Former employee Amina Ali has found herself penniless and in a legal limbo after S&K collapsed, leaving a salary dispute with the property company unresolved and forcing her to live off the goodwill of friends in Dubai. Sarah Dea / The National
Former employee Amina Ali has found herself penniless and in a legal limbo after S&K collapsed, leaving a salary dispute with the property company unresolved and forcing her to live off the goodwill of friends in Dubai. Sarah Dea / The National
Former employee Amina Ali has found herself penniless and in a legal limbo after S&K collapsed, leaving a salary dispute with the property company unresolved and forcing her to live off the goodwill of friends in Dubai. Sarah Dea / The National
Former employee Amina Ali has found herself penniless and in a legal limbo after S&K collapsed, leaving a salary dispute with the property company unresolved and forcing her to live off the goodwill o

Former employees left in limbo after S&K collapse in Dubai


Nick Webster
  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // A former employee of a property company that closed last month has been left homeless, penniless, jobless and unable to leave the country.

The operating licence of S&K, also known as Smith & Ken, was revoked in June but it continued trading until July 21.

The closure left more than 80 staff in Dubai and Los Angeles, California, out of work.

Briton Amina Ali, 27, took a commercial property manager’s job in Dubai in June last year with a basic monthly salary of Dh8,000, 50 per cent commission on transactions, a company car and accommodation.

“I was only paid my Dh8,000 salary once,” she said. “They wanted me to sign a new contract for Dh5,000, but I refused.”

Unable to resolve the dispute, she left S&K in September while owed more than two months’ commission, Dh128,700, and lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Labour.

The company then claimed that her Dh5,000 salary for that month was a loan she must repay, and obtained an absconding order that stops her from leaving the country.

The order prevents Ms Ali from going home or finding another job until the issue is resolved with the ministry.

However, S&K’s representatives have left the country, leaving Ms Ali in limbo.

With no money to pay rent, she has given up her Marina apartment and is reliant on friends.

The British embassy has told her she needs to appoint a lawyer to argue her case, but that is difficult without money.

No one from the ministry was available for comment.

“Some days I will eat, others I won’t,” Ms Ali said. “I don’t know where I will be staying some nights. The longest I have been anywhere is a week.”

The Real Estate Regulatory Agency, Dubai Land Department’s regulatory arm, said it received numerous complaints about S&K. A closure notice was ordered on June 14.

Ms Ali has been told her case cannot be resolved without a representative of S&K in Dubai.

Company accounts have either been emptied or frozen. The chief executive is understood to have left the country.

Colleague Hanain Khan, 29, also from the UK, worked as a lettings manager for S&K and was promised a basic monthly salary of Dh5,000, plus 50 per cent in commission on transactions.

“I started work at the same time as Amina. The way she has been treated is shocking,” he said. “Staff turnover was very high, after a year I was the one of the longest serving agents there. There were around 50 people working in Dubai with around 300 properties on the books.”

Regulators are investigating complaints that the company routinely asked tenants to make rent cheques payable to S&K instead of the landlord, and asked property buyers to make cheques payable to the company instead of the seller. Both practices are illegal.

“A lot of landlords still don’t know what has happened and will only find out when they miss a mortgage payment,” Mr Khan said. “One landlord has lost Dh160,000. That is just the start, some will not even be checking their accounts.”

The chartered accountancy Mashal Al Zarooni is the liquidator for all companies in the Dubai Free Zone, but no formal appointment to S&K has yet been made.

S&K said it had no further comment.

nwebster@thenational.ae

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
Spec%20sheet
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.7%22%20Retina%20HD%2C%201334%20x%20750%2C%20625%20nits%2C%201400%3A1%2C%20True%20Tone%2C%20P3%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EChip%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20A15%20Bionic%2C%206-core%20CPU%2C%204-core%20GPU%2C%2016-core%20Neural%20Engine%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECamera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012MP%2C%20f%2F1.8%2C%205x%20digital%20zoom%2C%20Smart%20HDR%2C%20Deep%20Fusion%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204K%2B%40%2024%2F30%2F60fps%2C%20full%20HD%2B%40%2030%2F60fps%2C%20HD%2B%40%2030%20fps%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFront%20camera%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7MP%2C%20f%2F2.2%2C%20Smart%20HDR%2C%20Deep%20Fusion%3B%20HD%20video%2B%40%2030fps%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Up%20to%2015%20hours%20video%2C%2050%20hours%20audio%3B%2050%25%20fast%20charge%20in%2030%20minutes%20with%2020W%20charger%3B%20wireless%20charging%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBiometrics%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Touch%20ID%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDurability%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20IP67%2C%20dust%2C%20water%20resistant%20up%20to%201m%20for%2030%20minutes%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh1%2C849%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

SHAITTAN
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVikas%20Bahl%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAjay%20Devgn%2C%20R.%20Madhavan%2C%20Jyothika%2C%20Janaki%20Bodiwala%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog

Occupation: Key marker and auto electrician

Hometown: Ghazala, Syria

Date of arrival in Abu Dhabi: May 15, 1978

Family: 11 siblings, a wife, three sons and one daughter

Favourite place in UAE: Abu Dhabi

Favourite hobby: I like to do a mix of things, like listening to poetry for example.

Favourite Syrian artist: Sabah Fakhri, a tenor from Aleppo

Favourite food: fresh fish

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now

The squad traveling to Brazil:

Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.

Bawaal%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nitesh%20Tiwari%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Varun%20Dhawan%2C%20Janhvi%20Kapoor%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nag%20Ashwin%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPrabhas%2C%20Saswata%20Chatterjee%2C%20Deepika%20Padukone%2C%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%2C%20Shobhana%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now