Dubai: Did you know that if you were fired by your employer, because you filed a complaint against them with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), you are not just entitled to your regular end-of service benefits, but also an additional compensation for unfair dismissal?
Article 47 of the UAE Labour Law – Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 – covers situations where a worker may have been fired because of a labour complaint he or she filed.
As per the Article, there are three things that you should know in such cases:
1. Firing an employee for filing a complaint is illegal
The first clause of the Article clearly states that it is illegal for an employer to terminate a work contract because the worker filed a serious complaint to the Ministry, or a lawsuit against the employer, which is found to be valid.
2. You are entitled to compensation
The second clause of the Article clarifies that the employer has to pay ‘fair compensation’ to the worker, which will be determined by the competent court, if it is proven that the termination was unlawful as per Clause 1 of the Article.
The amount of compensation will take into consideration the type of work, the length of service and the amount of damage cause by the termination of the contract, and in all cases the maximum amount of compensation cannot exceed three months of the employee’s wage, based on the last drawn wage.
3. You are also entitled to your regular gratuity
Apart from the compensation due to a worker for unfair dismissal for filing a valid complaint of legal case against his or her employer, the worker is also entitled to the standard end-of-service benefits, like the notice period allowance and gratuity.
To find out more about what the labour complaint process is for UAE’s private sector employees, and how MOHRE processes such complaints, read our detailed guide here.