What Are the UAE Rules for Maternity, Parental, and Compassionate Leave?

UAE private-sector employers need clear processes for managing maternity, parental, and bereavement leave. These leave types affect attendance, payroll, employee benefits, and workforce planning.

For employees covered by the UAE private-sector Labour Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, as amended, provides specific statutory entitlements for maternity, parental, and bereavement leave. The rules discussed below apply to the private sector; government employees can be subject to separate federal or local government rules.

1. Maternity Leave in the UAE

A female employee is entitled to 60 days of maternity leave:

• First 45 days: Full wage
• Following 15 days: Half wage

The entitlement applies subject to the conditions in Article 30 of the Labour Law.

Employers should record maternity leave separately from annual and sick leave so that the correct entitlement and payroll treatment can be applied.

2. When Can Maternity Leave Start?

An employee can request maternity leave at any time from the last day of the month immediately preceding the expected month of delivery, supported by a certificate issued by a medical entity.

HR systems should therefore allow maternity leave to be scheduled in advance while retaining the expected delivery information required for processing the request.

3. Additional Leave for Pregnancy or Child-Related Illness

After maternity leave, a female employee may be absent for up to 45 additional days, continuously or intermittently, without wage where the absence results from her illness or the child's illness connected with pregnancy or childbirth and prevents her from returning to work.

The condition must be supported by a medical certificate.

This additional period should be recorded separately from the standard 60-day maternity leave.

4. Leave for a Sick Child or Child of Determination

Where an employee gives birth to a sick child or a child of determination whose health condition requires a constant companion, a medical report can support:

• 30 days with full pay after maternity leave
• An additional 30 days without pay

The applicable medical documentation and statutory conditions should be verified before the leave is approved.

5. Protection During Maternity Leave

An employer cannot terminate a female employee or notify her of termination because of her pregnancy, maternity leave, or absence under the maternity-leave provisions.

HR teams should therefore ensure that employment-status and attendance processes do not incorrectly treat protected maternity-related absence as ordinary unauthorized absence.

6. Breastfeeding Breaks After Maternity Leave

After returning to work, a female employee is entitled to one or two breastfeeding breaks per day for up to six months from the date of delivery.

The combined duration of the breaks must not exceed one hour per day.

Attendance systems should be capable of recording these breaks appropriately rather than treating them as unexplained attendance exceptions.

7. Parental Leave

The UAE Labour Law provides five working days of paid parental leave for an employee who has a newly born child.

The entitlement applies to either the father or the mother and may be taken continuously or intermittently within six months from the child's date of birth.

For example, an employee could use:

2 days + 3 days = 5 working days

provided the leave is taken within the statutory six-month period.

8. Parental Leave Is Separate From Maternity Leave

Maternity leave and parental leave should be maintained as separate leave categories.

For example:

Maternity leave → 60 days according to statutory wage rules

Parental leave → 5 working days of paid leave

This distinction helps HR and payroll systems apply the correct entitlement and prevents employees' leave balances from being incorrectly reduced.

9. Bereavement or Compassionate Leave

The Labour Law provides paid bereavement leave in specified circumstances:

• 5 days when the employee's husband or wife dies
• 3 days when the employee's mother, father, son, brother, sister, grandson, grandfather, or grandmother dies

The leave starts from the date of death.

Employers should use a dedicated bereavement or compassionate-leave category in the HR system.

10. Record Supporting Documentation

Depending on company procedures and the applicable circumstances, HR may request appropriate supporting documentation for leave.

The system can maintain:

• Leave request
• Leave dates
• Leave type
• Supporting document
• Approval
• Approver
• Payroll treatment

Sensitive documents should be accessible only to authorized personnel.

11. Integrate Leave With Attendance

Approved maternity, parental, and bereavement leave should automatically update attendance.

For example:

Approved parental leave → Attendance marked as parental leave → Employee not flagged as absent

This prevents approved leave from appearing as an attendance violation.

12. Connect Leave With Payroll

Leave records should also be linked with payroll.

A typical workflow is:

Employee request → HR/manager approval → Attendance update → Leave calculation → Payroll

This is particularly important for maternity leave because the statutory entitlement contains different full-pay and half-pay periods.

13. Maintain Separate Leave Balances

Employers should maintain separate records for:

• Annual leave
• Sick leave
• Maternity leave
• Parental leave
• Bereavement leave
• Other statutory or company-approved leave

This makes it easier to determine which entitlement an employee has used and what remains available.

14. Use Employee Self-Service

An employee self-service system can allow employees to:

• Submit maternity leave
• Request parental leave
• Request bereavement leave
• Upload supporting documents
• Check approval status
• View leave history
• Receive notifications

Mobile access can be particularly useful for employees who need to submit leave requests outside normal office hours.

15. Create an Approval Workflow

A structured approval process can reduce manual HR work.

For example:

Employee submits request → Manager receives notification → HR verifies eligibility → Leave approved → Attendance updated → Payroll notified

The system should maintain an audit trail of each step.

16. Plan Workforce Coverage

Maternity and parental leave can affect staffing for longer periods, particularly where maternity leave is followed by other eligible leave.

Managers should review:

• Employee's expected absence
• Team capacity
• Shift coverage
• Temporary replacement requirements
• Pending leave requests

A leave calendar can help managers plan staffing in advance.

17. Track Leave Across Multiple UAE Locations

Companies with branches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and other locations can use centralized leave management to monitor employee absences.

HR can filter leave by:

• Branch
• Department
• Employee
• Manager
• Leave type
• Date

This provides better visibility into workforce availability.

18. Maintain an Audit Trail

Every leave transaction should be traceable.

The system can record:

Request → Approval → Leave taken → Attendance update → Payroll treatment

If the leave dates are subsequently changed, the system should retain the original request and the approved modification.

19. Keep Policies Updated

Employers should regularly review their leave policies against the latest UAE legislation and implementing regulations.

Companies can provide benefits that are more favourable than the statutory minimum, but internal policies should not reduce statutory employee rights.

It is also important to distinguish private-sector rules from federal or local government-sector leave rules, which may differ. The UAE Government confirms that federal government employees are governed by separate legislation.

Conclusion

UAE private-sector employers should manage maternity, parental, and compassionate leave through clearly defined policies and accurate HR records. Under the current private-sector Labour Law, maternity leave is 60 days—45 days at full wage and 15 days at half wage. Parental leave provides 5 working days of paid leave for either parent within six months of the child's birth. Bereavement leave provides 5 days for the death of a spouse and 3 days for the death of specified close relatives.

An integrated HR and payroll system can simplify leave requests, approvals, attendance updates, documentation, payroll calculations, and workforce planning, while maintaining an audit trail for each employee's leave record.

Different leave types need separate rules and records. InnBuilt leave workflows can help UAE employers configure maternity, parental and compassionate leave categories and route requests for approval.