A questioner from Dubai asks: A month ago I received a cheque from an individual as payment. However, when I tried to cash the cheque, the issuer’s bank refused to honour it because the issuer had claimed that he had lost the cheque and it was stolen from him. The bank manager told me to get a letter from the police if I wanted to cash the cheque. I told the manager that I had personally received the cheque from the issuer and that his claim that it was stolen is incorrect. Is the bank entitled to refuse to honour the cheque in these circumstances? Can I take prompt legal action against the cheque issuer? I have learnt that he is leaving the UAE because he can’t pay the cheque amount.
According to the law, the bank has no right to refuse cashing or processing a cheque. The questioner is not required to get a letter from the police if payment on the cheque has been refused by the bank on the issuer’s instructions. In stopping payment, the bank bears responsibility along with the cheque-issuer. No one except a judge has the right to stop the cheque payment. The questioner should immediately file a police complaint against the issuer and bank. The questioner can also file a complaint with the central bank. The questioner also has the right to request the court to process the case speedily, or request a travel ban against the cheque issuer.
Probation period
A questioner from Dubai asks: I have been working in a company for seven months. It is stipulated in the employment contract that the probation period is six months. However, the management told me that as per company policy, if an employee does not acquire the skills necessary to do the job, the company has the right to extend the employee’s probation period. Secondly, the initial probation period will not be counted in my service records. A letter issued to me by the company contains these clauses. I was asked to sign the letter, but I refused. My company has warned me that it will impose a one year ban on me in case I reject these terms and leave the job. What is my legal status in this case? If I accept the company’s terms, my salary will be the same till I pass the second probation period. I will also be denied my other rights stipulated in my labour contract.
Article 37 of the UAE Labour Law states the following: “A worker may be engaged on probation for a period not exceeding six months, during which his services may be terminated by the employer without notice or severance pay; provided that a worker shall not be engaged on probation more than once in the service of any one employer. Where a worker successfully completes his period of probation and remains in his job, the said period shall be reckoned towards his period of service.”
Therefore, in the questioner’s case, the employer is violating the law. If he cannot reach an amicable solution, the questioner should file a complaint before the Ministry of Labour.
Questions answered by advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.
— Compiled by Bassam Za’za’, Legal and Court Correspondent
