In May this year I was involved in an accident out of the UAE while travelling on a work-related matter. I was in hospital for two weeks and had to undergo surgery. I am now recovering in the UK and will return to Dubai to continue my recovery in a few weeks, although it will be a few months before I recover. I have two queries. The first relates to sick pay. How does Article 146 of the UAE Labour Law relate to this as my wages vary from month to month, should my sick pay therefore be based on my last salary? Although I was travelling to a work conference, the accident did not take place in the UAE and therefore I don't think this is classed as a "work related injury", should my sick pay still be based on my last salary? My second query relates to the fact that my company had not taken adequate insurance cover. I will have financial difficulties when my sick pay ends because I am not covered by my company's insurance due to the limitations of the cover taken. Despite the fact that, as employees, we travel to visit all of our clients and therefore are out of the office most of the time, and we also travel abroad on business several times a year, our workers' compensation plan only covers us in the office. Is this something I could take up with the ministry? ND, Dubai
I am sorry to read of your accident and wish you a speedy recovery. Article 146 of UAE Labour Law relates to “labour accidents” which are accidents in the workplace and Article 145 states: “If the injury prevents the employee from carrying out his duties, the employer must pay him a financial subsidy equal to full pay throughout the period of treatment or for a period of six months, whichever is shorter.” As an averaged salary is used to calculate an end of service gratuity where commission formed a regular part of an employee’s income, I would expect this to be the case here too. While this was not strictly a “work-related injury”, Mr D was travelling on company business and thus it is not unreasonable to expect an employer to consider this a work-related issue and deal with it as such. While you might expect an employer to provide decent medical insurance for an employee that travels on business, it is not yet a legal requirement in Dubai, although the law is changing and mandatory medical cover must be provided by employers in stages over the next couple of years. In this case, if the employer is not paying an appropriate financial subsidy, I would suggest taking advice from a lawyer who specialises in employment issues as there may be a case for compensation.
Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with over 20 year’s experience. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek appropriate independent legal advice
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