Employee Relations Case study

Employee Relations Case study

Ever wondered what it is like to work in a different country form your home? With a sixty percent expatriate working force, the UAE must protect this vital working force (Ministry of Labour UAE, 2020). Various challenges come about with working in a different country. However, there are various laws in host nations and other international agreements that allow for people to offer labor in a foreign land. In the UAE, labor guidelines are offered by the UAE Federal Labour Law (8) of 1980 (Bobker, 2015). The law stipulates federal laws for allowing entry into the UAE for a job and how to acquire job permits. Besides, it further specifies mechanisms for change of employment while in the country and restrictions towards a shift of working station. It provides prosecution guidelines against labor-related offenses while also underlining strict measures to curb employee exploitation (Cherian, 2019). UAE provides an uncompetitive working environment putting in place stringent standards to restrict switching works while in the US.

When doing research, I came across two linked labor questions by an individual to a law firm. Client X, name unstated, works for a company that has been facing a financial crisis. As a result, he has not gotten paid a four months salary. Due to this, he opted to resign from his job position and seek new employment (Cherian, 2019). However, after presenting his written resignation letter, the company did not accept it but later issued him a dismissal letter recalling his contractual agreement where he can never work for any other company doing the same job. Besides, it withheld his four months’ salary. However, after further negotiations, the company retained him and paid him two months’ salary (Cherian, 2019). It then sold to a new owner who dismissed all the employees while keeping their contractual clauses and refused to pay the outstanding salaries of the employees based on the former owner.

Under UAE labor laws, resignation does not require employer consent. The business performs malicious actions against client X and is a violation of the labor laws. Firstly, Client X does not require authorization from the employer to resign (Cherian, 2019).  The termination as under Article 120 of the Labor Law that provides for the termination of an employee’s contract states that an employer must inform the Ministry of Labor any action that leads to the company facing loses within forty-eight hours of the action, without which, it shall desist from all forms of harassment and shall not terminate an employee’s contract without prior approval from the ministry (paragraph C) (Ministry of Labour UAE, 2020). As such, it is illegal for employer A to terminate the employee’s contract without prior authorization from the ministry. Additionally, the resignation of Client X is in line with the law and is therefore valid. Therefore, the client X should have recorded a complaint against Employer X at the Labor ministry to avoid employer filing for an absconder notice against him or her.

Article 126 of Federal Labor Law No 8 of 1980 states where there is a change in the form or status of a business, the contracts of all employees will remain valid as at the time of the change. However, these contracts have to be ongoing and were made before the new change in management occurred (Bobker, 2015). The employment contract does not stop being operational as a result of the change. Besides, both the new employer and the original employer must ensure the comply and discharge or their obligations that arise from the older contract for a minimum period of six months from the day of the change. After the six months or any period agreed by the two employers, the new employer bears all the responsibilities of the initial contract and has the authority to change the terms of the agreements as long as they inform the Ministry of Labor fourteen days before the change (Ministry of Labour UAE, 2020). Thus, employers B and A must work on clearing all the dues of the employee for the first six months. Therefore, it is illegal for both employees to refuse to pay Client X his dues. Secondly, employer B cannot dismiss the employees before giving notice to the Ministry of Labor. Besides, employer b must wait for six months before having any sole jurisdiction over the contracts of the employee.

Finally, it would have been impossible for employer B to implement the Non-competition clause of Client X’s contract. Section 8 of the Labor laws provide the employee must abscond from work for fourteen days before the provision becomes effective (Khaleej Times, 2017). Assuming that the dismissal is valid and the file for the cause of loss is sufficient, the employer loses all legal jurisdiction against the client, and all authority goes to the Ministry of Labor. Thus, nullifying the employer’s bid to recall the competition clause (Cherian, 2019). Besides, a dismissal means that the employer forfeits all their legal authority over an employee’s contract unless there is a severe breach of contract such as absconding.

While competition laws and other laws make it unconducive to work in the UAE, there are many laws that protect the employees’ interest. Besides, all national labor laws must conform t internationally agreed labor standards. UAE strives to ensure that human welfare is put above its companies by protecting the welfare of those employed by companies operating in the UAE. However, there are still minor cases of conflict of interest between these companies and foreign employees.