All employees will be provided the following leaves, as per the UAE’s new labor law or Federal Decree no. 33 of 2021, effective February 2, 2022:
Weekly leave:
A worker has the right to get one day of paid leave per week.
Public Holiday:
Public holidays will be granted as a leave. If their work circumstances do not allow leave on a holiday, the employee will be given either a compensatory off, or s/he will be paid 50% extra basic wage for holiday work.
Annual Leave:
An employee is entitled to a paid annual leave of 30 days every year, for each year of service.
Individuals who have rendered more than 6 months and less than a year of service will be given, and 2 days per month.
Under the new law, Part-time workers are also entitled to annual leave according to the working hours of their service.
An employer has the right to decide the date of annual leave, and it can be decided according to the work requirements and in agreement with the employee.
It is the employer’s duty to notify the employee a month before the date of annual leave.
The employee must use his leave entitlement in the same leave year, but with mutual consent can carry over annual leave days for next year.
The employer can’t stop employees from using annual leave for more than 2 years’ time period.
Maternity leave:
A female employee is entitled to maternity leave of 90 days. Of this number, 30 calendar days will be fully paid, while the next 15 days of leave will be paid half. The remaining 45 days will be without pay.
Sick leave:
After a probationary period, a worker is entitled to 15 days of sick leave with full pay and 30 days half pay. Each employee is also entitled to get 45 days of sick leave without pay per annum.
If the sickness is due to an occupational disease or work injury, then the sick leave can be fully paid for six months. The remainder of the next six months for the year may be paid half, depending on the severity of the injury or the disease.
Other leaves:
Bereavement/Compassionate Leave: 5 days paid leave for death of a spouse and 3 days paid leave for death of child, sibling, parents, grandparents, or grandchild.
Paternal leave. A father has the right to get paternal leave for 5 days that should be consumed within the first six months when his baby is born.
Educational leave. An employee is entitled to 10 days of education leave upon completion of two years of service.
Other than the aforementioned leaves, an employer and an employee can agree on other forms of leave with their mutual consent.
