Staff cannot be sacked while on annual leave

The UAE Labour Law does not allow an employer to dismiss or issue termination warnings to employees when they are on annual leave, a senior Ministry of Labour official has clarified.

Except under Article 120 of the Act, which authorises dismissal without warning in 10 cases, including if the worker discloses the secrets of the facility that employs him, staff cannot be dismissed or given warnings, said said Ahmed Darwish, Deputy Director of Labour Relations.

He also said Labour law prohibits workers from being employed in another company when they are officially on annual vacation. Such facilites as well as workers will be penalised, reported 'Al Khaleej' newspaper.

Darwish said the employer has the right to deny the worker salary for the said period if it is proved he had been working elsewhere during his annual vacation time. Similarly, a fine of Dh50,000 will be slapped against the owner who recruit workers who are not under their sponsorship.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour can even impose a one-year ban on such workers.

According to the Labour Law, employers have the right to split the leave of employees in two, if needed. 

If an employee has completed six months in a company but not one year, then he is entitled to two days leave for every month he has worked. And on completion of a year, the employee is entitled to one-month leave every year, explained Darwish.

The employer has the right to determine the leave days of staff so as not to affect the daily operations of the company. the owners are obliged to pay the basic wage plus housing allowance if any for days annual leave days.

He explained “the law does not give the right to employers to use laborers during their annual leave more than once in two consecutive years."