Can you tell me if employees can be forced to work on National Day? Our boss has said that it is not a religious holiday, so he does not have to give us the day off. CC & CY Dubai National Day, which falls on December 2, is an official holiday, so all employees are entitled to a day off with full wages. Article 74 of the UAE Labour Law states the following: "Each worker shall be entitled to official holiday with full pay" on specific dates or holidays, which includes National Day.
In certain industries, it is common for staff to work on official holidays, but by law they should be given either a day off in lieu or paid separately for the additional day of work.
The New Zealand-based company we work for gets paid, we assume, in dirhams. They convert it into New Zealand dollars, then convert it back to dirhams at a fixed exchange rate of Dh2.2, which is set by the company. They then pay our salaries in dirhams at a much lower rate, even less than what is stated in the Arabic contract registered with the Labour Department. The company we work for is not a bank or a finance company - either way, this does not seem fair. How can the company make money from our salaries? Is this legal?
TA Abu Dhabi The basic salary on TA's Arabic contract shows a fixed amount per month, all in dirhams. But the New Zealand contract states a fixed amount per annum in NZ dollars - and even more confusing, TA tells me that employees opted for a 50-50 split of dirhams and NZ dollars. In any event, by using a flat exchange rate of Dh2.2 the company would be underpaying its employees by about 15 per cent on the dirhams half of the contract.
By federal law, the Arabic-language contract lodged with the Labour Courts takes precedence, but personal agreements about payment can be enforceable over and above this "official" contract. The tricky part is deciding which exchange rate to use - and if the company had written agreement from staff to use a lower rate, they do not have a right to complain. (On the other hand, if the company is being paid wholly in dirhams, it would seem strange for them to exchange the currency back and forth, but we have no evidence of this either way.)
My suggestion is that staff request formal documentation from the company regarding the exchange rate to be used, perhaps to be reviewed on fixed dates to ensure that the rate is fair to all parties. I have been told that the company is planning to use a revised rate, although even this would still come in far below the retail rate of Dh2.68 at press time. Furthermore, the company has said that they would like staff to sign new contracts, in Arabic, to reflect the lower amounts. But this means that staff could continue to lose out.
Because exchange rates fluctuate, and staff have chosen a 50-50 split, my recommendation is that both sides negotiate the position to be fairer to all parties. It also seems to me that staff have been underpaid because of the exchange rates the company is using, so provided that employees did not agree formally with the lower rate the staff have the right to request back pay. If the company does not comply, the case can be taken to the Ministry of Labour.
We are leaving the UAE, and own a property in Abu Dhabi for which one final payment is due in 2012. Ideally, we would like to sell this property once the market picks up. Do we need to keep a bank account open here until this time, or can we handle all of this through our lawyer? We do not want to keep an active bank account, as HSBC requires a minimum balance of Dh5,000. PV Abu Dhabi
There is no legal requirement to have a UAE bank account if you own a property here, assuming you do not have a mortgage. However, I would recommend that you maintain an account, as it is possible that when you sell the property the payment could be in the form of a cheque - and accounts held in other countries are not likely to accept a cheque denominated in dirhams. Alternatively, you could insist that payment be made to an overseas account in US dollars, as the peg keeps the exchange rate constant. Also, not all UAE banks insist on a minimum balance, especially if you need only a simple cheque/savings account.
But as I have warned before in this column, there should be some activity every few months so that the bank doesn't close the account. Therefore, it is best to open an account that allows you to use internet banking from abroad. Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser with Holborn Assets in Dubai. Write to her at keren@holbornassets.com Letters can also be sent to onyourside@thenational.ae
EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
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The winners
Fiction
- ‘Amreekiya’ by Lena Mahmoud
- ‘As Good As True’ by Cheryl Reid
The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award
- ‘Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo’ by Oswaldo Truzzi; translated by Ramon J Stern
- ‘The Sound of Listening’ by Philip Metres
The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award
- ‘Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance’ by Fady Joudah
Children/Young Adult
- ‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ by Hoda Kotb
The%20specs
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MATCH INFO
Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, May 3
Live: On BeIN Sports HD
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%3A%20Zywa%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202021%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Nuha%20Hashem%20and%20Alok%20Kumar%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20UAE%3Cbr%3EIndustry%3A%20FinTech%3Cbr%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%243m%3Cbr%3ECompany%20valuation%3A%20%2430m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2018/19
July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US
Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Punchy appearance
Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How%20champions%20are%20made
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey