Labour cases must be filed with Ministry of Labour first

Workers erroneously assume compensation is more generous in civil court than labour court,

ABU DHABI // Hassan Al Hamed , administrative director of the Labour Court, said all cases concerning workers and employers must first be filed at the Ministry of Labour before proceedings can begin.

“Around 90 per cent of the cases we get concern late wages, end-of-term benefits, wrongful termination. Rarely do we receive cases of work-related injuries.”

Such cases, he said, are almost always filed in civil court at the request of the worker, because there is an assumption that the compensations are more generous than at labour court.

The main mission of the labour courts is to resolve cases.

“A case is filed at the Ministry of Labour and both parties are called into the labour relations department where legal consultants will try to resolve the dispute amicably,” Mr Al Hamed said. “If one party refuses reconciliation or fails to appear then the case is referred to the labour court.”

On average, labour court receives 30 cases per day. Mr Al Hamed said the courts have a high success rate in solving disputes amicably. He attributed this to workers generally trusting the court and their verdicts.

If the issue is resolved then an official agreement is drawn up and any breach in the terms of the agreement is considered a crime.

At the labour court, judge has the authority to call in legal experts or a medical team if required. “If one of the parties is not happy with the judgement of the Court of First Instance then they can appeal at the Appeals Court and then again at the Court of Cassation, whose judgement is final at the labour court.”

The process can takes months, if experts are called in, and the complainant can at any time ask that his case be referred to civil court.