Doing business in a foreign country makes it necessary to be familiar with the legal framework in the target jurisdiction. The understanding of the jurisdiction you would like to operate in is crucial in order to secure your rights properly and comprehensively when entering into contracts with suppliers, customers and especially with commercial agents in the foreign jurisdiction. Each kind of contractual relationship has to be evaluated on the basis of the law applicable to that relationship. As a matter of fact, a significant attention has to be drawn to the applicable laws and the competence of UAE courts.

Another scenario might be that a foreign company decides to assign one of its´ employees in the United Arab Emirates in order to represent the company´s interests in the region, to promote and market the products in order to access the region’s opportunities or to extend an already existing business. However, the assignment of employees in the region has to follow the legal requirements of the residency- and the labor law, considering that an employer has to fulfil the function as a sponsor for that particular employee, providing the employee with an entry permit and a labor contract under UAE law.

However, our experience shows that most of the employers are not sufficient familiar with the labor regulations in force. Additionally, is has to be considered that in most of the cases the labor contracts provided by governments or free zones do regulate the employment relationship superficially only, stating the parties of the contract, commencement date, notice period and the term of the contract. As a matter of fact, these regulations are not sufficient in order to secure the employer´s rights comprehensively, especially with regards to EMPLOYEE DUTIES, CONFIDENTIALITY, NON-DISCLOSURE OF COMPANY KNOW-HOW AND NON-COMPETITION regulations.