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Thanks for the feedback; some good questions and hopefully I can provide some of the answers or a little more insight at least:

1. Normally this issue is never covered in an interview as most new employees have no idea that two types of contract even exist. A company will normally make use of a specific type of contract and not mix them amongst employees. The Limited term contract is a real bas..rd, and is commonly used by construction companies, labour broking companies etc (in my view associated with companies who don’t see their employees as anything other than labour). It is heavily slanted in favour of the Employer, and offers very little to the Employee – it is extremely punitive in nature (towards the employee) with regards to breaking the contract period early. There is nothing wrong with asking an employer this at an interview, in any case you have to sign the final contract and will see it printed on the document at that time. Simply asking the question will alert and interviewer to the fact that you have done some research.

2. The “1 year minimum work rule” is imposed by the Labour Law of the UAE, this applies to positions within the UAE and Emirate of Dubai, but is not mandatory in the Free Zones. I have to qualify this last section though, as pointed out each FZ is independently operated and as such can institute whatever regulations or restrictions it may see fit – independently of the UAE Labour Law.

3. Interesting one. I’m afraid I can’t really offer much advice there as I have never encountered this before. However, under the UAE Labour Law (which they may use as a guideline in an odd situation), an employee may move freely (and without Ban) from one company to another as long as the sponsor of the companies is the same. Example Mr. Ali X owns two company’s XYZ Paints and TQR Textiles; employee of either of these businesses can be transferred freely without a ban as long as Mr. Ali X agrees to the transfer.

4. No, there is “1 year minimum work rule” NORMALLY in any of the Free Zones. I would however advise checking with the FZ Authority Offices prior to making any rash decisions.

5. Haha… okay; technically no, they can’t do anything, practically though is another story. As an example I had the exact situation for someone I was helping about 2 months back. Offer from new employer in the same FZ, so he went off to get his papers done only to find that the sponsor of the company he was leaving and the Director of the FZ Authority in which he worked were big mates. They declined his transfer and forced him out of the FZ. He was however lucky enough to find another position in another FZ and moved to that.

6. As all the Labour and Residency issues and procedures of FZ an employee is handled by that FZ Authority, the transfer process is affected by them as well – Transferring within the same FZ would require them to draw the folders of both companies and transfer the employer if the conditions are met. With respect to the last section I mean some companies pay more so can have larger staff compliments than others, they obviously won’t allow you to transfer to another company unless the new company had space on their labour card (quota) for you.

7. Basically yes. For example you are employed with the labour designation (on your labour card) as Architect. If you meet all the other conditions for transfer you may only transfer to a new job with the same labour category “Architect”, you cannot transfer as a “Site supervisor”, “Office manager”, “Building inspector” etc… Then again as many things in the UAE it is only a designation on your labour card and does not necessarily mean that you perform those duties in real life! It may have bearing though if they were to re-introduce the old Labour category Ban system. Here only certain labour categories (Such as Doctor, Engineer etc) were exempt from the ban. This applies only to jobs in the UAE; I don’t think category transfers are of any consequence in FZ’s.

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1) Interesting, so theoretically speaking, the FZ could put in a minimum 5-year work length just as easily as it could impose no such rule at all? So even in the case their minimum length is less than the UAE’s 1 year, am I correct in thinking that one could hypothetically leave the job after a day and get other employment outside the FZ without an NOC and not get banned?

Yes, they are free to change the regulations to suit themselves or the requirements of the companies within the FZ. As to the second part of the question, as I stated before this depends entirely on the FZ that you are working in.


2) For your contact who got forced out of an FZ but was able to find something else, does that mean he was working in an FZ with no minimum required length of employment or that he’d already met the 1-year minimum? Because otherwise, if he didn’t meet the 1-year requirement in your list would’ve meant he’d have to leave Dubai for 6 months, right?


Exactly, he moved from an FZ that does not ban to a FZ that does not required a NOC.


3) So the most an FZ can do in the absence of you doing something really wrong is to stop you from transferring to another company within the FZ (and perhaps affiliated FZs) – they can’t ban you from the rest of Dubai, right?

Again, this depends on the reguation of the specific FZ. They have to provide a transfer aiuthority letter - think of the FZ as just another employer, but they are able to bend the rules slightly.

4) I’m trying to understand the significance of the probationary period in Dubai. Are companies required to have probationary periods, whether within an FZ or not? Is the probationary period length completely up to the company or is this guided in some way by law? For FZ companies, is the probationary period up to the FZ authority or the company itself?

probation is mandated by law, not less than 3 months and not more than 6 months. FZ's have different rules according to each FZ, there is not FZ "general rule". When working in the UAE (non- FZ employment), as an employee you have basically no rights or entitlements while working out your probation period. If your contract is terminated during the probation period you are banned for 6 months as per the labour ban regulation (minimum of 1 year employment not being met).


5) So what actually changes after you’ve finished your probationary period with a company (in terms of how it relates to bans, as well as any other things that change)?

No change, you only start to accumilate entitlements after your probation (leave etc.) If you have worked out a probation period of 6 months and then completed another 5 months and decied to move you can still be banned as you have not complied with the minimum 1 year employment stipulation.[/b]

hello i worked there in dubai starting december 03,2008 as a babysitter then bacause of unexpected problem in my country i decided to go home last january 30, 2009 i have no labour card or residence visa bacause i have not yet having a medical so my visa only is the one i bring from the philippines before i go here not renew anymore by my employer....so the labour office put on my passport a sticker with a print of cancelation of visa put on the date of entry on my passport in dubai. my employer told me that i can go back there in dubai if i want but the question is they said if i have a cancelation sticker on my pasport i cannot have a work there in dubai for 6 months. i don't want to go back to my previous employer i want to go there with another job CAN I ?? HOW?

how to lift a cancelation of visa ??

sweet29 wrote:how to lift a cancelation of visa ??

it sounds like they were processing the application and then aborted it. in this instance the 6 month labour ban will still be in effect. according to law you can enter the country again straight away on a visit visa, but will not be allowed to process a labour application for 6 months - around 30 August as the ban is for 6 months from date of cancellation.

As per the UAE Labour law, who should pay the ban lifting fee, the employee or the new employer?

Please note: There is no longer anything such as a "ban lifting fee", this went out about 4 years ago. As it stands there is no such fee, hence it is not covered by the Labour Law.

Actually it was never covered by the Labour Law in the first place, but was simply a local (Dubai) deviation to the National Law

I moved from a Dubai company to Sharjah company and had to pay AED4,000 as my part of the expenses incurred for my visa transfer which cost them over AED15,000 as I only finished 4 months with the Dubai company. The AED4,000 I paid they said is for my ban lifting fee. Now, the Sharjah company is terminating my contract due to redundancy (after 10 months of working). Do I have a reason to complain them to the ministry?

this was originally over a year ago, at least 14 months according to the figures you provided. the "lifting fee" which you talk about does not officially exist, what may have actually happened was that you had paid to "grease the wheels of government" - atually a bribe to someone for pulling a few strings.

unfortunately, many are in a similar situation as yours - because of the reccesionary climate. i have heard that there may be a change in rules in the next few weeks to extend the one month grace period (between termination of the labour contract and leaving the country) to a three month period in order to allow people to look for other work. just a rumour at this stage, but i think that the government has realised that there is a serious situation and that they need to make some kind of arrangments to hold onto what labour force the country can afford to.

with regards to legality.. well retrenchment is not covered in the labour law as it has never been experienced in such large number before. you could call them and ask - as i have seen no written notifications covering this form of "termination" in the local press.

I've been working for my employer for a year now but my residency visa was only done a week ago. I never intended on staying more than a year and the innitial (verbal) agreement was according to that. The company has been taken over by new shareholders and mangement and my residency is valid for three years from end of March.

I want to leave in July, but as the company paid a huge fine to get my residency done they want me to pay this back to them if i leave before three years!!!

I was thinking about just going on leave an not returning to avoid these costs... but I am scared that I might not be able to fly to other destinations via Dubai if the ban of blacklist me.

What would be my best option? Will i be able to fly via Dubai if I'm banned or blacklisted?

Sorry about the long delay in replying.

Firstly your company cannot hold you liable for a fine for which they were ultimately responsible. they should have had your residency and labor card processed within 60 days of you starting your job. that is the law.

Verbal agreements are not worth anything and cannot be contested in any uae court; all contracts have to be completed by both parties in Arabic to be legally binding.

What type of contract are you issued woth? limited or un-limited, it will state this on the official copy of your labor contract (dual Arabic/ English document).

Breaking a limited contract can incur you a 45 day salary fine. as you have a relatively new contract (again check the contract terms), but you will find that if your contract was only issued (officially) two weeks ago that you still fall within the probation period of the contract (mandatory 3 month period); this means you can actually walk out of your job tomorrow if you like - same applies to the employer he can terminate you within this period without any reason. This is irrespective of if you have worked for them for a year, the previous work experience is not recognized (is actually illegal) as it was not under any form of formal labor contract.

Lastly, if you were to get permanently banned from the uae or Dubai, it would not impinge your ability to pass through Dubai airport as a transit passenger - as you effectively do not clear customs and immigration (in transit). You would probably be able to also on a short (96 hour) transit visa as you do not have to be retina-scanned for this.
Taking another job here would be a different story though. Note, I said permanently banned, this is normally a punishment reserved for criminals or people who have absconded from their employer in the past.

Normally the worst would be a 12 month ban from working for breaking a limited contract or a 6 month ban for terminating an unlimited contract. At the moment there is no residency ban (unless for the reasons stated above - criminal etc.)

My sister worked at an property developers company in Dubai and left her employment in early January after 18 months with them. She gave them the correct notice that she was leaving.

Our brother was very ill in the US and my sister repeatedly asked the company to sort out her severance etc, which they did not do. In the end she took the first plane she could and got out because our brother was due an operation the next day. For the previous 4 months the company had not paid the staff properly and was owing money to lots of people.

My sister has checked her work permit status online and has found that it is still active, even after 4 months of her being out of the company and the country. Is a company supposed to notify the authorities when a employee leaves and will they be in trouble for leaving this for so long? Also if they do ban her, will it now be from when her employers cancel her work permit or from when she left the country?

My sister has now been offered another job in Dubai but is worried about the implications. Her old and new company are both in free zones. She has a catalogue of emails to support her case where she consistently told her company about our brother having heart surgery and asking them to honour their commitment towards her so she could leave the country. My sister herself was suffering from bad health previous to her leaving the country.

I believe her employers have severe financial problems and have certainly let a lot of staff go. In fact the property company my sister was working for is now in the hands of another company with most original staff being made redundant. She is on a 3 year unlimited contract.

Do you think that there is any way that my sister will be allowed to work in Dubai again without the 6 months ban? She has all the emails from her employers which can prove the way she was treated. They still owe her money and as you can imagine she was in a terrible state when she left the country. Also they had given her notice to quit her room which means she would have been homeless and without money. Even when told about our brother's heart surgery, her employers did nothing to hurry things up and my sister formed the opinion that she would end up destitute in Dubai. All these mitigating circumstances led to her leaving without cancelling her papers.

We have recently read that the Labour Ministry is reviewing the 6 months ban. Do you think in the light of the circumstances, my sister may be able to bypass the 6 months ban and be able to work at this new company?

I have tried to phone the Labour Ministry as I live in Abu Dhabi but cannot get through. I don't know if her old employer will give a NOL as they are very petty minded. If this is needed would it be best to ask her prospective employer to approach the old company?

We urgently need your advice please as the job offer is on the table and they will not wait forever. Thank you. Michelle

Sorry to hear about your brother .

The labour laws don't apply in the same way in free zones. Try and contact the office handling visa processing in the free zone where you were working.

If your sister's old and new job are in the same free zone then it should be straightforward to change jobs since the sponsor is the same. If different free zones then it depends on the free zone rules.

A 3 year "unlimited" contract doesn't make sense It should be unlimited or 3 year limited? If unlimited then she might be able to avoid a ban but she needs the NOC so if you think it helps, then maybe get new company to talk to old company.

If your sister is registered as absconding by the company, then it will be more problematic for her (can result in a permanent ban). She needs to resign or be terminated and have work permit cancelled. The company doesn't impose a ban, the Labour Department does, and it's automatic unless an exemption applies. Starts from when work permit is cancelled.

Non-payment of salary is grounds for resigning and filing a case with the labour department (except with a free zone you should file a complaint there first I think).

A review of the 6 month ban could happen tomorrow ... or next month ... or never. Don't count on it.

The labour ministry can review special cases so you could try visiting them and explaining the situation but I don't really have any idea how responsive they're likely to be. If the old company has been taken over by a new company, that is probably the factor that will be most significant in avoiding a ban.

Thank you Bonk for your very swift response.

Unfortunately the two companies are in different free zones.

The contract is for 3 years so must be a 3 year limited contract?

If my sister's old employer had reported her as 'absconding' would that not be registered under her status on the Labour Ministry website? She did abscond but had very good reason for doing so. This was only after giving notice in the correct way and them delaying paying her, after months of not paying on time. She was very worried about giving her passport over to these people as they have form for not paying properly. She felt she would be trapped, homeless and penniless in Dubai if she had done so. In fact at one stage she did not have money to pay for her medication. They knew that our brother was due to have heart surgery and still did not honour their commitment to her and deal with her thus enabling her to leave the country on time to get to our brother in the US.

Is there any way of checking her status without her having to re-enter Dubai first as she is worried about doing so?

The contract is with a company which is now practically dormant, most of the staff have gone and the company has been taken over by another operating property developer.

Thank you so much for your help. Michelle.

1. Sounds like 3 year limited contract then, yes.
2. Erm, I guess. I don't know enough about the website to say.
3. Contact the Dubai immigration department and/or Ministry of Labour. They both have helplines you can try, or visit them. Bring whatever relevant documents you have.

I really Don't know nothing about the albour law's in Dubai!!.... the only thing i knew that our Vist Visa change's to resident Visa n then you're free to live for 3 year's!!....... Thank's i should Understand what's going on with labour Law!!................

my (3 year)labour card is finishing on 23 of may 09. now i got a better offer. this is my first contract and it is unlimited. i will not get noc. i supposed to get a 6 months working ban. Can i remove this ? if yes how ?
please give me an immediate reply.

Ohh!!.. I think You Can't remove staying in Dubai!...... for that You have to Leave from for 6th Month's right!!.. anyway As I don't know Much about it Perhaps I'm wrong!...... Congrate's for New Offer!!.........

I accepted a job offer with a Dubai company and recently started working for a couple of days when I got another offer from a different company. I am seriously considering transferring, but I am not sure if this is possible. For professional reasons, the new offer is more suitable to my interest and qualifications.

I have an employment visa (converted from tourist visa), but no residence visa stamp on passport and labor card yet. I haven't even gone through medical yet as I just started working 4 days ago. My boss says he will issue me a NOC, should I decide to resign and join the other company so long as I pay the necessary fees the company paid for my visa processing. As I don't have the residence visa stamp on passport, labor card and haven't gone through medical, our PRO said I will pay approx AED 3000 only. The new company confirmed they will pay visa transfer fees.

My questions are:
1. Will the NOC issuance by my current employer suffice to avoid any employment ban?
2. Our PRO initially said I would have to pay AED 14 000 for all the fees they paid for my visa. Since he quoted that amount in front of my boss, I think my boss wanted to scare and deter me from resigning. When I spoke to the PRO alone, he quoted approx AED 3000. Does anybody have an idea about how much I really have to pay? I am 4 days into my new job and I am on an unlimited contract/offer letter.
3. I hear about the AED 500 payment per month for every month you didn't complete in a year. Is this part of the visa transfer cost? The new potential employer advised they will pay all visa transfer fees.

HELP pls. I am totally confused with the various things I hear and read about. I need to come up with a final decision ASAP.

Regarding the banning facts, there is some information not specified:

1. if on a Limited contract, can a person resign while on probation- ( does this constitute breaking the law?; or would this be regarding flouting the law once the probation period is over.

I have just signed up on a limited contract having spent 3 months out in the cold from retrenchment; I am joining an employer out of need and not choice and given the option i intend to quit within 6 months should a good offer surface from somewhere.

I simply wanted to know my legal limits.

1. ( CLARIFY if resigning for valid reasons within the probation period would constitute a breach of country`s labor law.

is there any way to circumvent the immigration ban imposed by the government for Limited contracts?;
if the govt acts unilaterally in imposing this hedious law then why have 2 sets of laws in the name of limited and un-limited contracts ?.

I got laid off from a semi-govt company and ive been forced to settle for a new employer who is only keen on providing a Limited contract; Given a choice, i wouldnt work for more than a year with this employer but im forced to do so in the light of the economic situation all around Dubai; Offers arent that forthcoming as they used to.

I intend to deliberately resign within my probation period but my contract doesnt explicitly say if i have the liberty to do so within the probation period; Id like to know if the immigration ban would be applied incase i received an alternative job offer within a probation eriod. What would happen, incase i informed my employer by amicably resigning and refunding cash as required by law ?.

Can you shed light on this specific issue?.

yes, unfortunatley, the ban is extended to persons while still under probation - in my opinion one of the most unfair of labour practices.

on a limited contract this would even be worse as you have to work out the full contract duration to avoid being banned.

the ban would be imposed irrispective of what ever guarentees a currnet employer offers, the ban is effected by the labour ministry and not by the employer.

trekker wrote:Regarding the banning facts, there is some information not specified:

1. if on a Limited contract, can a person resign while on probation- ( does this constitute breaking the law?; or would this be regarding flouting the law once the probation period is over.

I have just signed up on a limited contract having spent 3 months out in the cold from retrenchment; I am joining an employer out of need and not choice and given the option i intend to quit within 6 months should a good offer surface from somewhere.

I simply wanted to know my legal limits.

1. ( CLARIFY if resigning for valid reasons within the probation period would constitute a breach of country`s labor law.

regarding Un-limited and limited contracts in the U.A.E in general, ( excluding the freezones), can i presume the labour law is uniform regarding this matters in whichever emirate. Kindly confirm.

yes, excluding the FZ's.
The Law is a Federal Law and covers all emirates

I used to work in a freezone. After 7 months, my employer terminated me due to the economic recession.

1. I understand that if I transfer to another company within the freezone, there is no ban. However, if i transfer to a company outside the freezone, will i be banned considering I was only employed for 7 months? do I need to get FZ NOC?

2. Should I consider myself a permanent employee at the time of my termination even though my company did not officially inform me that my probationary period was over? (max limit for probationary period is 6 months while I was terminated on the 7th month).

3. Is the non-competition agreement valid within the freezone?, I signed a non-competition agreement with my previous employer. However, since in a freezone, the true sponsor is the freezone authority and not the employer, will the non-competition agreement prevent me from transferring to a competitor within the freezone?

thanks

dbxsoul wrote:

asha12 wrote:If i am employed in dubai and i am removed from my job by the employer within the probation period of three months(for whatever reasons) then do i need a NOC to get another job ? ..... Please advice. Thanks .. Also what are the chances of getting a job in dubai after being removed from a company during the probation period

Unfortunately, if your contract is terminated during your probation period the chances are almost 100% that you will be banned. You will not be able to meet the criteria necessary to avoid the ban. Your only option is to visit the Department of Labour and ask them to remove the ban; however the chances are very slim to non-existent on this happening.

1. Depends on whether you transfer to another FZ, government job, or private sector outside FZ. Get an NOC to be safe.
2. Yes.
3. Depends on the terms of the agreement you signed. Probably yes.

Dear dbxsoul,

you are doing very good efforts helping people,

My Query is, rite now i am working in FZ in DIC, from last 8 months, i want to leave my job i got offer from another company in same Freezone, but in DMC, different Business nature, rite now i am on Notice period of 1 month, in my contract it was written if i leave the job before 18 months i have to pay them training cost, also they are not transfering my visa asking me company name and bala bala, they even dont give salary on time, also working hours are so long.

in my notice period they are saying to complete projects putting me so much work load, i am unable to work here, can you please tell me what are my legal boundaries? also please help me if my visa is cancelled in same FZ, will i be banned, because my new employer in same FZ will apply for my new visa.

there is nothing written in my contract regarding limited or unlimited.

Your help will be grateful

looking for your response

I worked for 22 months with my employer and then due to personal problem i resigned and came back. Comapny put 1 year ban on me which will b over in mid of september, now i few days back i got an offer to work with the same employer again. i accepted the offer. Its more than one month now, my ban has not been lifted up yet. I asked from my company n they told me as ban was imposed by them, and they are lifting it so it will take more than usual time. Can you please tell me how much time it will take..............are there any issues or complications in removing ban and getting visa to work for same employer again.