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- Dubai 04:25 05:43 12:19 15:46 18:50 20:09
Imran K (name changed on request to protect identity) signed a contract with a media company in Media City. His role, as defined in the contract, was to write articles/reports for the magazine he was supposed to work for.
The first few weeks went off smoothly. Thereafter, the boss started asking Imran to “help out” the company's fledgling PR department, which eventually translated into writing numerous press releases - even more than the articles Imran was writing - and visiting clients on a regular basis. The employee’s ordeal did not end there. He was then expected to work for the events management arm of the company as well.
A tired and irritated employee that Imran had become was caught in a sticky situation. He didn’t know what to do. Definitely not fair, but is it within permissible limits to ask an employee to work for something that is not defined or mentioned in the contract letter?
“All employees have an employment contract with their employer. A contract is an agreement that sets out an employee’s employment conditions, rights, responsibilities and duties. These are called the terms of the contract and both parties must stick to it until its expiry or if the terms are changed and agreed upon by agreement between the employee and employer,” an HR manager with a multinational company in Dubai told this website.
But what can an employee do if the contact is indeed violated? According to Sara Khoja, Partner, Employment Group at Clyde & Co, “this is a complex matter.”
“The key to what an employee's role is and the remit of the role should be set out in an employee's job description and the employment contract,” she told Emirates 24|7.
“If an employee joins the company and is unhappy about the role, he can resign giving notice as required under the contract. Often, there will not be a notice period applicable during a probationary period,” she said.
“If an employee has been with an employer for a while and the employer then starts to change the role, it may be possible for an employee to resign and claim compensation based on the employer breaching the employment contract. However, this really depends on the terms of the employment contract,” the Clyde & Co expert explained.
Recruitment experts in the country believe this is a grey area and there could be different definitions of the job involved.
“Typically, it can’t necessarily be deemed as illegal as job specifications are rarely drafted in to legally binding employment contracts, unless of course, the job activity breaks federal or employment law. All employees can do, in reality, is discuss the job content and responsibilities with their employer to ensure that both parties are happy and expectations are aligned,” said Gareth Clayton, Director, Charterhouse Partnership.
At the end of the day, it is important for employees and employers to ensure that the terms of an employment contract are maintained or altered with mutual agreement. But in case the employment contract isn't elaborate enough and there are gray areas, the best way is to sit together and thrash it out to mutual satisfaction.
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