Court Orders Contractor to Pay Dh195,000 in Dues to Veteran Employee

The Abu Dhabi Labour Court has directed a contracting company to pay Dh195,000 to a long-serving site supervisor, after finding no evidence that the employer had settled the worker’s outstanding entitlements.

In its judgment, the court said the case file contained no documents proving that the company had discharged its financial obligations towards the claimant.

The lawsuit was filed by an employee who joined the company in 1999 and resigned in April 2025. He told the court that upon leaving his job he was not paid his dues, including 10 months of unpaid salaries totalling Dh65,000, an end-of-service gratuity of Dh124,800, and Dh5,200 in compensation for unused annual leave for the final two years of his employment. The defendant company failed to appear before the court.

Court records show that documents submitted through the case management system -- including the employment contract and salary statements — confirmed that the claimant was employed on a fixed-term contract as a site supervisor. His basic monthly salary was Dh5,200, with a total monthly wage of Dh6,500. The court applied the provisions of the UAE Labour Law under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.

The court ruled that the employee was entitled to his unpaid wages, stressing that employers are legally obliged to pay salaries on time in line with Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation regulations. It noted that liability for wages can only be cleared through written proof, acknowledgment or a sworn oath, none of which were produced by the company.

On end-of-service benefits, the court found that the employer failed to prove any break in the employee’s service or submit relevant accounting records. It concluded that the claimant had worked for the company for 25 years, nine months and 23 days, entitling him to a gratuity of Dh126,427 based on his basic salary. However, as the employee had claimed Dh124,800, the court awarded the amount within the limits of the claim.

With regard to annual leave, the court ruled that compensation is calculated on the basis of the basic salary alone. As the employer provided no evidence of payment, the court held the claimant entitled to leave compensation for the final year and part of the preceding year. While the assessed amount was Dh7,800, the court awarded Dh5,200 in accordance with the claim.

The court issued an immediate-enforcement ruling ordering the company to pay a total of Dh195,000, bear all legal costs, and dismissed all other claims.

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