Provisions of Maternity Leave in UAE

Provisions of Maternity Leave in UAE:

A female employee is entitled to a maternity leave of 60 days, out of which:

✔            45 days will be fully-paid leave.

✔            15 days will be half-paid leave.

A working woman shall be entitled for 45 days maternity leave with full pay including the period before and after the delivery, provided she has served continuously for not less than one year in the company. The maternity leave shall be granted with only half pay if the woman has not completed one year in her respective job.

The female worker shall be entitled to the maternity leave mentioned above if the delivery took place six months or more after pregnancy is confirmed, whether the fetus was born dead or alive and then died.

If the female worker gives birth to a sick child or a child of determination, whose health condition requires a constant companion, according to a medical report issued by the medical entity, she has the right to a leave of thirty (30) days with full pay starting after the end of the maternity leave and she the right to extend the leave for a period of (30) thirty days without pay.

If the female worker may, after using the maternity leave, be absent from work without a wage for a period not exceeding continuous or intermittent forty-five (45) days. If this absence is due to her sickness or her child's sickness resulting from pregnancy or childbirth, which does not allow her to return to her work. Such sickness shall be proven by a medical certificate issued by the medical entity. This period is not included within the service term, for which the female worker is entitled to end of service benefits.

The employer shall grant the female worker a maternity leave upon her request at any time, starting from the last day of the month preceding immediately the month, in which she is expected to give birth, and this shall be proven by a certificate issued by the medical entity.

Being on a maternity leave or absent from work shall not prejudice the female worker's right to obtain the other leaves. If the female worker works for another employer during the period of her authorised leave, the original employer may deprive her of her wages for the leave period or redeem what he has paid to her.

It is not permissible to terminate the service of the female worker or notify her of the same because of the pregnancy.

After returning from maternity leave and for a period of not more than (6) six months from the date of delivery, the female worker shall be entitled to one or two breaks per day to breastfeed her child, provided that the two breaks do not exceed an hour. Such breaks are fully paid for.