4 Facts: Maternity & Paternity Leave in the UAE

If you’re an expectant mom, you should know about your rights in the UAE. Here are some of the things you need to know regarding maternity and paternity leave in the UAE.

1. Maternity Laws – Revisions

As of now, the proportion of female to male specialists in the UAE was at that point one of the least in the world. Numerous businesses addressed female candidates amid meeting to discover their perspectives on marriage and kids, and consequently utilized this data when settling on. A few ladies neglected to come back to work if their managers just offered the essential least maternity advantages as required by law.

2. Holidays

How many days of maternity leave are new mothers in the UAE entitled to?

As of March 1, 2017, Dubai’s public sector employees will be given three months maternity leave (90 days), and it will be on full pay (in many countries a full salary isn’t actually given during maternity leave). Some Dubai companies have already voluntarily extended their maternity leave.

The Abu Dhabi government extended its maternity leave for employees, also giving women three months paid leave after having a baby, and allowing them to leave two hours early (rather than one hour early) for a year after their baby is born.

However, for private sector, taking after the conception of their kid, the mother is qualified for 45 schedule days of maternity leave. Those working in general society division appreciate a somewhat more time frame – 60 logbook days. 45 days is proportionate to a little more than six weeks altogether, which by numerous individuals’ reasoning is valuable little time for any lady to permit her body to correct after the conception, furthermore to guarantee the characteristic bond in the middle of mother and tyke grows in like manner. Once the time of maternity leave has slipped by, the lady can pick to take an extra 100 successive days or date-book days of unpaid leave if either lady or kid has a pregnancy or conception related disease.

3. Returning to Work

The new legislation will also provide working mums an extra hour off a day for breastfeeding (raised to a total of two hours), which women are able to take until their baby’s first birthday. Women can either start their working day later, or finish early to use this leave.

4. Paternity Leave
As part of the new law dads now receive three days of paternity leave in the UAE. They are eligible for a fully paid 3-day paternity leave once they welcome a new family. The country doesn’t impose any paternity labour laws. Therefore, only employers decide whether to provide paternity leave to male workers or not, and apparently, the majority don’t, as only a small number of companies provide male employees with paternity leave benefits.

FAQS about Maternity and Paternity Leave in the UAE

1. Does weekend count as part of the maternity allowance?
Yes, weekends do count. The maternity leave allowance for private-sector employees in the UAE who have completed one year of continuous service is 45 days at full pay – but these are calendar days, not working days. This means that weekends are included as part of the allowance, making it a total of about six weeks off all together. If you have not yet completed one year of continuous service then you are entitled to 45 calendar days of leave at half pay.

2. Is my full pay entitlement my gross salary?
Yes. The ‘full pay’ that you are entitled to during your maternity leave is your gross salary, inclusive of both your basic salary and any allowances. If you have not been at your place of employment for more than a year when you go on maternity leave then the ‘half pay’ you are entitled to would be half of your gross salary, inclusive of any allowances.

3. Can I extend my leave for 100 unpaid days even if I’m just a new employee?
After your 45 days of paid maternity leave is over, you are able to extend your leave by up to 100 days of unpaid leave if you have a valid medical certificate stating that the illness resulted from pregnancy or delivery.

In relation to the additional 100 days of unpaid leave provided for under the UAE Labour Law, the law does not distinguish between women with more or less than one year of continuous service. The employee’s length of service only affects whether she is entitled to full pay or half pay for the initial 45 calendar days’ statutory maternity leave.

4. When can I use my maternity leave allowance?
Your maternity leave allowance can be used before or after you give birth. The 45 days of maternity leave can include time before and after delivery, so if you want to take some paid time off to nest before baby comes then you are entitled to it. However, this will obviously eat away at your overall maternity leave allowance and give you less time to spend with baby once he or she arrives.

5. I’m too sick to go to work. Should I use my maternity leave or normal sick leave?

Where an employee is experiencing pregnancy-related health issues and complications during the pregnancy, she would be entitled to sick leave in the normal manner provided she has a valid medical certificate (and this would avoid the need to exhaust the maternity leave entitlement prior to the birth).

As per the UAE Labour Law, you are entitled to a sick leave not exceeding 90 consecutive or non-consecutive days for every year of service, calculated as follows:
a – The first fifteen days with full pay.
b – The following thirty days with half-pay.
c – Any following period without pay.

6. Can my employer fire me for being pregnant?

No. You can’t be fired for being pregnant. Pregnancy is not a valid reason for dismissal. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t lose your job while you are pregnant.

The UAE Labour Law does not include any specific provisions regarding termination of employment during pregnancy. However, if a pregnant woman is dismissed without a valid reason (i.e. other than due to her performance or conduct), she can file an employment claim in the UAE Labour Court.

While the Court would not require the employer to reinstate the employee to her position/role with the company, the Court may award the employee compensation if the Court ultimately determined that she had been dismissed without a valid reason (bearing in mind that pregnancy in itself is not a valid reason for dismissal). The maximum amount of compensation that may be awarded to the employee is 3 months’ gross salary, in addition to her contractual and statutory entitlements such as end of service gratuity.

7. Can they terminate my contract while I am on maternity leave?

Your employer can’t terminate your contract while you are on maternity leave. An employer is not permitted to dismiss an employee while she is on maternity leave. However, if an employer did so, the employee’s only legal recourse would be to file a compensation claim against her employer in the UAE Labour Court. In other words, the Court would not require the employer to reinstate the employee to her position/role in the company, even if she had been dismissed while on maternity leave. If an employee was dismissed during maternity leave and did sue her employer for compensation, the employee is likely to be awarded the full amount of compensation due to the circumstances, being 3 months’ gross salary (in addition to the employee’s contractual and statutory entitlements such as end of service gratuity) and potentially the remaining balance of the maternity pay due to her.