Employee in Abu Dhabi sues employer for unpaid dues, gets over Dhs159,000

The Abu Dhabi Labour Court has ordered an employer to pay Dhs159,800 to an employee who had been in their service for approximately 11 years.

Despite the termination of the employment relationship, the employer failed to settle the employee's unpaid wages and end-of-service gratuity.

The plaintiff initiated legal action against his employer, seeking a court ruling to compel the payment of unpaid wages totaling Dhs29,000, along with an end-of-service gratuity amounting to Dhs130,800 for over 11 years of service.

The claim also included demands for coverage of fees, expenses, and immediate enforcement without requiring a guarantee.

The employee initiated a lawsuit, claiming that he had been with the company for approximately 11 years under an indefinite contract. His total salary amounted to Dhs29,000, including a basic salary of Dhs16,000.

The court clarified the matter concerning the request for end-of-service gratuity, stating that the legislator grants foreign workers the right to receive this benefit upon the termination of their service for any reason, provided they have completed at least one year of continuous full-time service with the employer.

The gratuity is calculated based on the worker's last basic salary, factoring in any unpaid days of absence. However, it is stipulated that the total gratuity amount cannot exceed two years' worth of salary, equivalent to 24 months of the worker's most recent basic salary.

In this particular case, with the employee's tenure being 11 years, 3 months, and 16 days, the gratuity due is calculated based on the basic salary specified in the contract, which amounts to Dhs16,000.

This results in a payment entitlement of Dhs156,701. As the employee requested the lower amount of Dhs130,300, the court decided to rule in favour of this requested sum.