UAE Annual Leave Law — Employer Guide

UAE employees are entitled to paid annual leave after completing six months of service (two days per month until one year, then 30 calendar days per year for most full-time employees). Leave accrues during service and must be recorded on payslips and leave balances.

Employers must approve leave requests in line with business needs, pay leave salary before leave starts when required, and settle unused leave on termination. Part-time and shift workers may have different entitlements per contract and MOHRE classification.

SMEs often miscalculate entitlements by using calendar days instead of service years, omitting pro-rata for partial years, or failing to document policy exceptions. Keep written policies, approval workflows, and payslip records aligned with MOHRE contract data.

ArcHR encodes UAE labour rules into leave balances, payroll, attendance, and document expiry workflows — with employee self-service so people see entitlements and HR sees audit trails.