UAE: Can employees redeem their entire annual leave by working all year? – information

According to the national labor law, employees are entitled to 30 days of annual leave after completing one year of service

question: Can I redeem all my annual leave by working all year? If yes, how is this calculated?

answer: Based on your query, assume that you are a full-time employee of a mainland company in the UAE. Accordingly, the provisions of Federal Decree No. 33 of 2021 on the employment relationship and the provisions of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on the implementation of the provisions of Federal Decree No. 33 of 2021 on the employment relationship apply.

In the UAE, employees are entitled to 30 days of annual leave after completing a year of employment. This is in line with Article 29, paragraph 1, of the Labor Code, “Without prejudice to the rights enjoyed by employees prior to the entry into force of this Act, employees are entitled to paid annual leave not less than: 30 (thirty) for each year of service )sky.”

Employers should allow employees to take annual leave at least once every two years, unless the employee wishes to carry forward the annual leave or receive salary in lieu of the leave. This is in line with Article 29, paragraph 8, of the Labor Code, “The employer shall not prevent the employee from using his accrued annual leave for more than 2 (two) years, unless the employee wishes to carry forward or be replaced by a payment in accordance with the provisions of the institution’s charter and the implementing regulations of this decree Vacation expenses.”

In addition, employees can only carry forward 15 days of annual leave to the following year, or they can agree with their employer to replace it in cash. This is in line with Article 19, Paragraph 1 of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, which states: “In accordance with the provisions of Article 29, Paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Decree, employees may carry forward not more than half of their annual leave to the following year, or with The employer agrees that the cash allowance will be paid according to the salary when taking annual leave.”

Subject to the above legal provisions, you may jointly agree with your employer to receive cash in lieu of your unused annual leave. If your employer agrees to pay you cash in lieu of your unused annual leave, then your employer should pay you out of your full monthly salary.

An employee is entitled to cash in lieu of days of annual leave not used throughout his or her employment with the employer, calculated on the basis of the employee’s basic salary. This is in line with Article 29, Paragraph 9 of the Labor Law, “If an employee leaves work before taking leave, he is entitled to be paid during the leave, regardless of the length of the leave. The annual leave salary calculated in proportion to the number of years, and calculated according to the basic salary.”

Ashish Mehta is the founder and managing partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practice in Dubai, UK and India. Further information on his company is available at: www.amalawyers.com. Readers can email their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.