Maternity leave and pay in the United Arab Emirates
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Employed mothers in the UAE are entitled to 60 calendar days of maternity leave, with the first 45 days paid at full salary and the remaining 15 days paid at half salary. This applies under Federal Decree-Law No. 33/2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations.
Who is covered
The entitlement applies to all female employees working in the private sector under a formal employment contract. Public sector employees follow separate regulations issued by the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, which are generally more generous.
There is no minimum length of service required before a woman can take maternity leave. An employee who has been with her employer for a month is entitled to the same leave as one who has been there for ten years.
How the leave is structured
The 60 days break down as follows:
- Days 1–45: full basic wage plus any fixed allowances
- Days 46–60: half of that total
The leave can begin up to 30 days before the expected due date. If the baby is born early, the leave still runs for 60 days from the actual date of birth. If the mother or baby experiences a medical complication, she is entitled to an additional 45 days of unpaid leave immediately after the standard 60 days — a single certificate from a licensed medical practitioner is sufficient to trigger this.
In the event of a stillbirth at or after 28 weeks, or the death of a newborn during the maternity leave period, the full 60-day entitlement still applies.
Pay during maternity leave
The UAE has no state maternity pay scheme. The cost sits entirely with the employer.
Salaries are paid through the Wage Protection System (WPS), and maternity pay is no exception — it must flow through WPS on the normal payroll cycle, not as a lump sum at the start or end of leave unless that aligns with your usual pay date.
For payroll purposes, calculate pay on the employee's basic wage plus any fixed, contractual allowances. Variable payments such as commissions or performance bonuses are generally not included in maternity pay calculations unless the employment contract states otherwise.
Nursing breaks and returning to work
For 18 months after the birth, a returning mother is entitled to one or more nursing breaks each working day totalling at least one hour. The breaks are paid, and the employer cannot treat them as leave or deduct them from salary. The exact timing of the breaks can be agreed between employer and employee to suit the work schedule.
An employer cannot terminate an employee because she is pregnant, on maternity leave, or nursing. Doing so is explicitly prohibited under Federal Decree-Law No. 33/2021 and exposes the company to a compensation claim.
What employers need to prepare
A few practical steps make the process straightforward.
Update payroll ahead of time. Once you know the expected leave start date, set the pay rate correctly in your payroll system for the two phases — full pay for the first 45 days, half pay for the final 15. Mistakes here are common and create unnecessary disputes.
Get documentation. A medical certificate confirming the expected due date is the standard requirement. You are entitled to ask for this before the leave begins.
Plan for absence. Under the law, you cannot require an employee to work during maternity leave, even remotely, unless she voluntarily chooses to return early. If she does return early, the unused leave does not carry forward as an entitlement — confirm any early return in writing to avoid ambiguity later.
Gratuity continues to accrue. Maternity leave counts as service for the purpose of calculating end-of-service gratuity. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 33/2021, gratuity accrues at 21 days' basic wage per year for the first five years of service and 30 days' per year thereafter, capped at two years' total pay. The maternity period does not pause or reset that calculation.
Annual leave is unaffected. The employee's 30-calendar-day annual leave entitlement accrues normally during maternity leave. Maternity leave cannot be substituted for annual leave, nor can the two run concurrently without the employee's agreement.
If you employ UAE or GCC nationals, their GPSSA pension contributions continue during maternity leave in the usual way — both employer and employee contributions remain due based on the salary actually paid during each phase of the leave.
---
Run HR and payroll in UAE with Mellow
Mellow brings HR, payroll and 12 AI agents into one platform — built to handle UAE properly, with payroll included, from £4 per employee per month. The AI agents don't just answer questions; they generate contracts, run cost estimates and draft letters for you.
[Start a free trial →](/register)