OFFICIAL
HOLIDAYS
Employees are entitled for an official holiday
with full pay on the following days:
- 1 day for Hijri New Year
- 1 day for Gregorian New Year
- 1 day for Isra and Miaraj (ascension day)
- 1 day for Prophet Mohammad’s birthday
- 1 day for National Day
- 2 days for Eid Al-Fitr
- 3 days for Eid Al Adha and Waqfa day
The above is the minimum that employees must
be given. It is at the employer’s discretion to give additional time off during
the holidays.
ANNUAL
LEAVE
As per UAE Labor Law, every employee must be
granted an annual leave during each year under his or her employment. If the
employee has only been working for more than six months but less than a full
calendar year, the employee will receive two days per month paid leave. If
employment exceeds one year, the employee will receive 30 days paid leave per
annum. At the end of the employee’s employment with the company, he or she will
receive annual leave based on the fraction of the year worked.
It is at the employer’s discretion when an
employee is entitled to take his or her annual leave vacation. The employer
also has the right to divide the leave into two parts. If circumstances require
the employee to work during his or her annual leave, the employer must carry
over the annual leave to the following year or the employer must compensate the
employee with cash in lieu of leave days.
SICK
LEAVE
If an employee falls sick due to injury or
illness preventing him or her from coming to the workplace, it must be reported
to the employer within a maximum of two days. If the employee is still on
probation then sick leave is without pay. After the probation period (three
months working), the employee is entitled to 90 days continuous or intermittent
sick days. Pay will be remunerated as follows:
- Full pay for first 15 days
- Half pay for next 30 days
- Without pay for remaining 60 days
An employer has the right to request an
official medical certificate to support the employee’s absence due to sick
leave. If it is proven than the employee’s illness is caused directly by
misconduct (i.e. drinking or narcotics), the sick leave will not be paid. Also,
if an employee is found to be working elsewhere during the sick leave, the
employer has the right to dismiss the employee and he or she is no longer
entitled to the paid sick leave days.
MATERNITY
LEAVE
Working women in the UAE are entitled to 45
days paid maternity leave which includes the period before and after the
delivery. If she has been employed for more than one year, full pay is given;
half pay occurs if the woman has been employed less than one year with the
company.
At the end of the maternity leave, a working
woman has the right to extend her maternity leave for a maximum period of one
hundred days without pay. This unpaid leave can be continuous or intermittent
if the leave is caused by illness resulting from pregnancy or the delivery, and
which prevents her from coming to work. The illness must be confirmed by a
certified government physician licensed by the competent health authority.
Leave provided in either of the above cases is
not deducted from any other leave that a working woman employee is entitled to.
During the 18 months following delivery, a
working woman who nurses her child also has the right to have two daily
sessions (30 minutes each) for the purpose of nursing her child. These
additional breaks are considered part of her working hours and no deduction in
wages can be made.
Paternity leave is not provided for under the
Law officially in the UAE, however most employers usual allow unpaid leave for
a few days following the birth.
PILGRIMAGE
LEAVE
Employees are entitled to special leave
without pay to perform Haj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. This leave must not extend
30 days and is not part of any other leave the employee is entitled to.
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