Collecting a security deposit from employees is illegal.
Shalini from Dubai asks: "I am new in Dubai. I work as a sales personnel, but I want to cancel my visa. I would like to know about the Dh3,000 security deposit which I paid. Is it refundable after the cancellation of my employment visa? Is there any stipulated time to do that since I have just completed four months here. I want to cancel my visa but my owner says the deposit is not refundable. Moreover, he wants me to pay Dh4000. Is this legal?"
First of all, there is nothing called a security deposit that is collected from workers. The Labour Ministry collects Dh3,000 as a bank guarantee for each worker recruited.
This surety is meant to ensure that the worker's payment if the employer fails to meet obligations regularly and on time. This surety must be paid by the employer. Asking workers to pay this is illegal and should be reported to the ministry.
On the other hand, if you signed a job contract for a limited period, you must stay with the employer until the end of the contract. Failure to do so will entail a year?s ban from the Labour Ministry and a compensation to the employer.
If your job contract is of unlimited period, you can resign at any time giving a notice period of at least one month. This period may be increased if mutually agreed upon by the employer and the worker.
In all cases, the employer has no right to ask workers to pay any fees charged by the ministry for recruiting them.
Assiren from Dubai asks: "I will complete five years of service in my company in February. If I resign at the end of that period, can I avail a one-way airfare ticket or not? Secondly, before I signed my contract, my employer asked me to sign a letter in Arabic as a formality. I am now told that I will not get anything if I leave since I have already signed a letter saying I have received all my dues. Is this legal? Is there something I can do?"
Resignation forfeits a worker?s right to an air ticket home at the end of the job contract. With regard to the letter you have signed, it is illegal and not binding on you.
A claim on the part of the employer that a worker has received his end of service benefits can be easily challenged.
You can submit a complaint to the labour department telling its officials that you have signed this letter at the start of the job contract and that the employer has no evidence to support his claim such as a receipt signed by you or a note showing the transfer of the money to your bank account.
An Abu Dhabi reader asks: "If I resign, will I get a six-month ban from the company? And if the company does not release me, will I be able to change over to another company?s visa?"
Without a no objection certificate (NOC), a worker cannot get his/her visa transferred. And if he decides to quit and leave for home, he will not be able to obtain another job visa for at least six months. But during the six-month wait, the worker can come back to the country on any other type of visa except employment.
Jerry Assefa asks: "I'm in Abu Dhabi on a visit visa for 60 days. I want to visit another country during this time. Will I be able to return to Abu Dhabi?"
No, the visit visa ends once the visitor leaves the country.
M. Chahin asks: "I want to know if driving licences issued in France and the UK are accepted in the UAE. For how long?"
Yes, they are recognised for driving in the UAE during a visit. A resident can get either of these licences to be changed to a UAE licence, which is valid for 10 years.
These questions are answered by Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahr Advocates and Legal Consultants.
