Employment in UAE: Up to Dh1m fine, jail for leaking employer secrets – News

Legal experts advise employers to include a clause in job contracts requiring employees to return confidential information at the end of service

Raka Roy, partner at Galadari Associates and Legal Consultants, said that employees in the UAE can be fired immediately and without prior notice, for damages or loss of profits caused by leaking the employer’s confidential information, or if the employee derives a personal benefit from it.

Leaking workplace secrets could also lead to at least a year in prison and a fine of at least Dh20,000, she said.

Leaking workplace secrets through IT systems is highly scrutinized under the Cybercrime Act, as leaking in this way will result in a minimum six-month detention and/or a fine of at least AED 20,000 to AED 1 million.

Roy added that employees are prohibited from taking as personal property any original or photocopied documents or information belonging to their employer while on the job. In addition, employees must return any work-related information and data to their employers at the end of their service.

“To further prevent the retention of confidential information, employers are advised to include in their employment agreements a clause requiring employees to return confidential information upon termination of the employment relationship.”

According to the “Civil Transaction Law”, the employer has the right to initiate a civil lawsuit against the employee who violates the confidentiality obligation stipulated in the labor contract.

“This can be done during the employee’s employment or within one year after the contract is terminated. However, if the employee divulges the employer’s trade secrets, there is no such time limit to bring legal action,” she said.

Companies take employees to court when their losses due to leaks are substantial.

Raka Roy added that unintentional sharing of confidential data is much more common among employees.

“Deliberate sharing always backfires and has extremely strong repercussions for employees, including criminal prosecution against them.”

However, she recommends that companies include nondisclosure clauses in their employment agreements, letting employees know they must keep any workplace information and trade secrets confidential.

“It benefits employees because they know the extent of their responsibilities in terms of confidentiality,” she said.

In UAE law, the term “confidential information” is not clearly defined. However, any information, data, industrial or commercial secrets that employees come into contact with in connection with their work are considered confidential. Employers have the right to protect any information related to their business, such as trade secrets and information about third parties with whom they work, including customers, suppliers and suppliers.

Information related to an employee’s work while they are employed, and to which they have access in the workplace, is considered confidential. If a dispute arises as to whether certain information is subject to confidentiality obligations, the employer must bear the burden of proving ownership of the information.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com