Q: Can an employer put a cap on leave accrual in the UAE, as my company put a cap of 35 days maximum? What is the normal cap in the UAE? A: There are two types of leave an employee is entitled to. Annual leave. Sick leave. Your employer can, of course, increase the leaves but cannot reduce…

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Cap on leave allowance and accrual policy in the UAE

Can an employer put a cap on leave accrual in the UAE, as my company put a cap of 35 days maximum?

Is it legal? What is the normal cap in the UAE?

Hari Wadhwana

Al Nassar Advocates & Legal Consultants

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16 Jul 2019, 08:16

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Thank you for reaching out to me on this.

Please note that it depends on what kind of leave you are referring to.

Under the UAE Labour Law, there are two types of leave an employee is entitled to:

1- Annual leave accrued under Article 75 of the UAE Labour Law- 30 Calendar Days

2- Sick leave accrued under Article 83 of the UAE Labour Law - First 15 days with full pay, next 30 days with half pay and subsequent period with no pay (Maximum of 90 days).

Apart from the above two leaves, the employee is entitled to public holidays as announced by the government.

Your employer can, of course, increase the leaves but cannot reduce below the statutory threshold.

I trust you will find the above explanation satisfactory.

Regards,

Hari Wadhwana

16 Jul 2019, 09:59

My question is if an employee will not take leave for 3 years, then, in maximum, how much an employee can accrue? Can the employer set any limit for the same?

16 Jul 2019, 13:21

Dear Sir/ Madam,

I apologize as perhaps I did not read your query properly.

Well, you can accrue two years of leave salary i.e. 60 days.

Hence the company policy of 35 is not legal.

16 Jul 2019, 13:45

Actually, I'm in HR.

If you can provide me with a link, I can raise this in my company.

17 Jul 2019, 04:53

Dear Sir/ Madam,

There is no provision in the Labour Law which specifically deals with this.

However, a judicial pronouncement by the Federal Supreme Court in 336/2009 interpreted the provisions of law and clearly stated that annual leaves can be accumulated for 2 years only.

I trust you will find this helpful.

Regards,

Hari Wadhwana

17 Jul 2019, 05:03

Thank you very much, Hari.

You are very proactive, I wish you good luck in your future.

17 Jul 2019, 05:27

You're welcome, Sir.

You may request any legal assistance for your company or yourself in future by this website or directly email me.

Regards,

Hari Wadhwana

30 Jul 2019, 06:15

Actually I talk to a senior HR, they said 2 years rule applicable only in the case when the company is not granting approval for leave but if the company is free to give annual leave then the company is not bound to accrued leave more than 35 days.

Kindly tell me what is your views on this?

30 Jul 2019, 06:29

Dear Sir,

What your colleague may be referring to is partially true. If the employer is not allowing the employee to take annual leave, then it can be postponed to 2 years.

However, if the employee still does not get annual leaves, he can accumulate the same for 2 years. This is as per the judicial pronouncement by the court.

To circumvent the rule, you can take the aid of Article 76 of the Labour Law which states that the employer may fix the date of commencement of annual leave.

So if you are an employer who fixes the employee annual leave for the year, the question of carrying forward does not arise.

In summary, the law puts the employer in charge of deciding the annual leave and not the employee.

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