u/Fair_Improvement_506

So I completed my full 2-year contract and resigned after it ended, didn’t quit early or anything. But my contract has a clause saying I can’t work for a competing company in UAE for the next 2 years.

Feels weird since I did my full time and now I’m stuck. Does this actually get enforced or is it just scare tactics? Heard the labour law changed in 2021 (Decree-Law 33) and courts don’t just uphold anything written.

Anyone dealt with this before? Would appreciate real experiences, not just “ask a lawyer” (I will, just want to know what to expect).

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate some advice from people familiar with UAE labour law and MOHRE procedures.

I worked for the same company for 2.5 years. For the first 3 months, I was on a visit visa, and afterwards I continued working while on my husband’s dependent visa.

I filed a complaint with MOHRE regarding my unpaid salary, gratuity and leave encashment. MOHRE has now issued a decision in my favour.

I have a few questions regarding the payment and the dependent visa cost:

1. Payment before or after the visa amount?
   The company is saying that I need to pay the dependent visa cost first, and then they will process/pay my dues. Is this correct, or should the company pay me according to the MOHRE decision first?

2. Dependent visa cost of AED 1,700:
   Both the company and I submitted our respective settlement documents to MOHRE. The company’s settlement mentioned AED 1,700 as dependent visa cost. However, MOHRE did not deduct this amount from my awarded amount.

I also specifically asked MOHRE whether I have to pay the company for my husband’s dependent visa cost. I was told that I don’t have to pay it at this stage and that if the company wants to claim it, they should file a separate complaint.

If the company now files a complaint against me for this AED 1,700, could this negatively affect my status, employment record, or future job opportunities in the UAE?

3. MOHRE decision and non-payment:
   MOHRE has already issued the decision, but the company has still not paid me.

If the company does not pay, I understand that I may need to proceed to court. Do I need to wait 15 working days after the MOHRE decision before going to court? Also, are Saturday and Sunday excluded when counting the 15 working days?

I would really appreciate advice from anyone who has gone through a similar MOHRE-to-court process.

Thank you in advance for any guidance.

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate some advice from people familiar with UAE labour law and MOHRE procedures.

I worked for the same company for 2.5 years. For the first 3 months, I was on a visit visa, and afterwards I continued working while on my husband’s dependent visa.

I filed a complaint with MOHRE regarding my unpaid salary, gratuity and leave encashment. MOHRE has now issued a decision in my favour.

I have a few questions regarding the payment and the dependent visa cost:

1. Payment before or after the visa amount?
   The company is saying that I need to pay the dependent visa cost first, and then they will process/pay my dues. Is this correct, or should the company pay me according to the MOHRE decision first?

2. Dependent visa cost of AED 1,700:
   Both the company and I submitted our respective settlement documents to MOHRE. The company’s settlement mentioned AED 1,700 as dependent visa cost. However, MOHRE did not deduct this amount from my awarded amount.

I also specifically asked MOHRE whether I have to pay the company for my husband’s dependent visa cost. I was told that I don’t have to pay it at this stage and that if the company wants to claim it, they should file a separate complaint.

If the company now files a complaint against me for this AED 1,700, could this negatively affect my status, employment record, or future job opportunities in the UAE?

3. MOHRE decision and non-payment:
   MOHRE has already issued the decision, but the company has still not paid me.

If the company does not pay, I understand that I may need to proceed to court. Do I need to wait 15 working days after the MOHRE decision before going to court? Also, are Saturday and Sunday excluded when counting the 15 working days?

I would really appreciate advice from anyone who has gone through a similar MOHRE-to-court process.

Thank you in advance for any guidance.

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate some advice from people familiar with UAE labour law and MOHRE procedures.

I worked for the same company for 2.5 years. For the first 3 months, I was on a visit visa, and afterwards I continued working while on my husband’s dependent visa.

I filed a complaint with MOHRE regarding my unpaid salary, gratuity and leave encashment. MOHRE has now issued a decision in my favour.

I have a few questions regarding the payment and the dependent visa cost:

1. Payment before or after the visa amount?
   The company is saying that I need to pay the dependent visa cost first, and then they will process/pay my dues. Is this correct, or should the company pay me according to the MOHRE decision first?

2. Dependent visa cost of AED 1,700:
   Both the company and I submitted our respective settlement documents to MOHRE. The company’s settlement mentioned AED 1,700 as dependent visa cost. However, MOHRE did not deduct this amount from my awarded amount.

I also specifically asked MOHRE whether I have to pay the company for my husband’s dependent visa cost. I was told that I don’t have to pay it at this stage and that if the company wants to claim it, they should file a separate complaint.

If the company now files a complaint against me for this AED 1,700, could this negatively affect my status, employment record, or future job opportunities in the UAE?

3. MOHRE decision and non-payment:
   MOHRE has already issued the decision, but the company has still not paid me.

If the company does not pay, I understand that I may need to proceed to court. Do I need to wait 15 working days after the MOHRE decision before going to court? Also, are Saturday and Sunday excluded when counting the 15 working days?

I would really appreciate advice from anyone who has gone through a similar MOHRE-to-court process.

Thank you in advance for any guidance.

Need serious advice regarding UAE labour issue in Dubai. Please guide.

I came to Dubai with my husband on visit visa and started working in a company from 8 Dec 2023. At that time I was on visit visa and my Eid/work permit process happened later around 19 March 2024. My official labour contract was started almost 6 months later in June 2024.

My starting salary was AED 1500. Later it became AED 1750, then AED 2000, and after around 6 months it became AED 2500. After that there was no increment at all despite extreme workload.

The company had very less manpower and during VAT return periods every month from around 18th to 28th we were forced to work continuously from 9 AM until 4-5 AM next morning. This continued for around 1 to 1.5 years. There was no overtime payment, no proper work-life balance and no proper UAE public holidays given. The company mostly worked on Excel/manual systems so there is no official overtime tracking.

Because of this routine my health became very weak physically and mentally. As a woman I also had household responsibilities and I finally emailed the company saying I cannot continue like this. Only after that they changed my office timing to 8 AM – 6 PM.

In April 2026 the company informed employees that they would only pay 50% salary now and remaining salary after Sep/Oct 2026, but they gave no written confirmation. I was not comfortable with this situation so I resigned on 19 April 2026.

Company later made my last working day 30 April 2026. They also gave a waiver email for period 1 May 2026 to 12 June 2026 and I have that email proof.

Now the company is not paying my proper leave encashment for almost 2 years. Their calculation shows around 55 leave days but they deducted 30 days saying they already gave 1 leave every month as “company annual leave policy”. This policy was never officially informed to me, never written in contract and they never deducted salary for those leaves either. It feels like an internal adjustment they are using now to reduce settlement amount.

I still have pending salary also:
- March 2026 half salary was delayed/cash
- April 2026 full salary pending
- Around 150 % salary also pending

Another serious issue is that company allegedly keeps employee documents and applies for credit cards using inflated salaries. For example employees earning AED 2000–2500 were shown as AED 5000–32000 for bank purposes. I was also told they would transfer full salary in account and I should return part amount in cash.

On 7 May 2026 company called me to office and asked me to sign cancellation papers before even properly showing settlement calculation.

I have:
- labour contract
- resignation email
- waiver email
- salary records/bank transfers
- workload related emails
- office timing related communication

My questions are:

1. Can I still file MOHRE complaint after resignation and cancellation process?
2. Will working on visit visa in beginning create serious legal problem for me even though later I got proper labour contract?
3. Can company legally deny leave encashment based on an internal policy never communicated to employees?
4. What evidence can help for overtime if company never officially recorded it?
5. Is it risky to mention the credit card/salary manipulation issue to authorities?

I am very stressed and exhausted because I worked honestly for this company for a long time and now they are delaying and reducing my settlement.