Question: Can you tell me about parental leave in UAE? I just became a father, but I don’t want to avail of the leave immediately. Do I need to take them all at once? Please advise.
Answer: Pursuant to your queries, it is assumed that you are employed in the mainland of UAE. Therefore, the provisions of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relations and Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on the Implementation of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 regarding the Regulation of Employment Relations are applicable.
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In the UAE, an employee is entitled to parental leave of five working days and the same needs to be availed by an employee within six months from the date of birth of the child. This is in accordance with Article 32(1) (b) of the Employment Law, which states, “An employee shall be entitled to paid leave towards parental leave for 5 (five) working days for an employee (father or mother) who got a child, in order to take care of his or her child. Such leave shall be taken successively or otherwise during the period of 6 (six) months following the date of birth of the child.”
Furthermore, a parent who intends to take parental leave needs to submit a copy of the birth certificate of his or her child to his or her employer. This is in accordance with Article 21 (4) of the Cabinet Resolution No.1 of 2022, 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 avail parental leave may combine the same with annual leave. This is line 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.”
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: [email protected] or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.