Ask the Legislation: A reader within the United Arab Emirates asks what proper she has if her husband refuses to pay alimony after the divorce

According to United Arab Emirates law, in the event of divorce, an injunction can be filed to claim alimony.
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Divorce and alimony

Question: I am a Muslim woman, married to a Muslim man with whom I have a three year old son. Three months ago, my husband divorced me for no reason and left the house. A month ago I called him to inquire about the divorce certificate he had promised me, but he refused and said he would not divorce me. I don’t have any witnesses. He hasn’t spent anything on me or our son in the past four months. The house rent is due in a month, but I have no money to pay the rent or to spend on my son. How can I secure my rights? Please advise.

Answers: Article 16 of the United Arab Emirates’ Civil Status Act states: “The civil status lawsuit will not be allowed in court unless it has been brought before the Family Orientation Committee. Exceptions to this provision are wills, inheritance, summary and interim proceedings relating to maintenance, care, guardianship and cases that cannot be settled through arbitration, such as proof of marriage or divorce.

To oblige your ex-husband to pay alimony, you can file a summary and preliminary lawsuit requesting monthly alimony since he stopped paying you. An application for this summary and provisional lawsuit can also be filed in the personal court, along with the divorce lawsuit, custody and all related maintenance claims.

It is necessary to file the lawsuit with the court, starting with the family advisory committee for divorce and custody, with all related maintenance claims. The maintenance for the wife as a result of the divorce includes the dowry, the idda (waiting period), the apartment and also the compensation – apart from the maintenance that was paid during the waiting period (motaa). For custody, the monthly maintenance must cover the costs for the child, clothing, medical care, school, apartment, water and electricity, internet, transport costs for the child, etc. to take into account the economic situation according to place and time, provided it does not fall below the appropriateness level.

If the husband does not admit the divorce, the burden of proof in court is on you using the testimony or other documents such as messages, emails, etc. Article (100), which has been replaced by Article (1) of BG No. 5 of August 25, 2020: The divorce is due either by the husband or an agent with special power of attorney or by the wife or a person acting for her a special power of attorney that was agreed in the marriage contract and that must be documented after the judicial process. The divorce is determined before the judge by testimony of two witnesses or by an affair, and the judge delivers his judgment after verifying that either condition is met. The divorce is deemed to be dated the day it is declared, unless the court has determined an earlier date and the consequences of a divorce by declaration are governed by Sharia law.

Overtime and Friday work

Question: I work in a private company affiliated with the UAE Department of Labor. How is overtime work calculated for the employee? Is the employee obliged to work overtime or is this voluntary? Does the employer have the right to force the employee to work continuously on public holidays or Fridays? Please advise.

Answers: Articles (67) and (68) define how overtime is calculated. Article 67 states: “If the working conditions require the employee to work beyond normal working hours, the additional time is considered to be overtime, for which the employee is to be paid a remuneration equivalent to normal wages” hourly wage with a surcharge of at least 25 percent of said wages. ‘

Article (68) states: “If the working conditions require the employee to work overtime between 9:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m., the employee is entitled to a wage equal to the normal hourly wage with an addition of at least 50% of the said wage.

Article 72 states that persons in high-level managerial or supervisory positions are not entitled to overtime if those positions confer on their holders the powers of the employer over the employees.

The employee should work overtime when the work circumstances require the employee to work beyond normal working hours. The employer has full authority to organize the work and to regulate the working hours in his company according to the conditions permissible according to the type of work so that the effective overtime work according to § 69 does not exceed two hours per day, unless this work is necessary to prevent the occurrence of enormous damage, a serious accident or to eliminate or mitigate its consequences.

As far as Friday work is concerned, Article (70) reads: “Friday is the usual weekly day of rest for all workers, with the exception of day laborers. If the circumstances require the employee to work on that day, the employee is entitled to a replacement day of rest or to the basic wage for normal working hours, in addition to 50 per cent of said wage. Article 71 states: “The employee, with the exception of day workers, may not work on more than two consecutive Fridays.”

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