Many people, especially from Asia, flock to the UAE to try their luck in the job market. Not many have come back disappointed as there is immense scope to find employment in the country. But we are living in uncertain times where retrenchments and layoffs happen to be the new normals. Even in the UAE, there have been job losses in certain sectors. Resultantly, some have returned to their home countries while others have remained in the country to find another alternative. So, today we will be focussing on the rights of the employees in the UAE if they have been fired from the job.
Mandatory Notice Period
There is a clause in the employment contract regarding notice to be provided in the event of termination of the contract and both employee and employer are bound to honour the same. Also, as per Article 43 of the UAE Labour Law, a notice period of 30 to 90 days has to be given, irrespective of who (employer or employee) has taken the call to rescind the job contract. Importantly, the notice period can be done away with as well, subject to the agreement of both parties. These apart, there is another clause in the same Article that specifies that if the employer has terminated the contract then the employee is entitled to take a day off per week, unpaid, to look for suitable openings. However, if the termination is due to the fault of the employee then there will be no provision for a notice period.
Entitled To Experience Certificate
As per the laws prevailing in the country, the employee should get a detailed experience certificate upon the expiry of the job contract. According to Article 13 (11), the onus of giving the experience certificate to a worker falls on the employer in the private sector. It specifies that [The employer shall] offer the worker at the end of the job contract upon the latter’s request an end-of-service certificate, which delves upon the start of the service and end dates, the entire duration of service, the position or the nature of work performed among other things.
Deserve Severance Pay
A foreign worker in the country is entitled to severance pay from the employer in the UAE but is subject to a condition. Article 51(2) of the country’s labour legislation states that a foreign worker shall be entitled to severance pay for the fractions of the year in proportion to the period of service, provided that he or she has completed one year of continuous service.
Employer Must Bear The Cost Of Return Ticket
If the employee does not wish to stay back and look for a job in the UAE, then the employer is liable to pay for the repatriation ticket as well. As per Article 13 (12) of the Labour Law, “[The employer shall] bear the cost of the worker’s repatriation to his or her point of hire or to any other point that was mutually agreed upon unless the worker joins another employer, or the employment contract has ceased due to the worker; in which case, the costs shall be borne by the latter.”
Compensation For Unutilized Annual Leaves
In case the work contract is terminated prior to an employee using the annual leave then he or she should be paid the same as well. In fact, Article 29 (9) states: “A worker shall be paid for his or her days of leave if he or she leaves work before the use thereof, irrespective of the length thereof, for the period for which he or she did not use the leave. Additionally, as per Article 19 (2) of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022: “In case the worker’s service ends, he shall be paid a cash allowance for the balance of his legally due annual leave in line with the basic wage.”
