Good news for private sector employees who will now be able to avail one month's paid leave every year. The Annual leave provisions for private sector employees and businesses have been established by the UAE will take effect on February 2, 2022.

Private sector employees will be entitled to a fully paid annual leave of no less than 30 days for each year of service, according to the Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021. This new labour law also prescribes two days of paid leave each month for employees who have been in service for more than six months but less than a year.

The law states that private sector workers are entitled to annual leave for the time they spent at work during the previous year of service before exhausting their annual leave balance.

Part-time workers will be entitled to a yearly leave based on their real working hours as stipulated in their employment contract and in compliance with the executive regulations of this Decree-Law.

Private sector companies have the right under this Federal Decree Law to provide their employees leave from the balance of their annual leave during the probation term. The employee retains the right to be compensated for the remaining annual leave balance if they pass the probation period.

Employers may also select the dates of yearly leave in accordance with work requirements and in consultation with each employee who will be on leave.

To guarantee that work is not halted, the leave can be used in turn by workers. The employers must notify each worker of the set dates at least one month in advance.

Workers have the right to carry their yearly leave forward to the next year, according to the new law. However, a consultation with the employer must be made on this regard and must be in compliance with the facility's rules and regulations.

Employees are also entitled to be paid for the remainder of their yearly leave, which is calculated on the basis of their basic income.

According to the Federal Decree Law, the annual leave period must contain weekly offs for each employee.

Unless the employee wishes to carry it forward or get a monetary allowance, the employer may not prevent his employees from taking annual leaves that is due for more than two years.

Workers in the private sector must also be compensated for unpaid leave if they resign from employment before availing the leaves, regardless of how long it lasts.

Employees will also be entitled to a monetary stipend based on their basic salary for the days they worked during their annual leave.