Parental Leave Entitlements Under UAE Employment Law

Independent educational information. This publication does not provide immigration applications or individual legal advice. Confirm requirements with the responsible authority before acting.

Federal private-sector employees who have a newborn child are entitled to five working days of paid parental leave. It is available to both the mother and the father and can be taken continuously or intermittently within six months of the child's birth. It is separate from the mother's maternity leave.

The UAE Government parental-leave page sets out this federal private-sector benefit. An employee working in Abu Dhabi should first identify the employer's legal framework because ADGM and government employment can use different conditions and application windows.

What the five working days mean

Working days should be interpreted against your actual employment schedule. A five-day office employee and someone working a rotating roster should not assume that the same calendar dates create the same leave debit. Submit the proposed dates and ask HR which scheduled workdays will be recorded as parental leave.

The right belongs to each eligible parent. It is not a single five-day household allowance that parents must divide between them. If both work for covered employers, each should make an application through their own employer. One employer's approval does not approve the other parent's absence.

The six-month window begins with the birth. It is not extended simply because the employee delayed applying, was travelling or waited for a preferred quieter period at work. Record the end of the window at the outset and seek clarification immediately if a proposed schedule would fall outside it.

Apply with a practical care plan

Tell the employer about the expected birth so urgent cover can be arranged, then update the request when the actual date is known. Ask which evidence of birth is required and whether a hospital notification can support the initial request while the formal certificate is being issued.

Your application should state the child's actual birth date, requested working days, whether the leave will be split, and the person handling urgent work. Retain the approval and check that payroll and attendance records use the parental-leave category.

For example, a parent may request two working days around discharge and three later for essential care arrangements, all within the permitted period. The split should be recorded clearly so the remaining balance is not lost or accidentally charged to annual leave. This is a planning example, not a requirement to divide leave in that way.

Separate maternity, parental and annual leave

A mother's maternity leave has its own duration, payment stages and medical extensions. Parental leave should not be confused with nursing breaks after return, which also follow a separate rule. Ask HR how each entitlement appears in the employee's record rather than allowing the whole period to be described as unspecified family leave.

If you need more than five working days, examine annual leave, a contractual family benefit, flexible arrangements or agreed unpaid leave. These are separate arrangements and should have their own approvals. A statutory parental entitlement does not automatically create a further period of discretionary paid absence.

Before booking travel, establish whether the requested days are parental leave or annual leave, which days are working days, and whether the return date has been accepted. This is particularly useful for expatriate families arranging assistance from relatives or managing birth-related administration overseas.

Check payment and attendance records

Because the statutory federal benefit is paid leave, ask for an explanation if an approved parental day is coded unpaid or deducted from annual entitlement. Provide the approval reference and the relevant payslip. A payroll error may be corrected more quickly with the exact dates than with a general complaint about salary.

If the employer offers a longer contractual benefit, find out whether the first five days satisfy the statutory allowance and how any additional days are paid. Do not add overlapping allowances together without reading the policy. The goal is an accurate understanding of the actual benefit, rather than the largest number suggested by several different documents.

ADGM's paternity provisions are different

ADGM's Employment Regulations 2024 took effect on 1 April 2025. The official Employment Affairs Office guidance describes five working days of paternity leave for a newly born child or an adopted child under five, to be taken within two months of birth or adoption. The ADGM guidance excludes paid paternity leave during probation, so check that condition as well as the required evidence. That two-month window must not be replaced with the federal private-sector six-month window.

ADGM maternity rights are also separately structured. An employee should read the current regulations and guidance with the contract and ask the Employment Affairs Office about an unclear provision. The word parental in an employer's handbook does not establish which legal entitlement it means.

Government employment and problems obtaining leave

Abu Dhabi local government introduced Law No. 8 of 2025 with effect from 1 January 2026, including enhanced and flexible parental provisions. Obtain the current entity policy rather than using older three-day paternity summaries. Federal government employees use federal HR legislation and its implementing rules; government-owned commercial employers should identify their actual employment regime.

If an application is refused, request the reason and any proposed alternative dates in writing. Explain the remaining application window. Escalate through HR and the appropriate employment channel while there is still time to use the entitlement. Do not simply stop attending work without approved arrangements, or assume a disagreement about leave automatically changes immigration permission.

Continue with Abu Dhabi Employment Regulations: Worker Rights, Labour Contracts, Leave and Workplace Obligations for the wider process and supporting guides.

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