Abu Dhabi Court Orders Company to Pay Employee 90 ألفاً و750 درهماً

Abu Dhabi Labor Court of First Instance ordered a company to pay an employee 90 ألفاً و750 درهماً in unpaid wages and notice pay following an arbitrary dismissal without notice, emaratalyoum.com reported.

The ruling from the Abu Dhabi Labor Court of First Instance rejected the employer’s defense that the worker had taken unpaid leave, citing a lack of any signed leave request bearing the employee’s signature.

Employee Sues Employer for Unpaid Wages

The case began when the employee filed a lawsuit against his employer seeking three months and 26 days of unpaid wages totaling 74 ألفاً و250 درهماً, alongside 16 ألفاً و500 درهم for one month of notice pay. The company’s legal representative submitted a defense memo asking the court to dismiss the case entirely for lack of validity.

Under the UAE labor relations law, employers must pay workers’ wages on their due dates. The court established that the employment contract specified a monthly gross wage of 16 ألفاً و500 درهم. Because the company failed to provide any paperwork proving it had paid the salary for the disputed period or cleared its financial obligation, the judge ruled the claimant was owed the full 74 ألفاً و250 درhmaً in late wages.

Court Rejects Company Claims on Unpaid Leave

The court dismissed the company’s argument that the worker took unpaid leave during the period in question. Judges noted that the employer failed to demonstrate any agreement existed with the employee regarding leave, and the submitted document bore only the company’s signature without the worker’s approval.

Regarding the notice period, the labor law requires written notification at least 30 days and no more than 90 days before terminating a contract, with full salary due for the notice duration. Because records showed the company terminated the service without notice and failed to disburse notice compensation, the court awarded the additional 16 ألفاً و500 درهم based on the contract’s stated monthly wage.

Court Orders Company to Pay 90 ألفاً و750 درhmaً

The court ordered the defendant company to pay the total sum of 90 ألفاً و750 درhmaً to the plaintiff. The verdict included an immediate enforcement order and required the employer to cover all legal costs associated with the lawsuit.