About to be sacked? Signs that UAE employees should look for

Before officially getting the pink slip, there are many subtle ways by which an employee can tell that it may be time for him/her to exit.

Be smart enough to spot these signs and look for another job, say experts.

Ahmad Turani, Business Development Executive at Bayt.com believes: “There are many signs that can tell an employee they are about to be dismissed from work.”

“Feeling avoided by others; a change in their relationship with their boss; a change in their relationship with their colleagues; feeling left-out; lesser responsibilities/job tasks; overall downsizing in the company; no longer being held accountable and their ideas are almost always rejected for no good reason,” are some of the telling signs that a person is about to get the boot, the Bayt.com expert told Emirates 24|7.

Experts say there will be many instances when the employee will be told directly or indirectly that it’s time.

However, this may not happen in case of restructuring, when employees may be caught unaware.

“If the decision to let go of an employee is due to his/her performance, there are several warnings, oral and written, given in advance.

"If it is due to a restructuring, the information might be a bit more vague, as positions may be made redundant even if the person occupying them is competent.

"So, this decision is delayed till a final structure is determined and thus the signs may be more ambiguous for a period of time,” Konstantina Sakellariou, Partner, Marketing & Operations Director at Stanton Chase told this website.

Toby Simpson, Managing Director at The Gulf Recruitment Group says, “There is no clear and legal way to know whether you are on the way out until you attend the dreaded meeting.

"Employees who ‘have read the signs’ need to press on and keep proving why they deserve to be a part of the team.”

A HR manager of a top company in Dubai says that it is very difficult to sack an employee without giving her/him several verbal and written warnings.

“We can’t tell him to leave one day unless he has acted in a way that could harm the organisation. We have to go by the book,” he said on the condition of anonymity.

“My company has been taken over by another firm and people around me are getting laid-off. It’s just a matter of time before I also get the letter.

"I’m on the look-out for another job,” said a private equity professional in Dubai without wishing to reveal his identity