You’ve made the journey to Dubai, and you’ve already found a great new job there. You are praising the benefits of living abroad to your friends, but as you talk to other people who have made the move, you realize that you may have neglected to mention one of the most significant advantages.
Our Consultation
Does your employment require you to take an annual trip back to your home country, which is paid for by the company?
We consulted with several of our trusted legal colleagues at Sara Advocates and Legal Consultants. Unless it is explicitly stated in the employee’s employment contract, a corporation is not obligated to provide an employee with an annual flight back home, as stated by Partner Lara Barbary.
The Reason:
The reason why this varies from company to company is that every organisation has its own set of guidelines to follow in this regard.
Some businesses give their employees who are living abroad an allowance or a fixed payment that is meant to cover the expense of an annual trip back to their home country. Someone else will take care of booking your tickets for you. These days, there are a significant number of businesses that do not provide this benefit in any way.
Read over your Contract
The most important thing to do when you are given a job offer is to thoroughly read over your contract. You always have the option of attempting to negotiate, even if the benefit is not present.
Your company is only legally required to pay for one of your flights, and that is the ticket that takes you back to your home country when your employment agreement comes to an end. If you end up finding another work while you are in Dubai, the responsibility for meeting this commitment will transfer to the new company you choose.
What happens if you decide to quit your job?
What happens if you decide to quit your job is that you will almost certainly be responsible for paying for your own flight back home.
The following is the complete text of Article( 13/12) of the UAE Labour Law:
Article (13/12) of the UAE Labor Law states that, in the event that a worker’s employment contract is terminated, the employer is responsible for paying the costs associated with the worker’s repatriation to the location from which he was hired or to any other location that the parties have mutually agreed upon.
Hired by a Different Employer:
In the event that the worker is hired by a different employer following the expiration of the contract, the latter employer will be responsible for paying the worker’s repatriation fees when he completes his time of service to the former employer.
Should the employer not repatriate the worker and should the employer not pay the expenses of such repatriation, the competent authority shall do so at the expense of the employer. This provision is subject to the terms of the preceding clause. Attachment is one method that could be used by that authority to recoup such costs.
If the worker’s actions were the cause of the contract being terminated, then the worker is responsible for covering the costs of his own repatriation, provided that he has the financial means to do so.
