Maternity Leave

A worker preparing for birth needs a clear account of leave dates, pay and return arrangements. UAE Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021, Article 30, provides 60 days of maternity leave for a female worker: the first 45 with full wage and the next 15 with half wage.

Apply the current law and any more favourable contractual policy to the actual employment relationship. Check which regime covers the worker, because this entry concerns UAE private-sector employment under the federal labour law, while a government employee or a person under a special employment regime may have different rules.

Plan the start date with medical documentation and the worker's request. Article 30 describes the period from which she may ask to start leave before the expected birth, which the UAE government portal summarises as up to 30 days before the expected delivery date.

The law addresses delivery after six months of pregnancy, including when the foetus is stillborn or dies after birth. After the basic leave, a worker may be absent without wage for up to 45 continuous or intermittent days if her illness or her child's illness caused by pregnancy or childbirth prevents a return, and Article 30 requires a medical certificate.

A different provision covers a child who is sick or has a disability and needs a constant companion, supported by a medical report, giving 30 days on full pay after maternity leave with an option to extend for a further 30 without pay, and it should not be conflated with the separate illness-related 45 days. Pay should be calculated in the right periods: if a daily wage calculation applies, the first 45 days use the full-wage basis and the next 15 the half-wage basis.

The employer should document leave start, expected return and any supported extension in HR and payroll records. Keep medical evidence with authorised staff, not in a broad team calendar.

Set a handover plan before leave by identifying urgent approvals, customer contacts and a temporary owner for work, and do not make the employee remain on call during statutory leave merely because the team failed to prepare. Article 30 protects against termination or notice because of pregnancy, maternity leave or permitted absence under that article.

A business restructuring or unrelated performance issue requires careful legal review, so do not disguise a pregnancy-related decision with a vague reason. Other leave entitlements are not automatically lost, since Article 30 says maternity leave or specified absence does not prejudice the worker's right to other leaves, so resolve any scheduling overlap under current rules and the employment policy, rather than silently deducting annual leave.

After returning, the worker is entitled to one or two breastfeeding breaks per day for up to six months from delivery, with total breaks no more than one hour under Article 30, and the government portal says they are fully paid. Agree a workable schedule without treating the break as a performance problem and confirm access, client handoffs and what changed while the worker was away; for an owner, maternity leave is both a legal entitlement and a planning responsibility, so verify the applicable regime, calculate pay correctly, protect medical privacy and prepare a real handover.