UAE jobs: Can an employee take annual leave before completing one year in service?

After completing one year, the employer can determine the starting date of the leave and divide it into two periods, if necessary

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Published: Mon 17 Jul 2023, 7:38 PM

Private sector employees are entitled to a fully paid annual leave of 30 days if they have completed one year of service, according to UAE law.

However, those who haven’t completed one year at their workplace also can get annual leaves, after completing six months. The UAE Labour Law says employees are entitled to a fully paid annual leave of two days per month after completing six months of service.


The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), in a tweet on Monday, explained the conditions of annual leaves of employees working in the private sector.

The UAE Government website u.ae says part-time employees are also entitled to annual leave according to the actual working hours they spent at work, as specified in the employment contract, and in accordance with the ‘Executive Regulations of the Labour Law’.


According to the tweet, the employer may, set the dates of leave according to the work requirements, in agreement with the employee. However, the employer must notify the employee of the date of the leave at least one month in advance.

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If the employee’s service is ended before he used his annual leave balance, he will get leave for the fraction of the last year of service.

As per the website the employee may, with the consent of the employer and in accordance with company’s regulations, carry over his annual leave balance to the next year. In this case, the employee will be entitled to be paid for the days he/she worked during the annual leave. The payment is calculated according to the basic salary.

The employer may not prevent the employee from using his accrued annual leave for more than two years. On termination of employment, any accrued leaves will be calculated on basic salary only.

The calculation of the duration of annual leave will include official holidays specified by law or by agreement, and any other leaves caused by sickness if they fall within the annual leave unless the employment contract or the company’s regulations have other provisions.


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