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Son wins case against dad for non-payment of salary

Dubai - He claimed he never received any wages from his father's company, or any annual leave days

If you enter a professional relationship with a company owned even by your blood relatives, you enjoy all the rights that are guaranteed under the UAE labour laws. This was reaffirmed by the labour court in a verdict it pronounced recently.
An employment dispute between a father and son ended in the labour court, with the court ruling in the son's favour. According to a report that appeared in the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation's Al Amal magazine, the son filed a complaint with the ministry, claiming that his father's business owed him Dh144,000.
In his complaint, the son claimed he worked as a supervisor in a contracting company owned by his father, under a non-fixed term contract, with a total monthly salary of Dh3,000.
However, the son claimed he never received any wages from the company. He also said he did not receive his annual leave. All he was "given to live was a monthly allowance of Dh500".
In response, his father claimed that there was no working relationship between them. He claimed that he had discharged his duty as a father by providing his son with a work visa and supporting his family to the tune of Dh12,000 a month.
According to the complainant, the dispute originally arose when the son requested a share in the company, which his father refused.
After entering into dispute resolution with a Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation employee, the father offered his son Dh46,200 in late wage compensation, annual leave and end of service allowance. He also offered an additional Dh64,000 as a goodwill gesture.
But the offer was turned down by the son, who demanded the complaint be referred to court.
The court ruled that the father owed Dh56,000 for one year's non payment of wage, in addition to leave allowance, end of service benefits, a ticket back home and compensation for dismissal.
Ahmed Abdul Jabbar, the assigned legal researcher, explained: "Working relationships are based on the legal contract between the parties, which establishes the responsibilities and duties of the employer and the employee. Family bonds do not negate a labour relationship between the two parties, which must be honoured by both sides."
reporters@khaleejtimes.com