«Casod»: workers' rights fall after a year

Court: Some workers’ rights are subject to statute of limitations.

Photography: Eric Arrasas

The Court of Cassation confirmed in the rationale for its ruling in a labor lawsuit, that “some labor rights may not be claimed by the worker after a year has passed since the end of his service with the employer, in the event that he did not file a lawsuit or file an official complaint to obtain these entitlements during the aforementioned period.” .

A worker (a textile seller) in a private facility in Al Ain, filed a lawsuit against the employer demanding that he be obligated to pay two months’ late salary and end-of-service gratuity, after spending three years and six months in service, as well as the expenses of his coming from the state and a travel card to return to his homeland, and the cancellation of the malicious circular brought against him by the employer.

The employer said that "the worker received his salaries, except for the last 25 days of work, claiming that the worker owes him an amount of 3,401 dirhams obtained from his salaries."

The Court of First Instance ruled that the employer pay the worker an amount of 15,000 dirhams, the value of the rest of his salaries and leave allowance, and compensate him for unfair dismissal and the value of the travel card to his country, and it rejected other requests.

After appealing the ruling, the Court of Appeal decided to reduce the amount to 5,125 dirhams, which is the value of 25 days of his salary, residence and card expenses, and ruled the forfeiture of the right to hear the case for the rest of the worker’s requests for limitation, which prompted the worker to appeal the ruling before the Court of Cassation.

In the reasons for his appeal before the Court of Cassation, the worker said that “the rights he is claiming have not passed their due date for a year, and there are some rights that are not originally covered by the statute of limitations because they are not paid until the end of service, such as the end of service gratuity and other allowances.”

And about the worker’s claim, after taking the acknowledgment that he wrote on himself, that he has received all his dues from the employer, because this acknowledgment attributed to him includes rights that cannot be reconciled or absolved from, because it relates to public order and is derived from the provisions of the Labor Law;

The court said that the employer submitted a declaration stating that the worker had received his entitlements, the end-of-service gratuity, and legal allowances, and the worker had pledged not to make any claims to the employer in the future. That these rights have already expired.

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