Employment & HR
Terminating employment lawfully
Thirty to ninety days' notice, a valid reason, and a final settlement within the statutory period. Summary dismissal without notice is available only on a short and specific list of grounds.
The entitlement
What the law gives, regardless of contract.
Either party may terminate a contract by giving written notice of between thirty and ninety days, as specified in the contract, and the employee remains entitled to full pay during it. The employer must have a valid reason connected with the work. Summary dismissal without notice is available only on the specific statutory grounds — which include assuming a false identity, causing substantial material loss deliberately, breaching safety instructions, unexplained absence for defined periods, disclosure of workplace secrets, and conviction of certain offences.
Two provisions deserve particular attention. Arbitrary dismissal — termination for a reason unconnected with the work, most notably because the employee filed a legitimate complaint against the employer — entitles the employee to compensation in addition to their normal entitlements. And the final settlement, comprising notice pay where applicable, accrued untaken leave, gratuity and any outstanding wages, must be paid within the statutory period after termination. Late settlement is a breach in its own right and is one of the most common complaints reaching MOHRE, quite separately from any dispute about the dismissal itself.
The numbers
- Notice
- 30–90 days, as specified in the contract, with full pay
- Reason
- Must be valid and connected with the work
- Summary dismissal
- Only on the specific statutory grounds
- Arbitrary dismissal
- Attracts compensation on top of normal entitlements
- Final settlement
- Notice pay, untaken leave, gratuity, outstanding wages
- Settlement deadline
- Within the statutory period — late payment is a breach
What it costs
In practice
How this is actually administered.
- Establish a valid, work-related reasonAnd document it contemporaneously. Reasons constructed after the decision read as constructed after the decision.
- Give written notice of the contractual periodBetween thirty and ninety days. Payment in lieu is possible where the contract permits.
- Do not use summary dismissal looselyThe grounds are specific and exhaustive. Misusing them converts a lawful termination into an unlawful one.
- Calculate the final settlement fullyNotice, accrued leave, gratuity, outstanding wages and any contractual entitlements.
- Pay within the statutory period and cancel the visaLate settlement is a separate breach, and an uncancelled visa is a separate problem again.
Related
Questions
Between thirty and ninety days as specified in the contract, with full pay during the notice period.
Only on the specific statutory grounds for summary dismissal. Outside them, notice or payment in lieu is required.
Termination for a reason unconnected with the work — including because the employee filed a legitimate complaint. It attracts compensation.
Within the statutory period after termination. Late payment is a breach and a common MOHRE complaint.
One question
How many people are on the payroll?
Then the order matters. Establishment card, then quota, then work permit, then entry permit, then medical, Emirates ID and contract registration. Skipping ahead to a signed offer letter before the quota exists is the usual way a start date slips by six weeks.
The first hire, in orderOr just ask usThis is the size where informal arrangements start costing money — salaries paid partly outside WPS, leave that was never tracked, gratuity nobody has accrued for. None of it is hard to fix now and all of it is expensive to fix at a MOHRE hearing.
What you are accruing without knowingOr just ask usThen Emiratisation quotas, WPS timing, ILOE subscriptions and health insurance renewals are running on separate calendars, and the penalty for each is levied per employee. Consolidating those dates is usually worth more than any single piece of advice.
What gets inspectedOr just ask us