Employers Guidelines in UAE II

By: Anas Aloulabi

anas.aloulabi@albaharadvocates.ae

Most of the employers make very serious mistake reacting to their employee’s actions and faults. And thus many termination cases conducted by employers are made after the employee commits a mistake or a default that costs the employer a lot of money (major loss).

Most of the employers in such cases terminate the employment contract immediately and effectively, without perusing the procedures provided into the labor law, as most of the employers behave like that due to anger, fury and over-reaction from the employee and the employee’s action, without forgetting to make an example of such employee before his colleagues.

The law and the bodies who are in charge of enforcing thereof (which is in this case the labor court) neither realize the employer’s anger nor take into consideration his frustration from the employee’s action, as all the people should abide the law whatever the circumstances were and no matter the losses amounted.

Accordingly a flow of procedures are drown by the labor law for an employer who wishes to terminate an employee’s contract due to an action that incurred major losses, where article 120/C provides that the employer should inform the labor department within 48 hours of knowing the incident.

Most of the employers shelter to the police departments to sue the employee, thinking this is the right way to penalize him, and never think of informing the labor department. And most of the employers become in chock when the court of law rules for the eligibility of the employee for his labor entitlements especially the NOTICE allowence.

An employer must keep in mind that the labor entitlements are protected by the law provisions whatsoever was the guiltiness of the employee, and that he will be entitled to such rights regardless of any losses he caused.

Therefore any employer who faces a major loss due to an action made by an employee and finds no further way but to terminate his contract then he must :

1. Issue a stamped Letter Of Termination on the company’s letterhead stating the reason for termination and the law provision used thereof.
2. Takes the signature of the employee on the Termination Letter
3. It’d be preferable that the employer would not give an original copy of the Termination Letter to the employee
4. In case the employee refuses to sign then the employer should send the Termination Letter to the employee by email.
5. The employer should inform the department of labor within 48 hours of the incident with a complete report and the taken actions, this could be done by sending an email just cover the procedure before the court of law.
6. Then in case the employer found that the incident forms a crime he might shelter to the police department.

Not considering or conducting the aforementioned procedures by an employer will deprive him from the protection provided in article 120 of the labor law and he will be compelled to pay (above the employee’s labor entitlements) the NOTICE allowance calculated on the gross salary of the employee.

Employers will certainly ask how can we refund our losses?

This will be the subject of my next article where the Employment Guidelines where I will describe to the employers how to sue their employee and to clam major losses.