Will You Face A Labour Ban If You Are Terminating The Contract During Probation Period?

As per the Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 and in Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022, that the employee must follow some conditions to avoid the labour ban in case he wishes to terminate his employment contract during the probationary period, either to join another employer in the UAE or to leave the country.

1. An employee that wishes to join another employer in the UAE during the probationary period, must serve at least a 30-day written notice, which can be sent through email or hand delivered, to his current employer prior to the desired date of termination. The new employer shall undertake to compensate the current employer for the costs of recruiting the employee, unless otherwise agreed.
2. When an expatriate employee wants to terminate the employment contract during the probationary period to leave the UAE. In this case, he or she should notify the employer in writing not less than 14 days from the date of terminating the contract. However, under Article 9 of the new UAE labour law, if the expatriate employee leaves the UAE without abiding by the provisions as mentioned above, the employee shall not be granted a work permit to work in the UAE for a period of one year from the date of his departure from the UAE

As per the provisions of Articles (9) and (50) of Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 and Article (28) of its Executive Regulations, a worker whose work relationship has ended for the reasons set out below shall not be granted a work permit before the lapse of one year from the date of his/her departure:

1. If the worker decides to terminate the contractual relationship during the probation period, provided that the employer is not in breach of his/her contractual obligations.
2. If it is proven that the work abandonment report found to be true. A work abandonment report or an absconding report is filed by an employer when the employee fails to report to work for seven consecutive days and the employer is unaware of his or her whereabouts.

However, as per the Article 11 of Ministerial Decree No. 1 for the year 2022 in relation to the Executive Regulations for Decree No. 33 for the year 2021, there are certain criteria and reasons sufficient to not have a ban placed on your work permit if you decide to leave during your probation period. These are the following:

1. To be in a field of work that is needed by the state;
2. A worker that is under a family sponsored visa;
3. Holders of the Golden Visa; and
4. Any occupational categories according to the needs of the labour market in the country for which a decision is issued by the Minister in accordance with the employment classification approved by the Cabinet.

How can you lift a labour ban?

If you have a labour ban you can lift it by sharing your grievances with MoHRE’s grievance committee. The grievance must be submitted within 30 days from the date of knowing the contested decision and must be properly reasoned with all supporting documents. A grievance committee shall be constituted and shall be responsible for examining grievance requests submitted by the employee and employer regarding the decisions issued by the Ministry.