and employees could come to an agreement that reduces the duration of the probation period or even cancel it entirely.”

Under the old Labour Law, employees on probation could be also terminated without notice, but this is no longer the case. Under the new laws, all employees on probation must be given 14 days’ notice of termination by the employer.

The situation is slightly different for employees who wish to leave. All employees who are on probation must give formal notice if they end their employment with a company. The exact number of days depends on their intentions.

If the employee intends to leave the UAE, they are required to provide notice of 14 days. If the employee is moving to a new job within the country, they are required to give 30 days' notice.

If an employee moves to a new company within the probation period, the new employer is obliged to compensate the previous employer for costs incurred in employing them, such as visa fees.

Can I join a competitor immediately after resigning from my current job?

Yes, the new laws make this possible.

Before the changes were introduced, an employer could stop an employee from moving to another company in the same industry for two years and could place a work ban on the person if he did so.

This rule was only applicable to employees moving from one private-sector job to another, and not to those moving to a government job.

This limited the options of employees. Many would leave the country for two years and then return to another job in the UAE.

But this has changed. Workers are free to move to any company immediately after they resign from their current job and employers cannot stop them.

“The previous law didn’t allow that free movement and some employers misused that freedom to impose work bans against their employees who wanted to work for others,” Mr Sakr said.

Can I refuse to work during the notice period?

This may be allowed in rare cases.

Dr Ali Al Hosani, the appeal judge and director of the technical office at Dubai Labour Court, who also spoke at the employer forum in Sharjah, said a person could not be asked to work during the notice period if he could prove unfair treatment at work.

Such unfair treatment includes not paying their salary on time, subjecting employees to abuse, discrimination or anything that may pose risk to their safety. All this should have been proved in a labour department or court.

It is up to the company to have the employee come to the office during the notice period or let him stay at home. The employee will be entitled to their salary during the notice period and all benefits when leaving the job.

Know your rights

Dr Al Hosani urged workers and employers to be more aware of their rights and responsibilities, and to ensure that all the details of their employment relationship are documented.

“Everything must be documented because these documents are evidence, should anything go wrong,” he said.

“Courts still see cases of employees who worked without contracts and of others who are requesting to regain possession of documents like passports, degrees and even birth certificates that were seized by their employers.”

The speakers at the forum also explained that employees who are being forced to do work that is entirely different from what they were hired for can resign and join a new company.

Dr Al Hosani said an employee needed to lodge a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation if their employer failed to honour the work contract.

“Employers will be given 14 days to resolve the disputes before they are referred to court,” he said.

“The new law aims to resolve disputes, not overload the courts with cases; that is why it gives employers a grace period of 14 days.

“Almost 90 per cent of 13,338 labour cases heard by Dubai courts in 2021 were about unpaid wages, which remain on top of the list of this year’s cases as well.”

Out of the total number of cases, 2,379 were resolved amicably, he said.

New Labour Law explained — in pictures

Under the UAE's amended laws, many private sector workers on permanent contracts will find themselves moved to rolling fixed-term contracts. Stephen Lock / The National
Lawyer Mohamed Rouchdi said job-sharing could benefit mothers returning to the workplace and students looking to make some cash. Ruel Pableo for The National
A person who loses or leaves their job will now have 180 days, instead of 30 days, to find new work. The move will reduce the pressure to leave the country in the event of a job loss. Nicole Hill / The National
The Gate Building at Dubai International Financial Centre. Employees in the free zone and at Abu Dhabi Global Markets are not affected by the changes. Antonie Robertson / The National
Government sector workers are also not affected by the changes. Ali Haider / EPA

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,350rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km

Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri

Rating: 1/5

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Monster

Directed by: Anthony Mandler

Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington

3/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Red flags

Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem

Rating: 4/5

Important questions to consider

1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?

There are different types of travel available for pets:

Manifest cargo
Excess luggage in the hold
Excess luggage in the cabin

Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.

2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?

If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.

If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.

3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?

As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.

If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.

If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.

4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?

This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.

In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.

5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?

Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.

Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.

Source: Pawsome Pets UAE

Race 3

Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

While you're here

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PETER%20PAN%20%26%20WENDY

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDavid%20Lowery%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alexander%20Molony%2C%20Ever%20Anderson%2C%20Joshua%20Pickering%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed

Rating: 1/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Kumulus Water

Started: 2021

Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid

Based: Tunisia

Sector: Water technology

Number of staff: 22

Investment raised: $4 million

Company%20profile

%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.

There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.

Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.

People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.

There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.

The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry

Rating: 2/5