My employer has placed me on “garden leave”, what are my rights? - UAE Labour Law

You have decided to resign from your job and are about to serve your notice period. However, you are then asked to not come to work. What are your rights in such a situation, especially if you are not able to get a response from management regarding your gratuity?

Thenji Moyo, partner and head of employment at Gateley LLP,  recently responded to an individual who raised a query on his employer's decision to place him on garden leave. He wrote:

I have been working in the private sector in Dubai since 2022. After resigning last month with a 60-day notice period as per my contract, I raised concerns about the lack of information and guidance from my manager, which has hindered my ability to fulfill my duties and complete my handover process. Despite previously voicing these concerns verbally to management and being ignored, my official emails during my notice period also went unanswered.

Additionally, I questioned the lack of transparency in the incentives policy, as my incentives have been reduced monthly since earlier this year, without clear information on how they were calculated. Although the Human Resources Department (HR) and my manager assured me that all due incentives would be awarded with my end-of-service benefits, they did not clarify the policy.

On the ninth day of my notice period, my manager instructed me not to report to work starting the following week and to return all company assets. I am currently waiting to see if my issues will be addressed when they provide the end-of-service calculations at the end of my notice period.

Now that management has decided I don’t need to serve the notice period, why should I wait for 60 days? Shouldn’t they resolve my dues within 14 days? I have 24 days of annual leave left and have served nine days of my notice period. Can this be considered as one month’s notice, and can I only serve another month? How can I ensure legally that they address my concerns and provide a response, given that my past emails to management and HR have gone unanswered?

1. Now that the management has decided I don't need to serve a notice period, why should I wait 60 days? Should they not resolve my dues within 14 days? The 60-day wait seems like a punishment for raising my concerns rather than a proper exit formality to silence and sideline me.

All employees are required to adhere to the agreed contractual notice set out in the employment contract pursuant to Article 43 of the Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 (UAE Labour Law). The employee will, therefore, still be bound to the contractual notice period of 60 days.

When an employee resigns or is terminated, employers have a few options for managing the notice period. One approach is to have the employee continue to work as normal during the notice period, while another is to place them on garden leave. Garden leave is a period of the notice period where the employee is not required to attend the office or perform work, but the employee will still remain an employee of the company and are bound by the terms of their employment contract until the contractual termination date.

During this time, the employee continues to receive all their entitlements, such as monthly salary, allowances, and annual leave, as usual. Garden leave is often imposed on senior employees who have access to sensitive company information to keep them out of the competitive market. The employee must receive all contractual and statutory dues within 14 days of the date of termination as per Article 53 of the UAE Labour Law.

2. I have 24 days annual leave left and have served 9 days of notice period, can this be considered to take asmonths'hs’ notice and that I may serve only another 1 month?

The employee is still required to serve the contractual period, however under Article 43(2) of the UAE Labour Law, the parties can mutually agree an earlier termination date provided the employee still receives all their entitlements during the notice period.

Under Article 29(9) of the UAE Labour Law, an employer is required to pay an employee for all accrued but unused annual leave accumulated up to the termination date. This payment will be based on the employee's basic wage, excluding allowances and benefits in kind, such as bonuses or commissions.

Under Article 29(4) of the UAE Labour Law, the employer may impose annual leave on the employee provided they gave a minimum of days' notice. However, in practice, many employment contracts reserve the right for employers to place employees on annual leave during the notice period.

3. How do I make sure legally that they address my concerns and get a response from them as in the past my emails to both the management and HR have gone unanswered with no action being taken to address my concerns?

Employees should check their HR policies for internal grievance procedures, which are typically available in the staff handbook/company intranet.

Under Article 24 of the Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, it is mandatory for an employer to investigate any grievance filed by an employee and notify the employee of the outcome.

Where an employer's lack of response leads to a loss of income/detriment, the employee can raise an internal grievance with the management of the company. If the company fails to address these concerns, the employee may have grounds to pursue legal action for any outstanding issues at termination. If unresolved, an employee is able to file a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) or their respective free zone disputes centre or alternatively seek legal action.

According to Article 54(7) of the UAE Labour Law, an employee has the right to file a complaint with the MOHRE against the company within one year of the breach occurring. Where employers breach any aspect of the UAE Labour Law, there is a risk of penalties being imposed on the company of up to AED 1,000,000 as per Article 63 of the UAE Labour Law.