Employees can carry forward annual leave, get cash compensation in UAE

Abdul Rahman Saeed, Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) authorised the worker or employee to carry over no more than half of his annual leave to the following year, or to agree with the sponsor to give him a cash compensation for the wage he receives at the time of his entitlement to the leave, in accordance with Federal Decree Law No33 for 2021 regarding regulating relationships at work and its executive regulations.

The ministry clarified that in the event of the worker's contract termination, he must be paid a cash allowance equal to the balance of his legally due annual leave, in accordance with the basic wage.

According to ministry, the employer should not deprive the worker of his annual leave for more than two years, unless the worker wants to carry it over, or he can get a cash allowance for it, in accordance with the applicable regulations in the workplace.

The ministry also affirmed that the worker is entitled to receive the wages for the days of leave due if he leaves work before benefiting from it, and he is also entitled to the get the leave wages for what he spent at work during the year, which is calculated according to the basic wage.

On the other hand, the ministry indicated that the part-time worker is entitled to get an annual leave according to the actual working hours spent in the office, that is - converting the working hours into full working days, and therefore, divided by the number of working days through the year, multiplied by the number of entitled leaves stated in the contract (a minimum of five working days a year).

A contract must need to state the employee's profession, date of joining, place of work, rest days, working hours, probation, contract’s duration, the salary, which must include benefits and allowances.