What are your rights if you are made redundant?

“The concept of redundancy is not recognised under the Labour law” says Stuart Curtis Group managing director of Links Group, a specialist in company formation in the Middle East. Curtis advises that you make sure you read and understand your employment contract before you sign, as contracts in Dubai can be extremely complicated, and hold the key to such questions. Typically, an employer is expected to pay upto three months salary to an employee on a fixed term contract if s/he is fired “without good reason”, or is liable for payment of compensation to the employee for the remaining period of the contract, whichever is shorter. But your contract may say otherwise.

What if they don’t pay up ?

You need to complain first to the Ministry of Labour or the relevant free zone authority and try for an amicable resolution out of court. If that doesn’t work, you get referred to the Labour Court, which can give a judgement against the employer.

How easy is it to sue ?

You have one year from the ‘alleged breach of contract’ to raise a complaint. In reality, Mr Curtis says: “it can take months to obtain an outcome.”

Shelley Wren, who has spent years running and owning businesses out of the UAE around wealth management says: “To sue in this country is a complete nightmare.”

Wren says it’s particularly difficult to sue if you’re an expat. “For the most part the courts do not want to get involved in expat disputes,” she alleges. This is particularly the case if you’re trying to sue a UAE national.

In most cases, Wren says success will depend on Wasta (which is defined as ‘clout’ or ‘who you know’) and contacts. “Many people here have been tied up in the courts for years with local issues unresolved and prolonged with no judicial sense whatsoever,” she says.

Can a previous employer impose strict off-limits/non-compete clauses?

If you lose your job in Dubai, you’re likely to be looking at a six-month ban. If you have worked for an employer for less than a year and lose your job, there is an automatic six-month employment ban imposed by the Ministry of Labour. This is also true if you have worked for less than three years. In both cases the ban can (in theory) be avoided if the employer is willing to provide you with a ‘no-objection certificate’ (NOC).

What are your rights on staying on in the UAE after being made redundant?

You need a valid visa to stay, and the immigration regulations say employers must cancel your visa within 30 days of letting you go. After that, you have another 30 days to leave the country, or find a new job with a new sponsor.

What are the key differences in redundancy allowances if you are based in DIFC?

Again, there is no concept of “redundancy” here and so no payment is due – unless the employer makes one out of goodwill. You might be entitled to “arbitrary dismissal compensation of up to three months salary. Curtis says: “Whether a goodwill payment for the redundancy is made by a DIFC employer to an employee will depend upon the employer as well as on whether an amount had been contractually agreed on.”

One banker who was “retired” in Dubai a few years ago and still works elsewhere in the Middle East says: “The bottom line on your rights is, assume you have none and be pleasantly surprised if you find you actually do.”