UAE Emergency Leave – According to UAE Labour Law

Like any other leave in UAE, you need to follow a few steps to apply for one of these permits at your company. In addition, you must carry it out correctly because any mistake can cause denial by the employer. Next, you will be able to see the procedure that you must follow to make the corresponding request.

Inform your employer

The first step in making the emergency leave request is to report all the details to your superiors. However, you should remember that the employer is under no legal obligation to provide this permit to its employees. Therefore, the idea is to make the request as far in advance, if possible.

Also, try to do it in person or email for emergency leave if you cannot do it in person. Likewise, try to send with your application a certificate or proof of the emergency that you need to attend to.

Formalize the request

After you have stated the emergency, you must make the formal request. However, this is only a protocol step as you usually receive an immediate response from your employer. One of the things you can do is send an emergency leave email and forward it to the HR team.

As we mentioned before, we recommend that you attach some proof of the emergency you are going through. Although in some cases this is not necessary, it can help you with any misunderstandings.

Maintain Communication with your Employer

Once the employer approve the emergency leave in UAE, You will be able to leave your job to attend to the situation which is the reason for the permit. During the time of an emergency, try to keep in touch with the company where you work to maintain a good relationship with your employer. In this way, by maintaining constant communication, you can avoid any accusation of evasion.

In this case, you must send information about the state of health of the person or photographs of the events.

Respect the Days of the Permit

After having requested permission to attend the UAE emergency, you must comply with the days that your employer has granted you. However, if you need any extension, you can let the HR team know. This is because you may not know how many days you need and it is an emergency.

Respecting this time will help you in the future in case you need to make a similar request. By following through on your commitments and keeping your boss informed, you will help build trust.

Termination of Emergency Leave in UAE

After returning to work due to the culmination of the emergency, you will be able to talk to your boss about the entire situation. Also, if I come to some kind of agreement for you to be licensed, you must abide by it. In this case, it may be a commitment to work overtime to complete some work that has been left pending.

Remember this is an unpaid leave in UAE labour law so the extra work will help you compensate.

What Should You do if You are Not Granted Emergency Leave in UAE?

In some cases, your employer may not grant you this unpaid leave UAE as it is not compulsory. There may be different reasons for being denied this permit, one of which is bad experiences your employer may have had with other workers. For example, it could happen that an employee requested leave, and did not return to work.

Hence, if this has happened, you may have an employer who does not like to grant this leave of absence. However, if you have a good relationship with your boss, you may not have this problem and may receive permission. Although there may be a possibility that the company has a policy that denies these permissions.

If this happens in your case, you can look for other solutions that can be included in the labor law. For example, you can use your sick leave as per UAE labour law or an advance on your vacation. In any case, if the answer is no, do not get involved in an argument with your superiors, which could cause them to request your resignation.

Alternatively, if you can postpone your trip to deal with the emergency, opt for this option. This is only in case there is no agreement to resolve this situation.

Other Permits in the United Arab Emirates

Although emergency leave in UAE is not compulsory, others are. Each of them is detailed in the law, so an employer must grant them. Next, we will detail each one of them so that you know when you can ask for it or request an advance in case of an emergency.

New Year leave in UAE

The annual vacation, as with the leave in UAE 2021, is determined by the company of the worker. One of the requirements of the UAE labor law is to have worked in the company for at least 1 year. In this sense, the annual vacation permit is granted as follows:

• For a service of more than 6 months but less than a year, the worker obtains 2 days of leave per month.
• For a service greater than 1 year, the worker will receive 30 days of annual vacation.

In addition, an employee who is ending his contract with the company will also receive these vacations for the fraction of the last year. Likewise, the company may not include weekends in this allowance, so you should check this with your employer.

On the other hand, workers who are on probationary period are not entitled to annual vacations. Employees have the possibility of using their annual vacations when required, before the agreement with the employer. In the same way, there are other aspects related to the annual vacation permit, these are the following:

• You will receive your base salary.
• If you work during your annual vacation, you are entitled to receive your base salary plus vacation allowance.
• The employee should receive compensation for this leave if he has not used it.
• The employer is the one who determines when the employee can take his annual vacation.

UAE Labor Law Sick Leave

The UAE sick leave policy requires a certificate as proof of sickness to receive the license. In addition, the labor law determines what is the payment that an employee must receive once he obtains this permit. The employer must make the payment as follows:

• For the first 15 days of leave, the worker will receive a full salary.
• During the next 30 days, the employee will receive half of the salary.
• The following days, the employee will not receive any pay.

Likewise, there are certain provisions contemplated to receive the establish sick leave labour law UAE. These provisions establish the following parameters:

• The employee must inform the HR of the company during the first 48 hours of the illness to determine its validity. After the illness, you must submit a complete medical report.
• In the case of people in a trial period, they will not be able to take this leave.
• Your employer cannot fire you during sick leave but you must report to work after 90 days.
• The employee may resign before the first 45 days of license due to illness have expired. However, the doctor authorized by the employer is the one who decides if the illness is sufficient to cause the resignation. In this case, the employer will pay you the equivalent of the remaining 45 days of leave.

Maternity leave

Another leave in UAE recognized by law is the permit granted to pregnant employees. In this case, the Labor Law establishes a leave of 90 days, 45 before the delivery date and 45 after that. However, as with other permits, this is only for workers with at least one year of service.

Otherwise, you will only get half of the base salary during the days of leave that are allowed. Employees with less than 6 months in the company can take permission days but without pay.

Paternity leave

UAE employment law does not provide for paternity leave but some companies do. In this case, to find out if you can receive it, you just have to check with the Human Resources department.

Hajj and Umrah license

These 2 licenses are established in the UAE Labor Law, specifically in article 87. The Hajj license is the Islamic pilgrimage that is made at least 1 time to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This pilgrimage lasts between 5 and 6 days and is done once in a lifetime. Companies can grant this permit under the following conditions:

• This is an unpaid license.
• The pilgrimage cannot exceed 30 days.
• You may only take this leave once during the entire period of your employment.

On the other hand, the Umrah permit is also a pilgrimage to Mecca for Muslims. However, unlike the Hajj which follows the lunar year, you can do this pilgrimage at any time of the year. For this permit, like the previous one, there is no payment from the employer.

In addition, the company has the right to deduct these leaves from your annual vacation or consider them unpaid vacations.

Emergency Leave in UAE labour law

The emergency licenseis not mandatory, as no article in the labor law establishes it. However, there are other licenses, such as the UAE Eid holidays 2021 for private sector and the ones we have detailed. Therefore, whether you are an employee or an employer, you must know each one of them so that your labor decisions are supported by the corresponding law.

At PEO Middle East we specialize in all labor issues to provide the most accurate information to our clients. Each of our services is carried out by the best professionals in the market, thus you will have quality service. Our services cover the following:

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We provide you with information about emergency leave in UAE and other licenses. You just have to contact us during our office hours at the telephone number at +971 433 16 688. In the same way, request our services or clear up your concerns by simply sending us an email at [email protected].