What to do when employer fails to pay salary in time

What should an employee do when faced with an employer who has not paid his/her salary on time?

Also, in case of violation of terms of contract concerning vacations, overtime, or gratuity, what course of action can an employee take?

An official at the Ministry of Labour states that an employee has the right to file a complaint against the employer.

This can be done through the ministry's website www.mol.gov.ae.

The employee can also call the toll-free number 800665, which allows him/her to file a complaint or to inquire about all his rights guaranteed by the Labour Code.

The employee can also e-mail the complaint to callcenter@mol.gov.ae.

The Ministry of Labour official also clarified that its call centres are equipped to offer a wide variety of services to employees and employers.

Call centres are equipped to give information on procedures and laws, including the wage protection system (WPS), housing requirements for workers and working hours.

Employees can also track their complaints on the website.

Through a service called e-natwasal, available on the website, an employee can review his labour contract and make a photocopy of it.

Role of MoL

The official stated: “In case of receiving a complaint the MoL will summon the parties and hear their points of view and try to reach a satisfactory solution for both.

“If the ministry cannot reach a solution it will refer the case to the Labour Court.

The Mol eases the measures for laborers to file cases where the MoL briefed the procedures in one single action after it was based on three steps.”

The Ministry of Labour offers services in several languages including Arabic, English, Russian, Filipino, Hindi, Somali, Afghan, Persian, Punjabi, Malayalam and Tamil.

Cassation Court verdicts

Verdicts of the UAE’s Courts of Cassation affirm that nonpayment of salaries in the proper time is considered arbitrary dismissal, which then requires compensation.

Also the Courts of Cassation confirm that an employee who is forced to resign because of non-payment of his wages for more than two months is deemed to have been unfairly dismissal by the employer.

Where the employer fails to pay the worker's wage and in such case it is a breach of contractual obligations, the employee should be compensated by the equivalent of 3 months’ basic salary.

Statistics

The statistics of the MoL show that the average number of daily telephone calls received by its call centres is 2,500.

According to latest statistics on the ministry's website, the number of visitors exceeds 29 million.

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