I work in Abu Dhabi and am thinking of resigning from my job. But before I do, I want to make sure that I receive the full gratuity I am entitled to. I am not 100 per cent sure what has been stated in my contract at the Ministry of Labour, although I believe it states a basic salary of Dh5,000 per month. However, I have a signed employment contract with my employer stating that I would receive monthly commissions based on performance. This is a fixed percentage of all revenue I generate and on average I get paid around Dh12,000 per month – the additional Dh7,000 is from this commission structure. Is this agreement binding and should these commissions be used to form part of my final gratuity settlement? I have been with the company over four years and receive an extra payment every month. NT, Abu Dhabi
The contract lodged with the Ministry of Labour is the one to be considered as legal. However, if an employee can demonstrate they have received a commission payment every month, then this figure must be taken into consideration when calculating the end of service gratuity payment. Any correspondence to this effect will support a case, as will the salary amounts credited to the employee’s bank account each month. When I spoke to the Ministry on this subject, they advised that if commission or bonuses are a regular feature of someone’s pay then they should be treated as salary, with a degree of averaging over the past few months if the amounts vary. This only applies to amounts paid monthly, not to annual bonus payments.
Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with over 20 years of 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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