UAE Sick Leave Law — Employer Guide

Employees may take sick leave when medically unfit for work, subject to employer policy and Article 31 of UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. Paid sick leave follows tiered entitlements during the year — full pay for the first 15 days in most cases, half pay for the next 30 days, then unpaid if the annual entitlement is exhausted. Employers may require medical certificates from approved providers before granting paid sick absence.

Track sick leave separately from annual leave. Do not deduct annual leave for certified sick absence. Reflect sick pay correctly on payslips and WPS files.

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.