Picture for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

An Abu Dhabi labour court has ordered a private company to pay Dh628,468 to a long-serving employee who had not been paid his monthly salary for nearly five years. The ruling came after the man, who worked for the company for around 24 years, filed a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation before escalating the case to court. In his lawsuit, the employee said he had not received 59 months’ worth of wages and sought Dh421,763 in back pay. He told the court that his basic salary was Dh4,000 and his total package was Dh12,500. He also requested end-of-service benefits amounting to Dh89,995, annual leave allowance of Dh26,000, health insurance fees of Dh107,442, and a travel ticket worth Dh3,000. He further asked the court to oblige the company to issue him an experience certificate and to impose 12 percent interest for late payment. The court noted that UAE labour law requires employers to pay wages on the agreed dates and in accordance with employment contracts and ministry regulations. It found no evidence that the company had fulfilled its wage obligations. As a result, the court ruled in favour of the employee, ordering the employer to pay Dh421,763 in unpaid salaries, Dh89,911 in end-of-service dues, and Dh9,667 in holiday pay. Court documents also showed that the employee had personally paid health insurance expenses and fines due to the employer’s non-compliance, amounting to Dh107,127, which the company was ordered to reimburse. The total amount awarded reached more than Dh628,000 in addition to the Dh3,000 travel ticket and the employee’s entitlement to an experience certificate. ICA/Expat Media
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