A leave is simply the permission you provide to your employees to be absent from work for a certain number of days and this leave may be either paid or unpaid. Companies in UAE are required to follow the leave regulations of the Ministry of Labour. Any additional benefits that the business offers its employees go beyond what the Leave Salary Calculation Under UAE Labour Law requires.

Different types of leaves under UAE labour law:

• Official Holidays

• Annual Leave

• Sick Leave

• Special Leave

• Maternity Leave

Employees are entitled to an official leave with full pay on the following occasions:

• Hijra New Year – One day
• Christian New Year – One day
• Eid Al Fitr – Two days
• Eid Al Adha – Three days
• Waqfa day – Three days
• Birthday of the Prophet – One day
• Ascension Day – One day
• National Day – One day

Annual Leave

If an employee has worked for six months, they are eligible for annual leave.

When a person has been employed for more than six months but less than a year, they are entitled to an annual leave of two days per month. Employees who are having more than one year of employment are entitled to 30 days of leave every year.

Rules:

• During the annual leave, a contract cannot be terminated.
• Holidays that fall on the annual leave period are also included in the annual leave.
• The period of leave during which he has worked has not been carried over to the next year.
• The employee will be eligible for payment for the days they have worked while on annual leave.
• If the employee works on a holiday or a day off for which he is paid in full or in part with an increase in pay by 50% of his wage. If the employee has not been compensated for the same with leave, the employer must pay him an increase to his base salary equal to 150% of the number of days worked

Sick leave

When an employee becomes sick for a reason other than a workplace accident, they must inform the employer within two days.

The law now limits sick leave to a maximum of 90 days per year of employment:

• 15 days: full payment
• Next 30 days: 50% of salary
• Days following: No payment

An employee who is on probation is not allowed any paid sick leave. After the initial three-month probation period, paid sick leave is functional.

Pay during sick leave is not permitted, if the illness was caused by improper behaviour, such as consumption of alcohol or drugs.

If an employee does not return to work after taking leave, the employer may terminate that employee’s employment.

If an employee resigns due to illness before the first 45 days of sick leave and the Government Medical Officer or the company physician justifies the reason for the resignation, the employer is required to pay the employee any unpaid wages for the time that has passed since the first 45 days mentioned above.

Special leave

Special leave without pay will be provided for performing a pilgrimage once throughout the employment. This leave will not be counted towards other leaves and cannot last longer than 30 days.

Maternity leave

Maternity leaves are available to all female employees.

The Maternity Benefit sets rules for women’s employment in specific workplaces during specific times before and after childbirth and offers maternity benefits.

If a woman has worked for the company continuously for at least a year, she is eligible for Maternity leave with full pay for a total of 45 days. The amount of benefit for the maternity leave will only be half if she has not completed the required amount of service.

If an illness occurred during pregnancy or after delivery and unable to work again, she may take additional days of unpaid leave on top of the basic maternity leave. These leave days can be consecutive or irregular. A medical certificate attested by the relevant health authority from a medical authority endorsing that the sickness was caused by pregnancy or delivery must be used as proof. This leave cannot be added to other leave types.

Every employee whose vacation expired and does not return to work forfeits their salary for the time they were absent, which starts the day after the expiration date. The employer may not terminate an employee or give him a notice of termination while he is on leave.

This blog on Leave Salary Calculation Under UAE Labour Law is based on UAE Federal Law no.8 of 1980

Reference:

U.A.E. LABOUR LAW

FEDERAL LAW NO. (8) OF 1980

LABOUR LAW AND ITS AMENDMENTS 2001