Rajiv Suri’s recent contribution to the Gulf News highlights key legal considerations arising from current regional travel disruptions.
AS PUBLISHED IN GULF NEWS
Here’s how your employer should handle your absence during airspace closures
Dubai: As regional airspace restrictions continue to disrupt travel across parts of the Middle East, employers and employees in the UAE are seeking clarity on their rights and obligations, specifically around salary continuation, leave deductions, and legal responsibilities when staff are unable to return to the country.
Under UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relations (the Labour Law), there is no provision that directly addresses this scenario. However, the matter is assessed through the general principles of employment law, including the obligation to perform work, legitimate absence, and the employer’s duty of good faith.
“If an employee is stranded outside the UAE due to circumstances beyond their control, such as war or the closure of airspace, the absence is likely to be considered a legitimate and justified absence,”Rajiv Suri, Senior Associate at UAE-based law firm Alsuwaidi & Company told Gulf News.
In such cases, employers are expected to assess the situation reasonably and not treat the absence as misconduct.
Suri advised that affected employees should notify their employer promptly and, where required, provide evidence demonstrating that returning to the UAE is genuinely impossible.He notes, however, that in the current circumstances this burden is somewhat lessened. “In the present circumstances, the notification of airspace closure has been issued by the UAE authorities, and so the need to furnish individual proof is effectively obviated.” Suri explained.
As per Article 44 of the Labour Law, An employer may terminate employment without notice if an employee is absent without a valid reason for more than seven consecutive days, or more than twenty intermittent days within a single year.
Despite this provision, Suri cautioned that a forced absence due to airspace closures or government-imposed travel restrictions constitutes a valid reason, and employers should proceed carefully.
“If the employee can demonstrate that the absence was caused by unavoidable circumstances such as war or government travel restrictions, any termination could potentially be challenged as arbitrary or unreasonable, particularly if the employer failed to consider the extraordinary circumstances.”
Salary continuation and remote working arrangements
Where an employee remains ready and willing to work and is able to do so remotely, the employer would normally be required to continue paying their salary. This is because the employment relationship subsists and the employee is fulfilling their contractual obligations.
Where the nature of the role requires physical presence in the UAE and remote working is not feasible, Suri explained that alternative arrangements should be considered. “The employer may consider other arrangements such as paid leave, utilisation of annual leave, or mutually agreed unpaid leave.”
In practice, employers in the UAE tend to address such situations through pragmatic arrangements rather than resorting to termination. These may include allowing remote work, granting paid or unpaid leave, or temporarily modifying employment terms by mutual agreement.
“Such measures are generally consistent with the principles of flexibility and good faith recognised under UAE employment law, and serve to reduce the risk of labour disputes.”
To speak with the author, please contact Rajiv Suri on r.suri@alsuwaidi.ae
