Several parents across the UAE were given flexible work hours or the option to work from home as thousands of students go back to school this week. For some parents, this meant they had the opportunity to make some precious memories with their children.
Dubai resident Luis Carreno was one such parent who accompanies his family to drop his daughters off at school in the morning. “My elder one Jamilah started her Year 1 and my younger daughter Halime started Foundation Stage 2 today,” he said. “It was great to be able to drive them to school and drop them off. A start of the year is always exciting.”
The American expat, who is a Jiu Jitsu coach at a government entity, said he was grateful for the time off. “My academy gave me the morning off to drop the children to school,” he said. “It gave me time to have a leisurely morning with the girls. I joined work in the afternoon so my wife did the pick up on her own.”
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On Thursday, the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources’ (FAHR) announced that government employees would be granted flexible working hours to drop off their kids on Monday and those with children in nursery and kindergarten could avail the flexibility for the entire week.
Leisurely time
Abu Dhabi resident Salam A, who works in a federal government entity, had the option to work from home the entire week. “Our company has given employees with children in kindergarten the flexibility to work from home so that they can coordinate school drop off,” he said, speaking to Khaleej Times. “This has been extremely helpful to me because my younger daughter starts school this year.”
Salam said he enjoyed taking his 3-year-old daughter Ilham to school on Monday. “The first week, she has a staggered start,” he explained. “So this means on Monday and Tuesday she spends only an hour in school and for the rest of the week, she goes to school for three hours. Since the first week is just settling in, there is no bus service.”
“On Monday, after school, my wife and I took Ilham out to her favourite restaurant for a meal. She was very happy, especially because she has a bag with her treasured cartoon character. The real challenge will begin next week when she realises that she has to do this for several hours every day,” he added.
The FAHR scheme would also apply to important events throughout the school year — from parent-teacher meetings to graduation ceremonies. The period of flexibility will not exceed three hours and can be taken at one time, or can be divided into the morning and evening periods.
Executive admin Umm Saad, who works at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, said her department benefitted from the policy. They were given a ‘Happy 2 Hours Leave’ which they can avail at any time this week. “I was able to drop my 11-year-old son Saad on Monday without the stress of dealing with the usual back to school traffic and the rush that comes with it,” she said. “Those two hours made a huge difference and I was very grateful for it.”
Her colleague Eijaz Hussain used it to drop his three children to school on Monday. “I got to spend time with them in the car, engaging in various discussions,” he said. “During the ride, the kids were full of energy and were asking many questions, especially my 8-year-old daughter Rehab. After every summer holiday, the first day of school is full of excitement. The two hours gave me peace of mind knowing I did not have to rush back to work and I could enjoy the time with my children.”
Tough week
Apart from government entities, several private companies also gave their employees flexible work options.
For Manjula Manoj, an Indian mother of two, this is a “tough week” with both her children starting school on Monday. “I had to prepare early to drop my daughter off at school. Even though my office has flexible hours, I wanted to avoid being late, so I had to skip the gym to ensure I could drop my kid off and be at the office on time.”
To ease into the school routine, she said she and her husband coordinated their roles in the morning. “This is a tough week for us, but with preparation, we made it smooth.”
Another person bracing for a difficult week is Emirati mother M.K. “Having three kids who start on different days required prior planning,” she said. She planned to take an hour off from work on Monday and Wednesday. “Today, I received an email from work allowing parents a two-hour delay on the first week of returning to school,” she shared gratefully.