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19 March 2024

Prove your degree or lose your gratuity: Court

Published
By Mohomad El Sidafy

Any person claiming qualifications to get a job, without the documents to prove it, will lose his right to his/her gratuity, according to a recent Federal Supreme Court order.

The ruling came during a recent case in which a computer engineer who was dismissed by his employer for allegedly failing to provide certificates to prove the qualifications he claimed to possess in his resume.

The case was filed by the engineer seeking Dh222,000 in unpaid dues from his employer, which included compensation for unfair dismissal, leave allowance, end- of-service benefits and an air ticket.

According to the lawsuit filed by the plaintiff, the employee joined the company for a mutually agreed upon monthly salary of Dh27,000 and was terminated after a year.

The Court of First Instance issued a judgment asking the company to pay the employee only Dh25,000.

He then appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal ordered the employer to pay the plaintiff Dh41,000, including end-of-service benefits, but the employer then challenged the ruling in the Cassation Court.

The company based its appeal on the eligibility of the worker’s claim for end-of-service gratuity, stating that the biodata provided stated that he is expert in computer hardware, large professionals networks, system management and coordination of technology.

The academic qualifications mentioned included Bachelor of Computer Engineering and Communications from the University of Australia in Beirut, and according to the employer he failed to submit documents certifying this.

However, the Court of Cassation rejected the appeal and upheld the Court of Appeal’s verdict.

The court confirmed that the worker wasn’t eligible for dues of unfair dismissal because the company dismissed him for failing to provide his qualifications certificates, which according to the court the company had the right to do.

However, the court rejected the request of the company to deprive the employee from all end-of-service benefits on the basis of Articles 120 and 139 of the Labour Code.

The Court’s rejection of the company's request was based on the fact that failure of the worker to provide education certificates does not mean that impersonation or providing a fake identity, nor does it mean he is not qualified for the job.