31082010 YOU and The LAW (KSA / QATAR / UAE)

~ Questions answered by Advocate Muhammad Jaber Nader, based in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
I am planning to file a complaint in labor court against my company. Can you please explain the rules regarding overtime, such as working on Fridays (my weekly day-off), on Saudi National Day and during Eid holidays. And what is the rate of overtime pay?
To get overtime, you must first have specific instructions from your employer to work extra hours. If you do not have written instructions to do overtime, your work will be considered voluntary. If you can prove you were ordered to work on the days in question then you are entitled to claim overtime. The best proof is proof in writing, otherwise it’s simply your word against your employer’s.....

Overtime is one-and-a-half times of your hourly rate. To get your hourly rate divide your monthly salary by 30.4 (the basis for calculating your daily rate per month) and again by eight (the number of hours in a daily work shift). Then you take that number and multiply that by 1.5. This sum is your hourly overtime rate.
Should you need to present a case to your local Labor Office, bring an interpreter if you do not speak Arabic fluently. The Labor Office will then approach your employer and demand a response to your complaint.


I have been working for a company for more than five years. I did not sign a contract with them. First one year I worked for them without being in their sponsorship. Now I am planning to resign. They informed me that my first year will not be included in service and they will not include it in the calculation of my end-of-service benefit (ESB). They are also asking me to pay for my ticket home. Please advise.
What your company says about your first year of service is not correct. You are entitled to the ESB from the very first day of your work irrespective of the sponsorship transfer. As to the payment of the air ticket: If you are resigning according to the provisions of contract then it is the responsibility of the company to pay for your return ticket. If your resignation is in breach of contract terms then the company has the right to ask for compensation, which often includes asking you to pay for your return home.
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~ Questions answered as per Qatar Law
My husband used to work in Qatar, but decided to resign some time ago to go back to his own country. Both his sponsorship and his residence were abolished. When can he come back to Qatar, according to the Sponsorship Law?
According to Law No. 4/2009, which regulates the entry, exit, residence, and sponsorship of foreigners, foreigners working in Qatar, leaving their work, and departing can return to the country only two years after their departure.
The Minister of Interior can waive this condition for some people, provided that the former’s sponsor approves it. But this is not the case with foreigners who return to Qatar to work with the same sponsor.
Foreigners who want to return to Qatar with other visa types (not work visas) are also exempt from the aforementioned rule.

I have been working in a company that has sponsored me for a year and eight months now. In 2009, I took annual leave. After returning to work urgent reasons forced me to go back to my country. Do I deserve an end of year reward if I resign next month, bearing in mind that my contract is limitless? How can I calculate this and what rights do I have in this case? Can I file a complaint if the company refuses to give me this reward?
Labour Law No. 14/2004, which regulates the end of service for workers, says that employers have to pay end-of-service rewards to their workers if they work for them for up to a year and die at the work place. Rewards are subject to agreement between employers
and employees.
Rewards cannot be less than the equivalent of a three-week payment. Workers deserve payment for parts of years of service.
Last basic salary is the basis on which end-of-service rewards are calculated.
Having given workers their end of service rewards, employers have to terminate the contracts of their workers within two weeks.
The person who asks this question has to head to the Labour Administration to file a complaint if his/her employer refuses to give him/her their rights.

I was arrested and my car was confiscated by the traffic police because I exceeded the speed limit although I had compelling reasons to do so. I want to know what is the punishment in law for those who exceed speed limits. Is it legal for traffic police to seize cars like this?
Article No. 95 of Traffic Law No. 19/2007 says whoever exceeds speed limits has to be put in jail for up to a year and fined up to QR10,000 or face any of these two punishments.
Drivers of police vehicles, ambulances, and fire fighting engines are exempted from this law during their work hours. But these drivers have to use warning tools and alarm systems that invite the attention of motorists to the need to slow down at crossroads.
Traffic Department officials also have the right to confiscate vehicles in case of reckless driving that poses danger to the safety of drivers, passengers, pedestrians or other motorists. The confiscation can be up to nine days depending on the reports traffic officers write at the time of the accident.
The person who has asked this question has to head straight to the prosecutor and mention his/her compelling reasons for exceeding
the speed limit.
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~ Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahar Advocates and Legal Consultants, UAE
Will I face a problem as my visa was not cancelled in Dubai before I took up a job at a company in Qatar. I left Dubai last year and did not go back. My previous employer was not able to cancel my visa.
The questioner should cancel his visa so as not to violate the Labour Law, as an employment ban might be imposed on him due to such a violation and he would be banned from re-entering the UAE.


I am a UAE resident currently out of the country as there is a police case filed against me by a bank due to an unpaid loan. I want to come back to the UAE to settle my problem and reach a settlement with the bank. What will I face once I arrive in Dubai and what are my options thereafter?
If the questioner decides to come back to the UAE he will be arrested at the airport as his name is recorded in the system as wanted for the bank case. The questioner will be presented to the police station at Dubai airport and his statement will be recorded and then the questioner may ask the police to release him on bail. Accordingly, he will be requested to approach the Public Prosecution to settle the matter or refer the case to a competent court in case of non-settlement.


Our company is stopping the operation of one of its outlets this month. We will therefore terminate the employment of the employee assigned at that outlet. The employee joined the company on May 10, 2008 on an unlimited contract, and will be terminated. How do we calculate his gratuity?
In the case of termination as per the law, in such an event, the company shall pay the end-of-service gratuity for around 47 days salary of the service period stated by the questioner together with the previous leave pay, if any, as well as a return ticket. However, the rights may be calculated precisely and in detail upon reviewing the employment contract.

~ SAMAHANG PINOY KAWANGGAWA ~
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