Legal Safety Rules —Issue 15 — The Two-Year Rule Many Employees Discover It Too Late

Most legal problems don’t begin in court. They begin quietly in everyday work situations people rarely question. And sometimes, people only discover their rights after they leave the job.

A few weeks ago, a dentist reached out to me with a question that many professionals ask too late. He had worked for several years in a private clinic. Like many professionals, his compensation was not limited to a fixed salary. It included commissions that formed a significant part of his actual income. When his employment ended, he assumed that everything had already been settled. But something did not feel right.

He began reviewing his situation more carefully and started asking questions he had never asked before. Was his end-of-service gratuity calculated based on his real earnings or only the basic salary? What about the commissions he had relied on throughout his employment? Were there unused annual leave days that had never been compensated?

Like many employees, he believed it was probably too late to claim anything. This is one of the most common assumptions I encounter. People often think that once they leave a job, their rights disappear with it.

But that is not always the case.

Under UAE labour law, employees generally have up to two years after the end of employment to file a claim related to their labour rights. This timeframe can be the difference between recovering what is rightfully owed and losing it entirely.

What I often see is that the real issue is not whether a right exists. The issue is whether it can be proven. Strong claims are built on evidence. Bank statements that reflect actual payments. Messages that refer to commission structures. Records of unused leave. Written communication that clarifies how compensation was agreed and applied. These details, which may seem small at the time, often become the foundation of a successful claim.

Not every case needs to escalate to court. In many situations, once the claim is properly structured and supported with clear documentation, it opens the door for a reasonable settlement. When the other party sees that the matter is organized and legally grounded, the conversation often shifts.

If a resolution cannot be reached, the legal path is clear. The process typically begins with filing a complaint through the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. If no settlement is achieved, the matter can then be referred to the Labour Court for formal consideration.

The most important takeaway is simple. Rights do not always disappear when employment ends. But time does. And in many cases, what determines the outcome is not the law itself, but whether the individual acted within the timeframe allowed and preserved the evidence needed to support their position.

Legal Safety Rules is shared for educational awareness purposes only and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case.

Taghreed Abu Shehadah
Legal & Business Support Advisory Specialist

Legal Safety Rules is shared for educational awareness purposes only and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case.