UAE labour law: the rules employers and employees need in 2026

Who the UAE labour law covers

Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the regulation of labour relations came into force on 2 February 2022 and replaced the 1980 labour law. It applies to private-sector employers and employees on the mainland and in the free zones that follow federal law, such as DMCC and Jebel Ali. Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 (the Implementing Regulation) fills in the detail, and later amendments, including Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2023, changed some articles.

Some workers are outside it. The two financial free zones have their own employment laws: DIFC Employment Law No. 2 of 2019 and the ADGM Employment Regulations 2024. Federal and local government employees follow civil service laws, and domestic workers have their own law, Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022. Members of the armed forces, police and security services are also excluded (Article 3).

No one under 15 may be employed. Young workers aged 15 to 18 need a guardian's written consent and a medical fitness certificate, may work at most 6 hours a day with a break, never between 7 pm and 7 am, and may not work overtime, on rest days or in dangerous jobs (Article 5).

The law sets minimums. A contract or company policy can give more (more leave, a longer notice period paid by the employer, a higher overtime rate) but any clause that gives the employee less than the law is void. When the law and the contract differ, the rule that is better for the employee applies.

Employment contracts and ways of working

Every employee needs a written contract on the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) form, in two copies, one for each side (Article 8). Since the 2021 law, all contracts are fixed-term. Older unlimited contracts had to be converted. A contract can be renewed or extended for the same or a shorter term, as many times as both sides agree, and each renewal counts as continuous service for gratuity. If both sides simply keep working after the term ends, the contract is treated as renewed on the same terms.

The law recognises several ways of working (Article 7): full time for one employer; part time, for one or more employers for agreed hours or days; temporary work for a set period or task; and flexible work where hours or days change with the workload. The UAE Government also lists remote work and job sharing. A part-time or flexible employee cannot be asked to work beyond the agreed hours without written consent (Article 17(5)).

An employer may not move an employee to work that is fundamentally different from the contract without written consent, except briefly to prevent or repair an accident (Article 12). If the new work means moving home, the employer pays the cost of relocation and housing.

Probation period

Probation can last up to 6 months from the first day of work, and an employer can use it only once for the same employee (Article 9). If the employee stays on after probation, the probation months count towards service and gratuity.

During probation, the employer can end the contract with 14 days' written notice. An employee who wants to move to another UAE employer must give one month's written notice, and the new employer then repays the first employer's recruitment costs unless they agree otherwise. An employee who resigns to leave the UAE gives 14 days' notice; if they come back on a new work permit within three months, the new employer pays that compensation.

Whoever ends a probation contract without the required notice owes the other side the wage for the notice period, or what is left of it. A foreign employee who leaves the country during probation without following these rules can be refused a new work permit for 1 year (Article 9(6)), unless MOHRE exempts their job category. Sick leave during probation is unpaid (see sick leave below).

Working hours, breaks, weekends and Ramadan

Normal working hours are at most 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week (Article 17). Time spent travelling between home and work does not count, except for some categories of workers. No one may work more than 5 hours in a row without breaks totalling at least 1 hour, and the breaks are not part of working hours (Article 18).

Every employee gets at least one paid rest day a week (Article 21), set by the contract or company rules. During Ramadan, private-sector working hours are 2 hours shorter each day, on the same pay. From 15 June to 15 September, outdoor work under the sun stops between 12:30 pm and 3 pm under MOHRE's midday break rule, with fines of AED 5,000 per worker, up to AED 50,000.

Overtime is limited to 2 hours a day as a rule, and total working hours may not exceed 144 every three weeks (Article 19). Each overtime hour is paid at the hourly basic wage plus at least 25%, or plus 50% between 10 pm and 4 am (except for shift workers). Work on a rest day earns another day off or the day's wage plus 50%, and no one except day workers may be asked to work more than two rest days in a row.

Wages and deductions

The wage, or how it is worked out, must be in the contract (Article 22). Wages are paid in UAE dirhams unless the contract says otherwise, on the due date, through the Wage Protection System (WPS) or another system MOHRE approves. The law separates the basic wage (the contract wage without allowances) from the wage (basic plus allowances and benefits). Overtime and gratuity use the basic wage; paid leave uses the full wage.

An employer can deduct from wages only in the cases the law lists (Article 25): repaying a loan, with written consent and no interest; recovering an overpayment, up to 20% of the wage; pension and social security contributions; court-ordered debts, up to a quarter of the wage except alimony; penalties under approved company rules, up to 5%; and damage caused by the employee, up to 5 days' wage a month unless a court approves more. All deductions together may not exceed 50% of the wage.

If an employer does not let an employee work, the agreed wage is still owed (Article 26). A monthly-paid employee can be moved to daily, weekly, hourly or piece rates only with written consent, and keeps the rights already earned (Article 24).

Annual leave

Employees earn at least 30 days of paid annual leave for each year of service, and 2 days for each month when service is more than 6 months but less than a year (Article 29). Leave for part of the final year is earned pro rata. Public holidays that fall during annual leave count as leave days, unless the contract or company rules say otherwise.

Leave taken is paid at the full wage: basic salary plus the allowances in the contract. On AED 9,000 basic and AED 5,000 allowances, 30 days of leave pays AED 14,000. The employer can set the leave dates to suit the work, after agreeing with the employee, and must give notice a month ahead.

With the employer's approval and under company rules, leave can be carried forward to the next year. An employer may not stop an employee taking leave that has built up for more than two years, unless the employee chooses to carry it forward or take a cash allowance for it. When employment ends, every unused day is paid on the basic wage: on AED 9,000 basic, 12 unused days pay AED 3,600.

Sick leave

After probation, an employee can take up to 90 days of sick leave a year, in one block or several (Article 31): the first 15 days on full pay, the next 30 days on half pay and the rest unpaid. The employee must tell the employer within 3 working days and give a medical report from a recognised medical entity.

During probation there is no paid sick leave, though the employer can grant unpaid sick leave on a medical report. Sick leave is unpaid if the illness comes from the employee's own misconduct, in the cases the Implementing Regulation lists.

An employer may not dismiss someone for ill health before they have used the leave the law gives them (Article 46). If the employee still cannot return after the sick leave runs out, the employer may end the contract and pay all end-of-service entitlements. Work injuries are separate (Article 37): the employer pays for treatment and the full wage for up to six months, then half wage for up to six more months.

Maternity, parental and other leave

Maternity leave is 60 days: 45 days on full pay and 15 days on half pay (Article 30). It can start from the last day of the month before the expected birth. A mother can then take up to 45 more days unpaid if she or the baby is ill from the pregnancy or birth. If the child is ill or a person of determination who needs constant care, she gets 30 more days on full pay, which she can extend by 30 unpaid days.

For 6 months after the birth, a returning mother gets one or two nursing breaks a day, up to one hour in total. No employee may be dismissed, or given notice, because of pregnancy or maternity leave. Either parent also gets 5 working days of paid parental leave, to be taken within 6 months of the birth (Article 32).

Other paid leave (Article 32): 5 days on the death of a husband or wife and 3 days on the death of a parent, child, brother, sister, grandchild or grandparent; 10 working days a year of study leave to sit exams, after 2 years with the employer; and paid leave for national service for Emiratis. Unpaid leave by agreement does not count as service for gratuity (Article 33).

Resignation and notice period

Either side can end the contract for a legitimate reason by giving written notice. The notice period is whatever the contract says, but at least 30 days and at most 90 days (Article 43), and it should be the same for both sides unless a difference favours the employee. The contract stays in force during notice: the employee works if asked and is paid the full last wage.

Both sides can agree to shorten or waive the notice, but the employee keeps all rights for the agreed period. A side that does not give or serve the notice pays the other a notice period allowance equal to the wage for the full notice, or the part not served, even if no harm was done.

When the employer gives notice, the employee may take 1 unpaid day a week to look for a new job, telling the employer at least three days ahead. If notice is given while the employee is on leave, it starts the day after they are due back, unless both agree otherwise (Article 35). Resigning does not cost an employee their gratuity under the 2021 law: gratuity is due after one year of service however the contract ends, except where the law says otherwise.

Termination by the employer

A contract ends (Article 42) by written agreement, when its term ends, by notice from either side, on the death or permanent full disability of the employee, on a prison sentence of at least three months, when the business closes for good, on bankruptcy or other economic reasons the regulation allows, or when the work permit cannot be renewed for reasons outside the employer's control.

An employer can dismiss without notice only after a written investigation, with a written and reasoned decision, in the cases Article 44 lists. They include: false identity or forged documents; a mistake causing serious loss, or deliberate damage the employee admits (the employer must tell MOHRE within 7 working days); breaking posted safety rules; failing basic duties after a written investigation and two warnings; revealing a trade secret; being drunk or under drugs at work; assault at work; absence without a valid reason for more than 20 days in a year or 7 days in a row; misusing the job for personal gain; and joining another business against the rules.

Dismissal is unlawful if it is because the employee made a serious complaint to MOHRE or a well-founded lawsuit against the employer (Article 47). A court can then award compensation of up to 3 months' wage, on top of the notice allowance and gratuity. Dismissal because of pregnancy or maternity leave, or for ill health before sick leave is used, is not allowed either. Disciplinary steps short of dismissal (Article 39) range from a written notice and warning to a wage deduction, suspension of up to 14 days, loss of a bonus or promotion, and one penalty per offence.

When an employee may leave without notice

An employee can stop work without notice and keep all end-of-service rights in four cases (Article 45): the employer breaks its obligations and does not put it right within 14 working days of the employee telling MOHRE; the employer or its representative assaults, uses violence against or harasses the employee (reported to the authorities and MOHRE within 5 working days); a serious danger at work that the employer knows about and does not remove; or work that is fundamentally different from the contract without written consent.

Outside these cases, a foreign employee who leaves before the end of the contract without a legitimate reason can be refused a new work permit for one year (Article 50), and the employer must report the absence to MOHRE.

End of service: gratuity and final pay

A full-time employee with at least one year of continuous service earns gratuity on the last basic wage: 21 days' basic pay for each of the first five years and 30 days for each year after, capped at two years' wage (Article 51). Days of unpaid absence do not count. On AED 9,000 basic after six years: 9,000 ÷ 30 × (21 × 5 + 30) = AED 40,500. Emiratis are covered by pension schemes instead, and DIFC employers pay into DEWS.

The employer must pay all wages and entitlements within 14 days of the contract ending (Article 53): final salary, unused leave, gratuity and any notice allowance. If an employee dies, the family receives these within 10 days (Article 15).

On request, the employer gives a free experience certificate with the dates, job, last wage and reason for leaving, with nothing that harms the employee's chances (Article 13). The employer also pays the return ticket to the place of recruitment, unless the employee has joined another employer or caused the termination. An employer may not keep an employee's passport or other official documents.

Non-compete clauses

If the job gives access to clients or business secrets, the contract can stop the employee from competing, or working for a competitor in the same sector, after leaving (Article 10). The clause must be limited in time, place and type of work to what protects the business, and it may last no more than 2 years after the contract ends.

The clause falls away if the employer ended the contract in breach of the law. An employer's claim for breach must be filed within one year of discovering it. The Implementing Regulation can exclude some skill levels and jobs from non-compete clauses.

Workplace protections

The law bans forced labour, and sexual harassment, bullying and verbal, physical or psychological violence by the employer, managers or colleagues (Article 14). It bans discrimination on race, colour, sex, religion, national or social origin or disability that limits equal opportunity in hiring, pay or promotion, and requires equal pay for women and men doing the same work.

Employers must keep employee files for at least two years after the employee leaves, provide licensed housing or a housing allowance, pay for medical care under the law, provide a safe workplace with training on its risks, and explain to employees their rights (Article 13). An employer may not charge an employee, directly or indirectly, for the fees and costs of recruitment (Article 6).

Labour complaints and disputes

A dispute goes to MOHRE first (Article 54). MOHRE tries to settle it, and its decision is final when the claim is under AED 50,000 or the two sides reach a settlement, under Ministerial Resolution No. 782 of 2023. Otherwise, after 14 days without a settlement, MOHRE refers the case to the labour court with a summary and its recommendation, and the court sets a hearing within three working days.

Workers and their heirs pay no court fees on claims up to AED 100,000, at any stage (Article 55). While a dispute is open, MOHRE can make the employer keep paying wages for up to two months. Collective disputes go to MOHRE and, if not settled, to a Collective Labour Disputes Committee (Article 56).

Deadlines and limits at a glance

The numbers HR teams check most often. Each comes from Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 unless the row says otherwise.