How Should Sick Leave Be Recorded and Managed Under UAE Labour Law?

Sick leave is an important part of employee attendance and payroll management in the UAE. Employers need a clear process for employees to report illness, submit required documentation, obtain approval, update attendance records, and process the appropriate payroll treatment.

For private-sector employees covered by Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, an employee who becomes ill after completing the probation period must notify the employer within the period specified by the applicable rules and provide a medical report where required. The Labour Law provides for sick leave of up to 90 days per year, whether continuous or intermittent, with the statutory wage treatment varying across the leave period.

1. Establish a Clear Sick Leave Policy

Employers should communicate a clear procedure explaining:

• How employees report sickness
• Who should be notified
• When notification must be made
• When a medical certificate is required
• How sick leave is recorded
• How leave is approved
• How sick leave affects attendance and payroll

The policy should be consistent with applicable UAE labour requirements and the employer's approved HR procedures.

2. Employee Should Notify the Employer

When an employee is unable to attend work because of illness, the employee should follow the company's notification process.

A typical workflow is:

Employee reports illness → Manager/HR notified → Sick leave request submitted → Medical documentation provided where required → Leave recorded

Providing employees with a mobile or self-service option can make this process easier.

3. Record the Sick Leave in the HR System

Once the absence is reported and approved, HR should record the leave against the employee's attendance record.

The record can include:

• Employee name
• Leave type
• Start date
• End date
• Number of days
• Notification date
• Approval status
• Supporting documentation
• Manager or HR approval

This prevents sick leave from being incorrectly recorded as unauthorized absence.

4. Track the 90-Day Sick Leave Entitlement

Under Article 31 of the UAE Labour Law, an employee who has completed probation is entitled to sick leave of up to 90 days per year, whether continuous or intermittent. The wage treatment is:

• First 15 days: full wage
• Next 30 days: half wage
• Remaining 45 days: unpaid

These provisions are subject to the exceptions and conditions established by UAE law.

An HR system can automatically track how much sick leave an employee has used during the relevant period.

5. Example of Sick Leave Calculation

Suppose an employee takes 50 days of sick leave during the applicable year.

The statutory wage treatment would generally be:

• First 15 days: Full wage
• Next 30 days: Half wage
• Remaining 5 days: Unpaid

This example is for explaining the statutory structure; payroll should apply the current legal rules to the employee's actual circumstances.

6. Track Continuous and Intermittent Sick Leave

Sick leave does not have to be taken as one continuous period. The law permits sick leave to be taken continuously or intermittently within the applicable annual entitlement.

For example:

• January: 5 days
• March: 3 days
• June: 10 days
• September: 7 days

The HR system should maintain the cumulative record rather than treating each period as an entirely separate entitlement.

7. Maintain Medical Documentation

Where medical documentation is required, HR should maintain the relevant record securely.

The system can show:

Sick leave request → Medical document → HR verification → Approval → Attendance update

Employers should avoid collecting unnecessary medical information and should restrict access to authorized personnel.

8. Protect Sensitive Health Information

Sick leave documentation can contain sensitive personal information. HR departments should therefore use appropriate access controls.

Organizations should consider:

• Restricted access
• Secure document storage
• Data minimization
• Confidentiality
• Retention policies
• Audit logs

Managers generally need to know that an employee's absence is approved without necessarily having access to detailed medical information.

9. Connect Sick Leave With Attendance

Once approved, sick leave should automatically update the employee's attendance status.

For example:

Approved sick leave → Attendance marked as sick leave → Absence alert suppressed

This avoids incorrectly marking an employee as absent or late during an approved period.

10. Integrate Sick Leave With Payroll

Sick leave should also flow into payroll so that the applicable wage treatment can be calculated correctly.

The workflow can be:

Sick leave → Approved attendance → Sick leave balance → Payroll calculation

For employees who cross different paid and unpaid sick-leave stages, payroll software can reduce manual calculations.

11. Handle Sick Leave During Probation Correctly

The sick-leave provisions applicable after probation should not simply be applied to every employee in the same way.

Employers should identify whether the employee is:

• In probation
• Beyond probation
• Covered by another applicable arrangement

HR systems should therefore maintain the employee's probation and employment status and apply the appropriate policy.

12. Record Sick Leave Approvals

An approval workflow can improve transparency.

For example:

Employee request → Manager notification → HR review → Approved → Payroll updated

The system should retain:

• Request date
• Leave dates
• Approver
• Approval date
• Status
• Supporting documentation

This provides an audit trail for future reference.

13. Manage Sick Leave Extensions

If an employee remains unwell beyond the initially approved period, HR should have a process for extending the sick leave.

The employee may submit:

• Updated leave dates
• Additional required documentation
• Extension request

The system can then update the attendance record and calculate the cumulative sick leave used.

14. Monitor Sick Leave Balances

HR should periodically review sick leave records to identify:

• Total sick leave used
• Remaining entitlement
• Continuous absences
• Intermittent absences
• Pending requests
• Leave extensions

Automated dashboards can make this information easier to review.

15. Do Not Treat Approved Sick Leave as Unauthorized Absence

An employee who has followed the required reporting and documentation process should have the approved sick leave reflected correctly in the attendance system.

The attendance status should distinguish:

Approved sick leave ≠ Unauthorized absence

This distinction is important for both employee records and payroll.

16. Manage Sick Leave Across Multiple Locations

Organizations with offices and branches across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and other UAE locations can use a centralized system to manage sick leave consistently.

HR can view sick leave by:

• Branch
• Department
• Employee
• Location
• Date
• Manager

This can help managers plan replacement staffing when employees are unavailable.

17. Use Employee Self-Service

A bilingual or mobile employee self-service system can allow employees to:

• Submit sick leave
• Upload required documentation
• Check approval status
• View leave history
• Review attendance
• Receive notifications

This reduces dependence on paper forms and manual emails.

18. Maintain an Audit Trail

Every change to a sick-leave record should be traceable.

An audit trail can show:

Original request → Document submitted → Approval → Extension → Final leave record

This helps HR explain how the employee's attendance and payroll records were updated.

19. Generate Sick Leave Reports

HR teams can generate reports showing:

• Sick leave by employee
• Sick leave by department
• Sick leave by location
• Number of sick-leave days
• Continuous sick leave
• Intermittent sick leave
• Pending requests
• Leave extensions
• Payroll impact

Reports should be restricted to authorized users because sick-leave information may be sensitive.

20. Keep Company Policy Aligned With Current UAE Requirements

Employers should periodically review their sick-leave policies against current UAE labour legislation and applicable implementing regulations.

The statutory framework can be supplemented by employment contracts, company policies, and other applicable requirements, provided those arrangements do not unlawfully reduce employee rights.

Conclusion

UAE employers should manage sick leave through a structured process covering employee notification, medical documentation where required, approval, attendance recording, leave tracking, payroll calculation, and secure record keeping.

For employees covered by the UAE Labour Law after probation, sick leave can generally reach 90 days per year, with the first 15 days paid at full wage, the next 30 days at half wage, and the remaining 45 days unpaid, subject to the applicable legal conditions.

An integrated HR and payroll system can automate sick-leave tracking and connect employee self-service, attendance, approvals, documentation, and payroll, helping UAE employers maintain accurate records while protecting sensitive employee information.

Sick-leave records are more useful when requests, supporting documents and approval decisions stay together. InnBuilt leave management can organise these details for UAE HR and payroll review.