Employer and Employee Rights and Duties Term Paper

Rights of the employees and employers in the UAE

This paper is divided into two parts: art one highlights the responsibilities and rights of the employers working within the UAE; the second part highlights the rights of the employees, including expatriates, working within the UAE.

Employer Rights and Duties

Prevalence of Arabic

In all sorts of records, contracts, files, statements and documents Arabic language will be used and its use will also be compulsory for the instructions and the circulars used in the organization by the employer to the employees and if in any case there is any sort of foreign language prevailing then Arabic shall prevail over all the other texts (Labor Law, 2001).

ARTICLE (4) - Amounts payable

The amount paid to the employees or any of hidden beneficiaries under the law shall be based on the value of the movable and immovable property and items of the employers. Then another point is that payment to the employees shall be immediately made after the payment of legal expenses, sums that are due to the public treasury and Sharia alimony that should be given to the wife and the children (Labor Law, 2001).

ARTICLE (6) - Prejudicial behaviors

Without narrow-mindedness, the employers are responsible to adapt to the provision relating to the communal labor disagreements, predetermined here under: 1) if the boss, employee or any recipient thereof lodges claim relating to violation of any rights taking place under this law, it is necessary for him to pertain actions in accordance to the related Labor Department, and 2) the peripheral parties will have the right to take whatsoever is thought to be essential for agreement of argument between them good-naturedly.

But if friendly agreement is not reached, the said section must submit the disagreement to the capable Court within a fortnight from the date of request being submitted to it. The case once handed to the courts must also be accompanied with a memorandum giving a synopsis of the dispute, proof of both parties and the remarks of the Department (Labor Law, 2001). Then the court will be responsible to announce a date for the hearing which, by law, must be a date within three days of date of receipt of application submission and the hearing will call upon the presence of both parties of the dispute. The Court may request a spokesperson to be appointed for the Department of Labor to give details of the memorandum submitted (Labor Law, 2001).

According to the law no claim for rights will be entertained after the lapse of one year from date of its maturity (Labor Law, 2001).

ARTICLE (12) - Unemployed Nationals

The people who are unemployed may be hired by the employers but they should notify the Labor department regarding the decision in writing within fifteen days of the employment.

The notice should include employee's name, age, date of assuming duties and the kind of work that is assigned to him and the certificate of registration's serial number (Labor Law, 2001).

ARTICLE (18) - Licensed work

According to the law it is prohibited for the licensed agent to ask for: the commission from the worker irrespective of whether this commission was collected before or after the employee's hiring; any commission or recompense in contemplation for arranging such employment; and, nor may he get from him any expenses except as may be determined or accepted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Labor Law, 2001).

ARTICLE (21) - Juvenile employment rules

Before hiring a juvenile the employer should obtain some information from him which is inclusive of a birth certificate, medical certificate issued by the medical officer, and a written consent signed by the guardian of juvenile (Labor Law, 2001).

ARTICLE (22)

It is important for the employer to keep a proper register at the work place having the name, guardian's name, place of residence and date of employment of the juvenile plus the job title under which the juvenile is employed (Labor Law, 2001).

ARTICLE (41)

In the case an employer delegates another party with the routine of any of his essential works or any part thereof, the party thus becomes exclusively accountable for anything due to the workers executing the supplementary work under the requirements of this Law (Labor Law, 2001).

Employers Holding Passports

It is illegal for the employers to hold the passports of any employees working for them and this has been confirmed in a decision that was rendered by the court of Cassation but in a case where there is a position or job of trust it is granted to the employer to retain the passport of the employees (HRW, 2006).Instances where ending a contract by an employer is unjustified

The law has given the opportunity to both the employer and the employees to terminate or end the employment contract solely without any obligations to compensate the other party.

These includes scenarios wherein the employee has done a mistake which has generated a loss for the employer, infringement of work place security rules, faulting to carry out his responsibilities as predetermined in the contract, disclosing employer secrets, being guilty of a crime concerning honor, truthfulness or public ethics, found drunk or found under the influence of drugs or wherein the employer did not perform his duties under either the employment contract or the law.

In the event of unfair execution by either party, the other party can legally demand reimbursement for damage caused (HRW, 2006).

Employee Rights and Duties

Protection of Migrant Employees

In order to defend those individuals who are occupied in UAE as migrant workers, it is very important that the UAE government signs and approves the International Convention on the defense of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. This particular convention was started in 1993 and basically deals with the set of standards that addresses the welfare and human rights of both the undocumented and documented people or migrants and it also included the restrictions and obligations on the part of the sending and receiving states (Deane and McGeehan, 2008).

Until enough levels of global enterprises require the UAE governments to approve the Migrant Workers' Convention, the state is under a compulsion to value global human rights as set in three treaties which it has approved.

It should be emphasized, that the UAE governments has not signed or approved the core human rights treaties, the global Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of which had initiated back in 1966.

It has agreed to the International Convention on the removal of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1965. This is the convention that UAE most recently joined i.e. In 1995. It has also joined the Convention on Child's Rights 1989, under which it has put forward one report and the International Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women of 1979 under which it has not put forward a report.

It has been seen that the UAE agreed to the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of 1965 on 20 June 1974. But it is also stated that although the right to vote and stand in elections is restricted to the citizens only, however the human rights are for everyone.

States parties are under a compulsion to assure impartiality between citizens and non-citizens in the gratification of these rights to the limit accepted under international law (Deane and McGeehan, 2008).

Immigration Issues

Prior to beginning any work in the UAE, all non-UAE nationals will need an employ visa. To obtain an employ visa, the employee should be sponsored by an organization which is approved and registered with the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Ministry of Labor).

After the immigration visa is obtained the employee has to undergo a medical test for diseases like HIV and tuberculosis.

A residency visa mostly tied to the employment visa application and is usually for three years renewable and if in any case the procedures are ignored both the employee and the employer will be penalized (L&W, 2009).

Rights of employees during probation periods

The period of probation is basically very much similar to the engagement period between the two parties before going towards the long-term commitment and this period could be as long as six months. According to the rules it is not allowed to have an employee on the probation for more than once for the very same employer.

Another important point is that the employee who is on the probation period can be dismissed for any reason without any notice or gratuity; similarly, the employee can also resign anytime likewise. But when the probation period is completed it is counted as the service period and then the employee is entitled to the protections offered under the labor rules and regulations (HRW, 2006).

Employees forced to work under visit visa

The entire employee workforce in the UAE must have a work permit with them and….....