I worked for my company for five years in London and was transferred to Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in 2009, but now my employment is being terminated. How will my end of service benefit be calculated? Will the time spent in London be included here? Please note I do not have a contract. For the transfer to DIFC I was simply given an "assignment letter". My attorney says I should receive the end of service benefit for the whole time with my company and not just the time I spent at DIFC. My company's attorney says the opposite. I also have a question about payment for holiday days. If I am paid for half a year of holiday not taken, will this be two weeks of salary payment or simply just 10 days? WH, Dubai
While the DIFC has many of its own rules including DIFC law No 4 of 2005, which relates to employment, most of the details are the same as the main UAE Labour Law. Any end of service gratuity calculation is based on the time worked while in the UAE. The only exception would be if something different had been agreed in writing. In respect of payment in lieu of holiday, Clause 28(2) of DIFC employment law states that “compensation in lieu of holiday leave shall be calculated using the employee’s daily wage applicable on the employee’s last day of employment”. This indicates that it is based in actual days, and assuming WH receives 20 days of holiday he should be paid for 10 of those.
Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with more than 20 years' experience. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com. Follow her on Twitter at @FinancialUAE
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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