Sick leave under UAE Labour Law: pay and rules

How much sick leave can you take?

As of November 2026, Article 31 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 gives eligible private-sector employees up to 90 days of sick leave per year after probation. You can take the days together or in separate periods. The pay reduces as you use the allowance.

The bands apply to your total sick leave for the year. A new medical certificate does not restart the full-pay allowance. For example, if you have already used the full-pay band, another illness does not create a fresh entitlement to 15 days at full pay.

These are the rules in Article 31 of the Labour Law. Ask HR for your recorded balance and the dates it uses for your leave year. If the record is disputed, ask MOHRE to check how the rule applies to your employment.

Does this rule cover your job?

This guide covers employment governed by the federal private-sector Labour Law. Article 3 excludes federal and local government employees, armed forces, police and security employees, and domestic workers. Do not use this table to calculate leave in those jobs.

Check the employer and employment rules named in your contract, particularly if you work in a free zone. If a separate employment regime applies, get the relevant authority's sick-leave rules before comparing your balance with this guide.

Article 31 deals with illness that does not arise from a work injury. Workplace injuries and occupational diseases have separate provisions under Article 37. Tell HR if the absence follows a workplace incident so it is assessed under the correct rule.

What happens during probation?

Article 31 does not give you a statutory right to paid sick leave during probation. The employer may grant unpaid sick leave if a medical report from the medical entity confirms that leave is necessary.

Tell the employer that you are ill, obtain the report and request leave through its usual channel. Ask for written confirmation of how the absence will be recorded. Do not assume that the post-probation full-pay band applies simply because you have provided a certificate.

After probation ends, Article 31 provides the annual entitlement above. The article does not add a further waiting period after probation. If HR refers to an older rule requiring extra months of service, ask it to check the current legislation.

How do you report sick leave?

Article 31 requires you to inform the employer or its representative of your illness within three working days and submit a medical report issued by the medical entity. Tell your manager as soon as you can rather than treating the legal limit as a reason to wait.

1. Notify the right person. Use the absence-reporting channel your employer has given you. Keep the email, message or submission receipt.
2. Get medical evidence. Ask the treating healthcare provider for the report supporting the period you cannot work.
3. Submit it to HR. Keep a copy and ask for confirmation that the dates have been recorded as sick leave.
4. Check the balance. Ask how much of the full-pay, half-pay and unpaid allowance you have already used.
5. Update the employer if leave changes. Provide further medical evidence if the treating provider extends the absence.

The three-working-day rule is about informing the employer. It is not a general permission to take short absences without medical evidence. Article 31 also requires the medical report. Do not confuse a workplace's notification procedure with the statutory evidence requirement.

If you receive treatment abroad, ask HR which medical authority must approve the document before relying on it. Certificate approval can depend on where it was issued and which authority handles it. This guide does not give a universal attestation fee or promise that an overseas certificate will be accepted.

How do the pay bands work in practice?

Think of sick leave as a running balance. Suppose you have completed probation, used no sick leave in the relevant year and then take 20 certified days. The first 15 fall in the full-pay band. The remaining five fall in the half-pay band.

If you later take another certified period in that year, continue from the balance already used. You would have 25 days left in the half-pay band before reaching the unpaid band. This example follows the sequence in Article 31; it does not calculate your monthly payslip.

For a pay dispute, ask payroll to show the dates, the pay band applied to each date and the wage components used. Article 31 says full pay and half pay. Do not automatically substitute the basic-salary-only calculation used for some other employment benefits.

Our gratuity calculator and leave salary calculator cover different entitlements. A gratuity formula does not determine sick pay, and annual leave is a different leave balance.

When might sick leave be unpaid?

There are different reasons for unpaid sick leave. During probation, Article 31 does not provide paid sick leave. After probation, days in the final band are unpaid. Article 31 also excludes sick pay where illness results from the worker's misconduct, under the implementing rules.

These situations should not be mixed together. Reaching the unpaid band is different from an employer alleging misconduct. If misconduct is the stated reason, ask for the legal basis and supporting evidence, then seek MOHRE advice if you disagree.

The annual 90-day limit also matters. Article 31 does not promise an unlimited extension on the same terms when an illness continues. Before the allowance runs out, discuss your medical position, remaining legally accrued leave and the proposed next step with HR.

Can an employer dismiss you because you are ill?

Article 46 says an employer cannot terminate employment for lack of health fitness before the worker uses legally accrued leave. An agreement to the contrary is void. This is more precise than saying every termination while someone is on sick leave is automatically unlawful.

Article 31 also allows an employer to end employment after the sick-leave entitlement finishes if the worker cannot return, provided the worker receives the financial entitlements required by law. Exhausting sick leave does not itself erase those entitlements.

If you receive a termination letter, keep it alongside your medical certificates, leave balance and contract. Ask the employer to state the reason and intended final date in writing. Get advice on your own facts before accepting a final settlement or agreeing that all amounts have been paid.

What should you do if sick pay is refused?

First, ask HR to explain the decision in writing. A useful request identifies the disputed dates and asks whether the issue is probation, missing evidence, the annual balance, the pay calculation or an alleged exception. This gives you something specific to correct or challenge.

• Keep the contract and proof of when probation ended.
• Collect medical reports and proof you notified the employer.
• Save the leave ledger, payslips and relevant bank-payment records.
• Write a short timeline showing the absence and the employer's response.
• State the correction you want, such as a leave-record correction or payment of a disputed deduction.

MOHRE's workforce interaction guidance identifies its website, app and Labour Claims and Advisory Centre on 80084 as routes for help. Check the correct route for your employment category and keep any complaint reference.

Seek advice promptly if the dispute includes termination, cancellation or an instruction to sign a settlement. Do not rely on a general article to decide a filing deadline or appeal step. Follow the instructions in your actual MOHRE decision or court referral.

SettleUAE is an independent guide, not a government website, and is not affiliated with any UAE authority. This is general information, not personal legal, financial or immigration advice.