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There are two types of courts in the UAE, ie, federal (the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman, and Umm Al Quwain) and local (the Emirates of Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah, which have retained their independent judiciaries). Both federal and local courts comply with the UAE Temporary Constitution of 1972. Both federal and local court systems are composed of three levels, ie, courts of first instance, courts of appeal, and the Federal High Court in Abu Dhabi or the Court of Cassation in the Emirate of Dubai. In the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, the judiciary is of two levels only, ie, courts of first instance and a court of appeal.
The Civil Procedure Act regulates the jurisdiction of the federal courts, their formation, and level in the hierarchy. The Act is applicable to all civil proceedings before the courts, ie, civil, commercial, and personal. Although the courts in the Emirate of Dubai are formed under and regulated by Act Number 3 of 1992, the Civil Procedure Act has been adopted and enforced in Dubai pursuant to Act Number 5 of 1992.
Article no. 132 of the Federal Labour Law No. 8 of 1980 states the following: A worker who has completed a period of one or more years of continuous service shall be entitled to severance pay on the termination of his employment. The days of absence from work without pay shall not be included in calculating the period of service. The severance pay is calculated as follows:
1. Twenty-one days’ remuneration for each year of the first five years of service.
2. Thirty days remuneration for each additional year of service provided that the aggregate amounts of service pay shall not exceed two year’s remuneration.
Return Ticket: entitled if he/she is not changing visa inside the UAE.
Below is the original text of the UAE Federal Labour Law with the section on gratuity payments. Articles 132, 137, and 138 refer specifically to the calculation of gratuity.
Federal Law No 8, For 1980, On Regulation of Labour Relations
Chapter VII: Termination and Severance Pay
Section II: Severance Pay
Article 132
A worker who has completed one or more years of continuous service shall be entitled to severance pay at the end of his employment. The days of absence from work without pay shall not be included in calculating the period of service. The severance pay shall be calculated as follows:
21 days’ wage for each of the first five years of service.
30 days’ wage for each additional year of service provided always that the aggregate amount of severance pay should not exceed two year’s wage.
Article 133
A worker shall be entitled to severance pay for any fraction of a year he actually served, provided that he has completed one year of continuous service.
Article 134
Without prejudice to the provisions of laws that grant pensions or retirement benefits to employees in certain firms, severance pay shall be calculated on the basis of the wage last due for monthly, weekly and daily paid workers, and on the basis of the average daily wage referred to in Article 57 hereof for those paid on piecemeal. The wage used as a basis for calculating severance pay shall not include whatever is given to the worker in kind, housing allowance, transport allowance, travel allowance, overtime pay, representation allowance, cashier’s allowances, children education allowance, allowances for recreational and social facilities, and any other bonuses or allowances.
Article 135
An employer may deduct any amounts owed to him by a worker from the latter’s severance pay.
Article 136
For the purposes of Article 132, no severance pay shall accrue for the employment cases that preceded the enforcement of this Law except where the worker is a National. This, however, shall be without prejudice to any rights acquired by the worker under the repealed labour laws, the employment contract, or under any agreement, regulations or work rules of the firm. In the event of the worker’s death, his severance pay shall be paid to his legal heirs.
Article 137
Where a worker under an indefinite term contract abandons his work at his own initiative after a continuous service of not less than one year and not more than three years, he shall be entitled to one-third of the severance pay provided for in the preceding article. Such a worker shall be entitled to two thirds of the said severance pay if his continuous service exceeds three years up to five years, and to the full severance pay if it exceeds five years.
Article 138
Where a worker under a definite term contract abandons his employment at his own initiative before the expiry of his contract period, he shall not be entitled to severance pay unless his continuous period of service exceeds five years.
Article 139
A worker shall forfeit entitlement to his entire severance pay in any of the following two cases:
If he is dismissed from service for any of the reasons specified in Article 120 hereof or if he abandons his employment in order to avoid being dismissed in accordance with that Article.
If he abandons his employment of his own accord, otherwise than in either of the two cases specified in Article 121 hereof, without notice (in the case of indefinite term contracts) or before completing five years of continuous service (in case of definite term contracts).
Article 140
Where a firm has a provident fund for the workers and the rules of the fund stipulate that whatever the employer pays into the fund for the worker’s account is in discharge of his legal obligation in respect of severance pay, the worker shall be paid the savings balance in his account or the severance pay due under the Law, whichever is the greater. Where the rules of the fund do not stipulate that the amounts paid by the employer are in discharge of his legal obligation toward the severance pay, the worker shall receive whatever is due to him in the provident fund in addition to the statutory severance pay.
Article 141
Where a firm has a retirement, insurance or a similar scheme, a worker who is entitled to a retirement pension may opt for treatment under the said pension or severance pay or under the pension or insurance scheme, whichever is more advantageous to him.
