17 hours ago
Man gets ₹26 lakh for unpaid salary without working for even a day; company loses case in court
An Abu Dhabi court has ordered a company to pay a man Dh110,400 ( ₹ 26 lakh) for unpaid wages. The man was hired but never allowed to start work. He filed a case asking for salary from 11 November 2024 to 7 April 2025.
His contract promised a basic salary of Dh7,200 ( ₹ 1.70 lakh) and a total monthly pay of Dh24,000 ( ₹ 5.65 lakh). But, the company kept delaying his joining date without paying him, according to the Khaleej Times.
The company's lawyer asked the court to move the case to another department. However, the court found that the delay was the employer's fault, based on salary records and contract documents.
The UAE court ruled in favour of the employee, saying wages must be paid on time as per the Labour Law. The law clearly states that a worker's salary is their right and cannot be held back unless the worker has officially agreed to it or the company has legal proof, according to the publication.
In this case, the employer claimed the worker didn't report to duty and took leave. However, the court found no proper investigation to support this claim.
The employee admitted to taking eight days off, which were deducted. The court ordered a salary payment for four months and 18 days.
In an earlier story, a Spanish government worker, Joaquín Garcia, reportedly skipped work for at least six years, maybe even 14 years, while still receiving his salary. The truth came out in 2010, when he was about to get an award for long and faithful service to the city of Cadiz.
The 69-year-old engineer had worked for the local government since 1990. In 1996, he was sent to the city's water department to oversee a sewage treatment plant.
But, according to reports, he had not shown up to work for years.
'He was still on the payroll. I thought, where is this man? Has he retired? Has he died?' the deputy mayor, Jorge Blas Fernandez, later told El Mundo.
