UAE Labour Law vague on probationary employee giving one-month resignation notice

I started working for a company and after one month decided to resign because I was unhappy with the management and a few other issues. The day I wanted to resign I went to my manager and told her I no longer wanted to work for the company and wanted to resign. She told me this was OK and to come in the following week to collect a pay cheque. Two weeks later I was still waiting to receive a cheque and was told to come in the next day, then the next day. When I finally went into the office I was told that they weren't going to pay me after all because I just left and didn't work any notice. Where do I stand on this? VN, Ajman

UAE Labour Law is a little vague on this but the standard notice period for anyone leaving a job at any time is 30 days and the law does not state this is relevant to permanent positions only. It is generally accepted that this applies to people in a probationary period. Article 37 states “the employer may terminate the services of the employee during this period without giving a notice” but there is no mention of the other way around, so it has to be assumed that the employee has to give notice and work for 30 days unless the employer agrees that they can stop work immediately. VN ought to be paid for the days worked, but the employer could argue that the days she did work compensate for the unworked notice period. She can raise a case with the ministry, but I would not be optimistic about the outcome.

Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with more than 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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