How to file an employment court case in the UAE.

 

An article in a negotiated format covering the subject of an employment court case in the UAE. This is according to an official podcast by lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, founder of Lawgical and LLYLAW.

How to file an employment court case in the UAE.

Tim Elliot: Welcome to Lawgical, the first UAE legal podcast, coming to you from Dubai-based law firm, HPL Lova & Plewka. My name is Tim Elliot. In the current era of COVID we are socially isolated from JLT, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, in the company's offices. I am sitting in relation to the Managing Partner of this company, Ludmila Yamalova. Good to see you.

Ludmila Yamalova: Nice to see you.

Tim Elliot: In this version of Lawgical: How to file a labor court case in the UAE. Ludmila, let’s get started, and this is a myth, and I’ll let you shed some light on this, but let’s start with the reasons why you might want to file a recruitment lawsuit at the Emirates.

Ludmila Yamalova: There is a whole series of reasons why you might want to file a labor lawsuit.

1. You are not paid your salary. As basic as it may sound there are so many cases like that.

2. You are cut off and you do not know why you are being cut off. Maybe you don’t want to be terminated, and more importantly, you want to be paid for termination and maybe you believe that your right to termination should be much greater than what is offered.

3. You want to move on, for example, to different jobs, and your company does not cancel your visa.

4. You work for a company, and provide services, but your visa expires, the advertisement does not renew your visa.

5. Or, for example, you were unfairly terminated, and as a rule, you want to prove that the company is wrong that you were not terminated for good reason. There are so many reasons why people file charges, but in the end, at the end of the day, it all depends on the money.

Tim Elliot: If you feel guilty about a crime, where do you start?

Ludmila Yamalova: Yes, the first number, the important thing to remember is that in the UAE employment cases, there is a so-called - official name - limit law. The limit rule is the time when you can file an employment case. In the UAE the law is limited to one year. It has been one year since your cause of action appeared. For example, if you were dismissed on January 1, 2021, the latest filing of your employment case would be December 31, 2021. It is important to remember that.

Now, in most cases the date when the cause of the action emerged is not so clear because someone, for example, may want to argue that they are entitled to receive bonuses and bonuses had to be made maybe two years earlier, so the calculation of the limit law is not always as clear as one might think. But somehow, whatever you think, at the end of the day, if you are terminated on a certain day, and for example, you were supposed to get your rights within three months, then pay those rights within those three months, and your limitation law comes into effect from January 1, 2021, but you start working from a time when you have not been paid your rights, which is three months later.

These are just a few examples of the many factors that go into the calculation of boundaries. That's the first number, point to a timeline and make sure you're working within this particular prospect.

The second number is before you can file a lawsuit anywhere in the UAE, for the most part, perhaps without the authority of the DIFC, you will first need to file an application or claim with certain licensing authorities that oversee or control the company in which you have been operating. For example, if it is in a free area, it will be in that particular free space. If it was under the Department of Economic Development or the continent, it would be under the Department of Labor and Sustainability, or the Department of Labor, which was previously known.

This means that whenever you have an argument, you can't just go to court. You must first submit your application to one of those authorities. Let's call it the Department of Labor or the free agency. Then submit your complaint to them, and after the appeal, they arrange for a so-called mediation. Now, meditation, which is important, is a mandatory step in this process, but it is not obligatory in the sense that it is not that the arbitration authority has the power to force the parties to settle, or to force the parties to arbitrate, or to force the parties to even go. While it is a mandatory step in this process, it is not a requirement for any party to come.

If the parties do not come to mediation, mediation will eventually be considered a failure. Therefore, if the mediation fails, you will need to apply to the relevant authorities or to the Department of Labor, NOC, or a certificate of refusal, or a referral letter. Only then, with that letter of appeal, can you now consider filing a lawsuit in court. Now, most importantly, if you are from a free location, and your transfer letter is from a free location, before you can file a legal case, you need to transfer that transfer or NOC to the labour lawyers in Dubai. courts or the Department of Labor.

It is more than just an administrative action, but it is important that you finally take a letter from the free area and make sure that the book, the contents of that letter, are now published in the Department of Labor template. That's important because that's the technical law or requirement in the UAE process, and if you don't do that the case can be dismissed, even in the final stage.

Tim Elliot: Suppose you're in this situation. You have filed a complaint. What kind of documents and / or evidence are acceptable and should be presented?

Ludmila Yamalova: None

For the purpose of lodging a complaint with the licensing authority or the Department of Labor, you are required to submit your employment contract and in most cases all employees who are properly licensed and duly registered with those authorities, the authorities have all other documents, and that is, the employment contract is already registered with them.

But in addition, payslips, any other type of document that may not be registered or filed with the authorities as part of the work, such as bonuses, or grants, or any other documents you may eventually need to rely on in trying to prove or disprove your case, are usually financially viable. then any other documents that may indicate that you are entitled to receive any amount you claim.

For the purpose of licensing authorities, you do not need to translate them, and that is for mediation purposes. Therefore, when you go to arbitration, you file with the licensees, you do not need to translate them. You just bring those documents, and again, remember that the other party does not need to appear. But when you are ready to go to court, then you will need to collect all those documents and officially translate them into Arabic. This is very important because in local courts, all trials are written in Arabic and all legal documents are required to be officially translated into Arabic. Remember, it is not just an Arabic translation. There must be an official translator stamp attached to all documents.

Now, it is important and as part of the document, you need to submit any other possible documents. WhatsApp letters, for example, email letters, all those UAE documents these days are proof of validity. Therefore, if you want to rely on any of these documents, know that they are acceptable and make sure you have them in a formal translation before applying for authorization. These are texts. But the first step in filing a case is to file a so-called Claim Statement. Claim Statement is a simple form where you finally put your claim. These documents are also attached to the Claim Statement to support your disputes.

Regarding the format of how to install, there are two ways to do it. (1) You can go to the so-called Typing Center or Al Adheed for all mills, and submit your application at that typing center. (2) One way to do this is through an online site. Particularly in the light of COVID-19, the UAE and the Wise Government have worked hard to move forward in terms of their development, so far more court services, as well as other government services, are now available online, including court litigation. You need to follow a certain procedure. You need the Emirates ID and many other documents to be able to log in online, but you can do it through a typing center or via an online portal.

Tim Elliot: Let's talk about money. What about fees? What is associated with filing a claim?

Ludmila Yamalova: Yes. If your claim is less than 100,000 dirhams, which is about $ 30,000, and you are a sued employee, that certain court fee is deducted. If you are a company and filing a file against your work, even if it is less than 100,000 dirhams, you still have to pay 5% of the claim amount. That is the amount you have to pay in the Court of First Instance. In the UAE, we have three court categories.

1. The Court of First Instance.

2. The Court of Appeal.

3. The Court of Cassation.

In the Court of First Instance, you pay 5%, and then any claims less than 50,000 dirhams can actually be referred. Then if you want, especially if you have a request to say 100 000 dirhams, then in the Court of Appeal you have to pay 2.5% of the claim. So, as you go up the stairs, then the money becomes less in terms of court fees. In addition to court fees, you also need to allocate a certain amount of official translation, but also a court specialist. In most cases, or in most cases, employment cases, in particular, the courts appoint what is called a court expert. Court professionals can charge anywhere between 5,000 dirhams to 15,000 dirhams. This is important to keep in mind when budgeting for your employment costs.

Tim Elliot: The juror is walking on water, figuratively speaking, I think? Do they lead you in the process?

Ludmila Yamalova: Criminal experts are a unique concept in the UAE judicial system. In the end, if you like, you are like a court clerk helping a judge pass, let's say in the case of an employment case, the money and the facts of the case in review. Suppose in the case of claims for compensation and bonuses, they would review financial statements, bank statements, payslips, various letters, including donation letters, bonus letters, etc., and specify, for example, that yes, when it was a bonus arrangement, and yes, there was a bonus paid. and the bonus was made for this amount, therefore, that particular bonus now needs to be included in the total compensation.

Tim Elliot: Two questions that — if you're going to finish. Suppose you win. How can you enforce judgment and get what you deserve? What if you are not successful, how do you file a complaint?

 

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