Can Employers Fire Employees for Extending Leave After Rejection in the UAE?

In the UAE, employees who have completed more than one year of service are entitled to 30 days of annual leave per year, per Article 29(1)(a) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relations. However, the employer has the discretion to decide the annual leave dates based on work requirements.

According to Article 29(4) of the UAE Employment Law, employers can fix the leave dates and rotate leaves among employees to ensure smooth work progress. Employees must be notified at least one month in advance of their leave dates.

If an employee does not return to work directly after the approved leave period without a valid reason, they are not entitled to a salary for the period of absence.

This is stipulated in Article 34 of the Employment Law, which states that an employee who does not return to work without a legitimate reason after their leave is not entitled to wages for the absence period following the end of the leave.

Furthermore, employers have the right to terminate an employee without notice if the employee is absent without a valid reason for seven consecutive days or 20 non-consecutive days in a year.

Article 44(8) of the UAE Employment Law provides that an employer may dismiss an employee without prior notice if the employee is absent without a legal cause for more than 20 interrupted days in a year or more than seven consecutive days.

Therefore, the approval of a leave extension is at the employer's discretion. If an employer has a valid reason, they may reject the extension request even if the employee has enough leave left.

If the employee extends their leave without approval, they risk losing their salary for the extended period and may face termination of employment.

However, if there are genuine reasons necessitating the extension, the employee should provide valid documentary evidence to the employer to justify the need for additional leave.

In the case of termination, the employee can challenge the decision if they have valid reasons and supporting documents for the leave extension without the employer's consent.

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