Female employees in a permanent position in the federal government is entitled to 90 days’ maternity leave, and both male and female employees are entitled to 5 days’ paternity leave. Leaves vary for the employees of local governments.
Maternity leave
As per Article 19 of the Federal Decree Law No. 49 of 2022 on Human Resources Law in the Federal Government (PDF, 1.43 MB), a female employee in a permanent position shall be granted maternity leave of three months with full salary.
After that, for 6 months from the date of the employee resuming work, she is entitled to 2 hours of reduced working hours either at the beginning or at the end of the working hours, to nurse her child. Such breaks are fully paid for.
Maternity leave may not be combined with leave without pay.
Paternity leave
According to Article 20 of the same law, employees of the federal sector are entitled to a paternal leave of 5 working days from the day of the birth of their child up to six months.
This leave can be taken by the employee continuously or intermittently within six months from the date of the child’s birth.
Female employees are entitled to three months of fully-paid maternity leave. After the female employee resumes, she is entitled to two hours of daily leave for the first year after delivery to nurse her child.
Male employees are entitled to three days' paternity leave.
Maternity leave in Dubai Government is regulated by Decree No. 14 of 2017 Concerning Maternity, Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Childcare Leave for Female Employees of the Government of Dubai (PDF, 581 KB).
The decree grants female employee 90 days of maternity leave starting from the delivery date. She may also apply for her maternity leave up to 30 days prior to the expected date of delivery.
Annual leave and unpaid leave can be added to the maternity leave taking the maximum total number of days to 120.
After resuming work and for one year from the date of the baby’s birth, the mother is entitled to 2 hours' reduced working hours to nurse her child, either at the beginning or at the end of the working hours. There is no nursing break for women during the month of Ramadan.
Where a female employee gives birth to a baby with special needs, she will be granted childcare leave for the period from the expiry date of the maternity leave to the date on which her baby completes one 1 year of age.
According to Dubai Government Human Resources Management Law No. 8 of 2018, men are entitled to 3 days of fully paid paternity leave, to be taken within one month of the birth of the child.
Dubai Government Maternity Guidelines
Dubai Government Human Resources Department issued the maternity guidelines (PDF, 150 KB, Arabic) for employees of Dubai Government. The guidelines include medical tips for pregnant employees as well as information related to their rights and duties as provided by Decree No. 14 of 2017 (PDF, 500 KB) on Maternity, Miscarriage/Stillbirth, and Childcare Leave for Female Employees of the Government of Dubai.
Since the issuance of a local decree in 2016, the total period of maternity leave in Sharjah Government is 120 days, comprising 90 days paid leave and 30 days unpaid leave.
The decree permitted to adding annual leave to the maternity leave and granted new mothers two hours for nursing their child for a duration of six months.
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