The UAE Labor Law’s provisions on working hours and leave entitlements are aimed to protect employees’ rights and safeguard fair treatment in the workplace. Identifying these rights and obligations is important for both employers and employees to maintain an appropriate and productive working environment. According to these regulations, this raises a positive work culture and lowers the risk of legal disputes.
Disambiguation: This article discusses employment laws in the context of UAE Federal Law. For ADGM labour laws, please refer to ADGM Labour Laws . For DIFC labour laws, please refer to DIFC Labour Laws.
Working Hours
According to the UAE Labor Law, the standard working hours consist of 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week, with some sectors being exempted or having reduced hours mandated for specific industries.
Reduced Working Hours
During Ramadan, all the employees have their working hours reduced by 2 hours per day, resulting in a 6-hour standard working day.
Rest Breaks
Employees are allowed breaks during their working hours, with a mandatory break of at least one hour if working for more than 5 consecutive hours. This break is not counted as part of the working hours.
Overtime
Employees are entitled to overtime compensation for any hours worked beyond the standard working hours, with different rates for standard overtime, night overtime, and rest day work.
Types of Leave Entitlements
The UAE Labor Law provides various types of leave entitlements to employees, ensuring that they can take time off to rest, recover, and appear to personal or family matters without missing their income or job security.
Annual Leave
Employees are granted annual leave based on their length of service:
- 30 calendar days for employees with at least one year of service.
- Two days per month for employees with less than one year but more than six months of service.
Probation
An employee undergoing their probation period paid sick leave will not be granted as mentioned in the UAE Labour Law.
Payment during Leave
During annual leave, employees receive their regular wages, which encompass their basic salary and any housing allowance. If an employee is terminated or resigns, they are entitled to payment for any unused annual leave days.
Sick Leave
Employees are entitled to sick leave after completing three months of continuous service. The entitlement is as follows:
Sick Leave Documentation
Employees must present a medical certificate issued by a licensed medical practitioner to qualify for paid sick leave.
Employees will be granted sick leave if they face an accident, have an illness for a prolonged period, suffer from cardiac problems or any other medical reasons that are validated by the health department. The first 15 days’ paid leave in a year will be granted to the employee if there is proof of their illness or sickness. In some unfortunate situations, the employee may require leave for a longer time, supposedly more than 15 days, in such cases the employee would be given 50% of salary in the upcoming 30-month period.
However, there are some instances where the employee would be unqualified for a sick leave in the situation if the employee is found to be consuming alcohol or drugs.
Maternity Leave
Female employees are entitled to 60 days of maternity leave:
- First 45 days: Full wages.
- Next 15 days: Half wages.
A child born with a disability, or medical issues require more attention and care from the parents and during such situations a maternity leave can be taken for an additional 30 days with salary being fully paid, however she can take an added 30 days of leave without pay. However, the health condition of the child must be shown with a verified & approved medical certificate.
Provisions for Childcare
In addition to maternity leave, the law allows female employees two additional breaks per day for breastfeeding, each lasting 1 hour, for up to six months. In some instances, the mother cannot resume work despite the maternity leave being used up, for this case she avails 100 days of unpaid leave. Again, in this case a valid certificate from a medical health authority is needed and this leave does not reduce benefits from other leaves.
Paternity & Parental Leave
Fathers are entitled to five working days of paid paternity leave, which can be taken continuously or intermittently within six months of the child’s birth. In supplement to paternity leave, the UAE Labor Law introduces parental leave, granting both parents with five working days of paid leave to utilize.
Bereavement Leave
Employees are permitted to receive paid compassionate leave in the occurrence of the passing of a close family member:
- 5 days for the death of a spouse.
- 3 days for the death of a parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild.
Study Leave
Employees who have served at least two years with their employer are eligible for up to 10 working days of study leave annually. This leave is available to employees registered in an approved educational establishment in the UAE.
Sabbatical Leave
Sabbatical leave is much like annual leave, however in this scenario only the employees who belong to UAE and are nationals of this country are eligible for this time off. As the UAE Federal Decree mentions, this leave can last between 11 months and 3 years and is mandatory for males to take and could be a choice for the female employees. Nevertheless, relevant proof from the authorities is required to approve this leave.
Leave Calculation and Payment
Annual leave is decided based on the calendar days, which includes weekends and public holidays occurring during the leave period. However, if a public holiday falls within an employee’s annual leave, that public holiday will not be deducted from the employee’s annual leave balance. In some situations, unless it is not specified in the contract or company policy, it is up to the employer to decide, and they have the right to determine the annual leave.
In some cases, carry forward leave situation may be applicable and in this regard the employee may choose to take up not more than half of the annual leave to the following year or they could also agree to take up cash allowance at the time they were supposed to take the leave.
In case the employee concludes his service, they may be paid a cash allowance according to their salary for the remaining balance of whatever annual leave was pending.
Leave Encashment
If an employee does not utilize the whole of annual leave, they are entitled to receive payment for the unused leave days, calculated according to their basic salary. This payment is generally processed upon termination or resignation. Employees would be granted 30 days of paid yearly leave in this circumstance if they have completed a year of service. If the employee in the company has worked for less than a year but served for over six months, they would be granted encashment for 2 days per month, however in the case of 6 months service an employee would not be granted any.
Provisions for Special Cases
- Leave without Pay: Employees may apply for unpaid leave for various personal reasons, subject to the employer’s approval. Unpaid leave does not count towards the calculation of annual leave entitlement.
- Leave for Hajj or Umrah: While not explicitly required by law, employers frequently grant leave for Hajj or Umrah, either as part of the annual leave or as special unpaid leave.
Penalties
If an employee is found to be undergoing penalty under the UAE Labour Law, violations of the federal decree or executive regulations they would face serious consequences of imprisonment of up to 6 months, and/or fines between three thousand dirhams to ten thousand dirhams. In case the violation is found to be done on a repeated basis within 3 years then the fines could be doubled. For offences being committed repeatedly, the employer/management of the business could be held legally and financially for labor law violations from their organization.
In case employees feel that their privileges have been breached upon, they have the option to raise a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). The MOHRE will intervene or escalate the matter to a labor court if required.
Labour and Employment in UAE are the most important backbone and play a vital role in ensuring a smooth workplace. Any person residing here or working here should familiarize themselves with the given provisions and follow the law. Lastly, when both the employer and employee form a healthy work environment and promote growth of their company then the goal will always be met.
