Employees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are legally protected when it comes to their unused vacation leaves. A court has ruled that the vacation pay should cover the entire period of employment.
It all began when a former employee who worked for her employer for almost six years, filed a case claiming several pending entitlements. Her basic salary was Dh36,000, but her total salary including profit-sharing came to Dh60,000. When her employment came to an end, she sought Dh72,000 in outstanding payments, Dh247,464 in vacation pay, Dh60,000 in notice pay, Dh180,000 in end-of-service gratuity, 25% of monthly profits exceeding Dh110,000 as agreed commission and five per cent lay payment interest, from the date of filing until full payment.
With the ruling in her favour, the Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation ordered her former employer to pay her Dh434,884 and also confirmed that she was entitled to full vacation pay for the entire duration of her employment.
Earlier, in January, the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance had directed the employer to pay Dh323,400, covering outstanding wages, vacation pay for part of the employment (including last two years), and end-of-service gratuity. Other claims, including full commissions and full vacation pay, were rejected. Following this, the employee had appealed and an expert’s report was submitted. This led to the appeal court increasing the amount due to Dh379,400, reports Khaleej Times. The employee had then argued before the Court of Cassation that her entitled commission had been miscalculated. She also claimed that she was entitled to vacation pay for all of the six years, five months and 26 days that she had served the employer. She had claimed there were faults in reasoning and application of law.
The Court of Cassation then ordered the employer to pay Dh434,884 covering vacation pay for the entirety of the said employee’s service period. In addition, the employer was told to clear all outstanding wages and end-of-service benefits along with the court fees of the employee’s lawyer.