UAE firm leaves two women out in the cold

There’s never a good time to lose a job, is there? No amount of preparation eases the trauma that unemployment tags along with it. The agony, however, mounts a few hundred-folds when the dreaded news arrives, albeit without any warning, when one is seven-months pregnant.   Indian-born Abu Dhabi resident BP (name changed) was in for a real shocker when her Dubai-based employer decided to shut down their Abu Dhabi branch without a written notification to the two-women team. BP and her New Zealand-born co-worker RN (name changed) were caught unawares when they walked into a nearly empty office one fine morning. “We were shocked to see the office stripped of its furnishings, files and computers. We even lost a few of our personal files in the mess,” recalled BP. When they contacted the head office soon after, they were informed of the company’s real intentions, with the HR manager even attempting to pacify the upset women by verbally promising them a job at their Dubai office. The offer was rejected, almost instantly, as it didn’t make any logistic sense for them to commute to a different emirate without any preparation period. “Being in my seventh month of pregnancy, I had informed them that I would avail maternity leave, so this sudden decision to transfer me doesn’t make sense,” added BP. It’s when any attempts to secure their dues, listed under the UAE labour law, fell through that the women approached the courts for help. “We decided to take the legal route, when they refused to pay us our dues,” said the heavily-pregnant lady.  And this, despite RN’s initial attempts to reason with their employers, over telephone and e-mail. “I’ve worked in the company for three years, the least they could do was pay us what’s rightfully ours and let us know in advance so we could’ve  looked out for another job,” she added. The issue escalated further when the company blocked pay to the staff, for the month they had worked, stating, in no unclear terms, that it was their way of punishing them for approaching the court. The sacking also threw light on how the Arabic and English labour contracts varied, with BP claiming she had never seen, nor signed, the Arabic contract. “I had not signed the Arabic labour contract, yet my sign was miraculously on it,” reported BP,  adding, “the English contract states that my basic salary is Dh3,000, but the Arabic version mentions it’s Dh2,000.” And this, when the company had hired the women on a full-commission based job with no basic pay, dodging the UAE labour law guidelines that make basic pay mandatory. “We were paid purely on commission. So, if we made Dh7,000, our deposits were divided into two, with Dh3,000 being deposited first in a separate wire transfer,” added RN. The UAE labour law, under Article 119 and 123, clearly states that the employer should notify the employees of termination, in writing, at least 30 days prior to termination. And in case, the employer is unable to serve a notice of termination, they have to pay compensation in lieu of notice. "The competent court may order the employer to pay him a compensation, to be assessed by the court with due regard to the nature of work, the extent of damage sustained by the worker and his period of service... provided that such compensation shall in no case exceed the worker's wage for three months, calculated on the basis of his last wage," reads the law document. Despite several attempts, 'Emirates24|7' was unable to contact the company. The case is now pending at the Abu Dhabi Court.