Maternity and Parental Leave in the UAE: The Employer's Guide (2026)

Short answer: a woman working in the UAE private sector gets 60 days of maternity leave: 45 days on full pay and 15 days on half pay. There's no minimum service requirement. On top of that, both parents get 5 working days of paid parental leave, to be taken within six months of the birth.

Article 30 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 covers this, and it's one of the areas where SMEs most often get caught out. Old contracts still quote the pre-2022 rule of 45 days and a one-year service requirement. That rule is gone.

Maternity leave at a glance

Entitlement	What the law gives
Maternity leave	60 days: 45 full pay + 15 half pay
Illness linked to pregnancy or birth	Up to 45 extra days, unpaid, with a medical certificate
Child born sick or with a disability	30 extra days paid, extendable by 30 days unpaid
Nursing breaks	Up to 1 hour a day, paid, for 6 months after returning
Parental leave (mother and father)	5 working days paid, within 6 months of birth

Maternity leave can start shortly before the expected delivery date. It also applies after a miscarriage after the sixth month of pregnancy, or if the baby dies after birth.

How to pay it

Pay the first 45 days exactly as you'd pay a normal month. For the 15 half-pay days, work out the daily rate (monthly wage ÷ 30) and pay half of it. Example: wage AED 9,000. Daily rate AED 300. The 15 half-pay days come to 15 × 150 = AED 2,250.

Keep paying through WPS. A gap in salary files during maternity leave triggers the same WPS alerts as any other missed payment.

Protection from dismissal

You can't terminate an employee or give notice because she's pregnant, on maternity leave, or has taken the extra leave allowed. Doing so counts as discrimination and can lead to a compensation claim. Restructuring that happens to hit a woman on maternity leave will be looked at very closely, so document the business reasons carefully and get advice first.

Paternity is not "maternity lite"

The 5-day parental leave belongs to both parents and is separate from maternity leave. It can be taken all at once or in parts, as long as it's within six months of the birth. Put it in the leave policy so managers don't refuse it.

Is your leave policy still quoting the old rules?

Send it to us and we'll mark up what's out of date against the current law.

Ask us on WhatsApp →

The UAE HR Master Pack includes a current leave policy with maternity, parental and sick leave written for the 2021 law and its amendments. Note that the DIFC and ADGM have their own maternity rules with service requirements, so check which law applies to you first.

Quick answers

How long is maternity leave in the UAE private sector?
60 days: 45 days on full pay and 15 days on half pay, with no minimum service requirement.

Is there paternity leave in the UAE?
Yes. Both parents get 5 working days of paid parental leave, to be taken within six months of the birth.

Can an employer dismiss a woman on maternity leave in the UAE?
No. Termination because of pregnancy or maternity leave is prohibited and can lead to a compensation claim.

Can maternity leave be extended?
Yes. Up to 45 extra unpaid days for illness linked to pregnancy or birth, and 30 paid days plus 30 unpaid days if the child is born sick or with a disability.

This guide is general information based on Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, as amended. It is not legal advice. The DIFC and ADGM have their own employment laws.