The entitlements themselves are straightforward. What generates disputes is **accrual and encashment on exit** — annual leave accrues from the first day of service, unused leave is paid on termination, and the daily rate used is where employers and employees most often disagree. Reconcile leave to records monthly, not at exit.
Leave
Entitlements, requests and records
The entitlements themselves are straightforward. What generates disputes is accrual and encashment on exit — annual leave accrues from the first day of service, unused leave is paid on termination, and the daily rate used is where employers and employees most often disagree. Reconcile leave to records monthly, not at exit.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employer | [COMPANY NAME], licence [NUMBER] |
| Jurisdiction | [Mainland — Federal Decree-Law 33/2021] |
| Leave year | [DATE] to [DATE] |
| Requests through | [SYSTEM] |
| Approver | [ROLE] |
| Notice for annual leave | [14] days |
| Carry-forward | [Permitted up to ______ days / Not permitted] |
| Encashment during employment | [Permitted as agreed / Not permitted] |
| Records held by | [ROLE] |
| Version and date | [NUMBER], [DATE] |
1. Entitlements
| Type | Entitlement | Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | 30 calendar days per year after one year of service; 2 days per month between six months and one year | Full pay |
| Public holidays | As gazetted | Full pay |
| Sick leave | Up to 90 days per year, after probation | First 15 days full pay; next 30 days half pay; remaining 45 unpaid |
| Maternity leave | 60 days | 45 days full pay; 15 days half pay, with further unpaid entitlement in defined circumstances |
| Nursing breaks | For the period the Law provides after returning | Paid |
| Parental leave | 5 working days for either parent, within six months of the birth | Full pay |
| Bereavement leave | [5] days for a spouse; [3] days for a defined relative | Full pay |
| Study leave | 10 days per year for employees at an accredited UAE institution, subject to service | Full pay |
| Hajj leave | Up to 30 days, once during service | Unpaid |
| [Compassionate / other] | [Contractual, not statutory] | [DETAIL] |
1.1Confirm the current entitlements and pay scales against MOHRE before publishing. Several have been amended since 2022 and templates circulating online are frequently out of date.
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Annual leave accrues from the first day of service, not from confirmation and not from the first anniversary. Employers who start the clock at confirmation under-accrue for every employee, and the shortfall surfaces at exit as an encashment dispute.
Leave encashment is the second most disputed line in a final settlement after gratuity. Reconciling balances monthly and showing them on the payslip means the figure at exit is already agreed. Reconstructing three years of leave in fourteen days does not work.
Unpaid leave is excluded from service for gratuity purposes. It needs recording when it happens, because reconstructing which absences were unpaid years later is where gratuity calculations fall apart and where employees reasonably challenge the result.
A settlement statement showing days accrued, days taken, days remaining and the daily rate applied prevents most disputes. A single figure invites a MOHRE complaint from someone with time on their hands.
Annual leave accrual, gratuity service and any vesting continue during paid maternity, sick and other statutory leave. Suspending them disadvantages employees for exercising statutory rights and is indefensible if challenged.
Fifteen days full pay, thirty days half pay, then unpaid — within a ninety-day annual limit, after probation. Policies that promise ninety days paid sick leave are wrong and expensive.
Injury arising out of and in the course of employment is dealt with under the work injury compensation regime with its own entitlements. Processing it as ordinary sick leave underpays the employee and misses the reporting and insurance obligations.
An employee may not be dismissed or given notice because of pregnancy or maternity leave. Where a termination coincides with either, expect the sequence to be examined closely and make sure the genuine reason is documented contemporaneously.
Whether public holidays and weekly rest days falling inside a leave period count against the entitlement is a detail that changes the arithmetic materially over a year. Confirm the current position, state it in the policy, and apply it consistently.
Whether leave carries forward, how much, and by when it must be used are policy choices within the framework the Law allows. Silence produces employees carrying large balances that crystallise as cash at exit.
Paying an employee not to take leave is permitted only within what the Law allows, and a culture of routinely encashing rather than resting is a wellbeing problem before it is a compliance one. State the position rather than leaving it to practice.
Sick leave requires a medical certificate from an approved medical authority. Accepting any note sets a precedent that is difficult to reverse, and inconsistent enforcement between employees creates its own grievance.
Several leave entitlements and pay scales have been amended since 2022, and online templates are frequently out of date. Verify each figure with MOHRE before issuing a policy that employees will rely on.
Free zones generally apply the federal entitlements through the zone, but DIFC and ADGM operate their own employment codes with different leave rules. This policy is drafted for the mainland framework.
Reflects UAE law current as of {{DATE OF USE}}. Federal Decree-Law 33/2021 has been amended and Cabinet resolutions on leave entitlements, pay scales, parental leave and holiday treatment change — confirm each entitlement with MOHRE or a UAE employment adviser before publishing this policy.
This is a ready-to-use template provided for convenience. Laws and requirements change, and every situation is different — please have it reviewed by a qualified professional (a lawyer, corporate secretary, or accountant as relevant) before you rely on it.