My company has not paid us our April and May salary yet. This firm comprises over 4,000 staff and, to fulfil the Wages Protection System requirement, they cover 80 per cent of the staff's basic salary – that mainly covers the low salaried employees. That too is only the basic salary; no allowances or overtime are paid. What legal action should we take in such a scenario? We have no information as to when the pending salaries will be released. HM, Dubai
It is really not fair for a company to not pay employees in a timely manner. The WPS, which was introduced in 2009, is an electronic wages transfer system which permits the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation to monitor the payment of wages and identify and penalise companies that do not meet their obligations.
In October 2016, this was backed up by a ministerial decree. The provisions of this decree include the following: “An employer shall be deemed as late in paying wages if the wage is not paid to the employee within 10 days of the due date; and an employer shall be deemed as refusing to pay wages if the wage is not paid to the employee within one month of the due date (unless a shorter term is provided for in the contract).This decree sets out rules that are much stricter than before and there will be far stiffer consequences for employers who do not pay their staff within 10 days of the due date. A company will initially receive a warning, then they will not be granted any new visas, and the ministry can even use the employer’s bank guarantee. In such cases it is important the employees contact the ministry to advise them of delays. Employees can go to their local labour office or call the helpline, 800 665.
I have a question on an agreement for indebtedness. Recently my brother divorced and agreed to pay Dh200,000 to his ex-wife. He then lost his job and went back to India. He is facing a financial crisis and has promised to settle soon. Now I am being threatened by his ex-wife that she will take legal action against me if he delays repayment. My question is whether I am liable for his default. Although we are blood related, I am no way involved in the money he borrowed. As per UAE law, can the defendant take legal action against a person who is not involved in a debt agreement? Also can I take legal action against her if she troubles me? AS, Dubai
The agreement that AS’s brother has with his ex-wife is a private arrangement and is not the legal responsibility of any third party, even if they are a close relation. This would only be the case if the person was a joint signatory or a guarantor on a debt or agreement. In theory, if AS is genuinely being harassed he could make a police case for it but there would have to be strong grounds for this and there is little to be gained by such action.
Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser and senior partner with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with over 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
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