UAE sick leave: How much can you take and can you be fired if you are ill?

While official holidays are something workers across the country can look forward to, there are occasions when additional time off is needed.

When an employee is ill and unable to work, they are protected by UAE law and do not need to use annual leave allowance to take time off.

UAE sick leave rules

Annual leave is granted in accordance with the Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations in the Private Sector, the “UAE Labour Law”.

By law, workers are entitled to a fully paid annual leave of:

• 30 days, if they have completed one year of service
• 2 days per month, if they have completed six months of service, but not one year.

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.

However, an employee is entitled to sick leave of up to 90 days that is additional to annual leave.

An employee is entitled to a sick leave of not more than 90 days per year, only after the end of probationary period.

The 90 days’ sick leave can be continuous or intermittent, and the salary is paid as follows:

• full pay for the first 15 days
• half pay for the next 30 days
• no pay for the rest 45 days

During the probationary period, the employee may get a sick leave without pay, subject to the approval of the employer and based on a medical report issued by the medical entity that stipulates the necessity of the leave.

These provisions are subject to conditions and do not apply to sick leave because of occupational illness.

Employees are ineligible for a paid sick leave in the following situations:

During the probation period

• If the illness directly arises from the misconduct of the worker, such as the consumption of alcohol or narcotics
• If the worker violated the safety instructions in accordance with the effective legislations in the UAE, and the rules set out in the firm’s regulations, which the employee was informed of

Notifying your employer of a sick leave

According to Article 31 of the UAE Labour Law, the employee must notify the employer about his sickness within maximum three days and submit a medical report on his condition, issued by the medical entity.

Can an employee be terminated on grounds of sickness?

An employer may not dismiss an employee or give him a termination notice while the employee is on sick leave.

If the employee uses all of his 90 days’ sick leave and has not been able to report to work afterwards, the employer may terminate his services.

In such a case, the employee shall be entitled to the end of service benefits in accordance with the provisions of the labour law.