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Can anyone please advise?

I have been tied up in Court action against my former employer since March who owes myself (and numerous other employees) over 5 months salary.

Apart from initially not turning up to the Labor office appointments (thereby wasting a month or so in the process), and various other "delaying tactics" such as not turning up to the first 2/3 court hearings, we are finally expecting a court judgement at the end of this month.

Unfortunately, I also know of other staff members who went to court (and won) and the Judge ordered the employer to pay them over several installments but they have not honored any of those payments.
For others, he made agreements with them and the Labor office to make regular payments but they too have received nothing.

As you may have already guessed from my ID, the owner is from SA and has "scurried" off home to Jo'burg leaving a wake of struggling employees and their families behind him. The office here is left unstaffed and locked but technically still trading. I understand that the only remaining staff member in Dubai is a (non equity) Director working from home.

Questions;
If we win, can they simply declare bankruptcy here? I hear so many conflicting stories? If so how would it work?

If he has shipped home all the furniture/ computer equipment to SA whilst the case has been ongoing I assume that this will be classed as him having committed a criminal/ fraudulent act (but only in the UAE juristiction?)

If so, can we bring a seperate civil court action against them in SA? If you are a Bok with a knowledge of SA law (and saddened/ disappointed by the questionable scruples of one of your countrymen) I would really appreciate any help!

I also hear rumors of the UAE initiating agreements with various other countries to chase debtors who "do a runner". Can anyone substantiate that?

Thank you

No such thing as bankruptcy here; he will be jailed until he pays off any amounts outstanding. The only way he escapes this is if he flies off before he is placed on a blacklisted (which is sent to all the border stations throughout the UAE)

As for 'runners'; it would have to be a pretty big amount to actually bring you back from your country; and it has to be an offence punishable by prison time in your own country: so while this may be applicable to some places, not all countries will be happy to hand over a citizen of theirs to the UAE to do jail time for not honouring a financial obligation.

Thank you Monmoe

Would the jail time also apply to a director of the company if he is the last remaining member of staff in the country?

Does the sponsor become financially responsible in his capacity as a 51% partner?

Regards

StungbyaBok

the sponsor becomes responsible as well as the director. There are many directors in dubai so the title is worthless but every company MUST have a manager registered officially and if that director is the registered manager, than thats the person who would be jailed. if the person registered as manager did a runner and is out of the country, then the sponsor would get in shit (but the sponsor can always get out of it )

Well I don't even think it has to be huge amounts before people come after you these days. As I have written before I know of several people who did runners owing money and debt collectors have been sent after them, they're had travel bans put on them world wide to basically they are screwed.

It'll catch up with him the end, but in the interim it doesn't really help you guys.

Monymoe/ Chocoholic

Thanks for your postings.

Slightly concerned by Monymoes comments about a registered manager being potentially the one to get arrested and not the director.
Especially as I was the former CEO, and therefore might be considered by some to be the "manager" given that I also had POA but I was not officially registered as such with the municipality(nor was I a director and had no equity stake)

As for Chocoholics comments about being able to impose a"world-wide travel ban" I certainly would welcome being directed to those examples you say you have previously written about.

Who actually has the power to impose such a ban and how?

StungbyaBok

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