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UAE: Can employer fire employee for extending leave after rejection?
After one year of service, an employee in the UAE is entitled to 30 days of annual leave per year
Question: I am on leave in my home country and am supposed to rejoin my workplace in Dubai on July 29. However, I desperately need to extend my leave due to some family commitments. My boss is refusing to approve the extension. If I have enough leave left, can he reject my extension application? Will he be able to fire me if I extend my leave without his approval?
Answer: In UAE, upon completing more than one year of service, an employee is entitled to only 30 days' annual leave per year for each subsequent year. This is by Article (29) (1) (a) of the Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relations.
"Article (29)
1. Without prejudice to the worker's acquired rights for the period preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of this Decree-Law, the worker shall be entitled to an annual leave with full wage of not less than;
a. Thirty days for each year of extended service;
In addition, it is at an employer's discretion to decide the dates of annual leave of its employees on rotation based on the work requirements. This is in accordance with Article (29) (4) of the UAE Employment Law which states,
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"The employee shall use his leave in the year of entitlement. The employer may fix the dates of leave according to the work requirements and in agreement with the employee, or rotate leaves among employees for the smooth progress of work, and shall notify the employee of the date of his leave at least (1) one month before the same."
Additionally, an employee who does not directly return to work after the approved leave period without a valid reason is not entitled to the salary during that period. This is in accordance with Article 34 of the Employment Law. The said Article reads as:
"Article (34)
Absence after the Leave:
The worker, who does not return directly to his work without a legitimate reason after his leave, shall not be entitled to his wage for the absence period following the leave end."
Moreover, an employer may terminate an employee without notice in the event he or she is absent without a valid reason for 7 (seven) continuous days or 20 (twenty) non-continuous days in a year.
This is in accordance with Article 44(8) of the UAE Employment Law, which states, "An employer may dismiss an employee without prior notice, after a written investigation with him, and dismissal decision shall be in writing and reasoned, and given by the employer, or his representative, to an employee:
- If an employee absent from work without a legal cause or justification acceptable to the employer for more than 20 (twenty) interrupted days in a year, or more than (7) seven consecutive days."
Therefore, your leave extension approval is under the prerogative of the employer. He may not accept your request for the extension if he has a valid reason, as he already has approved the stipulated annual leave you are entitled to. However, if you have a genuine reason for which you have to stay back in your home country and extend the leave, you may submit valid documentary evidence (if any) to your employer and convince him to extend your annual leave.
If you extend your annual leave without your employer's approval, you may face consequences such as loss of your salary and may result in termination of your employment.
However, in the event of termination of your employment, you may challenge the termination if you have valid reasons and documents to justify availing of an extension of your annual leave without the consent of your employer.
Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.
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