UAE: Can employees combine paternity and annual leave?

Question: I work in a mainland company in Dubai and I want to take a longer break to support my wife after she delivers. To be able to do that, I'm thinking of combining my paternity leave with my annual leave. Is it possible to take both my paternity leave and annual leave together? Please advise.

Answer: In the UAE, employees are entitled to five working days of parental leave, which must be used within six months from the date of birth of their child.

This is in accordance with Article 32(1) (b) of the Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relations, which states, “An employee shall be entitled to paid leave towards parental leave for 5 working days for an employee (father or mother) who got a child, to take care of his or her child. Such leave shall be taken successively or otherwise during the period of 6 months following the date of birth of the child.”

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Furthermore, a parent requesting parental leave must provide their employer with a copy of the child's birth certificate. This requirement is outlined in Article 21 (4) of the Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on the Implementation of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 regarding the Regulation of Employment Relations which states, “Subject to the provisions of Article 32 of the Decree Law, the employee shall be entitled to parental leave as stipulated in the Decree Law, provided that he submits proof of the birth of his child.”

An employee who intends to take parental leave may combine it with annual leave. This is in accordance with Article 21 (5) of the Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, which states, “Subject to the provisions of Article 32 of the Decree Law, the bereavement leave, parental leave, annual leave and unpaid leave may be combined.”

Based on the aforementioned provisions of law, you as a parent of a newly born child are entitled to five working days of leave within six months of your child's birth. In addition, you may also combine your annual leave with parental leave, as long as the annual leave is also taken within the 6-month period following your child's birth.

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