United Arab Emirates

Employment Contracts

Employment contracts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) should be written and in the Arabic language. The contract should include the following provisions:

• Name and address of the employer and employee
• Nationality of the employee
• Start date
• Duration of the contract and provisions for its renewal (for fixed-term contracts)
• Probation period, which should not exceed 180 days and cannot be renewed
• Salary, payment method (bank transfers), payment intervals and bonuses
• Benefits and leaves
• Job description
• Working days and hours
• Social insurance contributions and deductions
• Non-compete and non-disclosure clauses
• Adherence to employers’ guidelines and policies
• Termination and end-of-service benefits
• Compensation on early termination
• Coverage of recruitment costs and residency permits for non-UAE nationals

Employers must inform the labor office of all new hires and are required to maintain sufficient records.

Public Holidays

The following public holidays are observed in the United Arab Emirates:

• Gregorian New Year (Jan. 1, 2021)
• Eid Al-Fitr (May 11-12, 2021; May 3-4, 2022)
• Arafah Day and Eid Al-Adha (July 19-21, 2021; July 9-11, 2022)
• Hijri New Year (Aug. 10, 2021; July 30, 2022)
• Birthday of Prophet Muhammad (Oct. 19, 2021; Oct. 8, 2022)
• National Day (Dec. 2, 2021; Dec. 2, 2022)

Compensation

Employers are not required to pay employees bonuses but can choose to include bonuses within employees’ compensation packages. It is common for employers in the UAE to pay employees 13th and 14th month bonuses at the end of one year of service.

Working Hours

The standard workweek is 48 hours (Sunday through Thursday), and eight hours per day. During the fasting month of Ramadan, it is six hours per day. The rest period is at least one hour per day (employees should not work five consecutive hours without a break), and 24 hours per week on Fridays.

Overtime is limited to two hours per day. Employees are entitled to extra pay for working overtime.

Vacation Leave

Employees are entitled to annual leave after six months of service. They receive two days for every month of service after six months but less than 12 months, and 30 days every year after 12 months of service. Untaken annual leave days may be carried over to the following year only once.

Employees also receive a one-time pilgrimage leave without pay to conduct a pilgrimage to Mecca. Such leave shall not be included in the other leaves and may not exceed 30 days.

Sick Leave

Employees become eligible for 45 days of paid sick leave after their probation period is over. They receive 15 days of fully paid sick leave and a half pay for the following 30 days. If the sick leave is exhausted, then they receive additional sick leave days that are unpaid, provided they do not exceed 45 days, after which the employer may terminate the employment contract.

Maternity / Paternity Leave

Female employees receive 45 days of fully paid maternity leave after one year of service. Those who have not completed one year of service will receive maternity leave at 50% pay.

There is no provision for paternity leave.

Employment Termination/Severance

Employment contracts can be terminated by either party. The termination must be in writing and notice is generally required. The notice period is between seven and 30 days depending on the type of employment and the employee’s length of service. No notice is required before terminating an employment contract in a limited number of circumstances, such as for breach of the contract terms or misconduct.

Employees are entitled to severance after one year of service. Severance is generally is between 21 and 30 days per year of service up to a maximum amount.

Health Insurance Benefits

Employers may be required to provide health insurance to employees depending on the location.