How many days of annual leave do you get in the UAE?

At least 30 days of paid leave a year once you have completed a year of service. Between six months and a year, it is two days for every month. That is the minimum in Article 29 of the UAE Labour Law; a contract may give more.

How much leave, by length of service

Who decides the dates

Your employer can set the dates to suit the work, in agreement with you, or rotate leave among staff. It must tell you your leave date at least one month in advance (Art. 29(4)). Leave is meant to be taken in the year it is earned.

Carrying leave over

You can carry some or all of your balance into the next year with your employer’s approval (Art. 29(5)). Your employer cannot stop you from using leave that has built up for more than two years, unless you choose to carry it forward or be paid for it (Art. 29(8)).

Public holidays that fall inside your leave

They count as part of your leave rather than extending it, unless your contract or company rules say otherwise (Art. 29(7)).

Leaving with days unused

You are paid for every accrued day you did not take, however many there are, and for the part of the final year you worked. The payment is calculated on your basic wage (Art. 29(9)), and it is due with the rest of your final settlement within 14 days of the contract ending (Art. 53).

Other paid leave

• Bereavement: 5 days for a husband or wife; 3 days for a mother, father, son, brother, sister, grandson, grandfather or grandmother (Art. 32(1)(a)).
• Parental leave: 5 working days for a father or mother of a newborn, taken at once or in parts within six months of the birth (Art. 32(1)(b)).
• Study leave: 10 working days a year to sit exams, if you are enrolled at an approved institution in the UAE and have at least two years’ service with the employer (Art. 32(2)).

Unpaid leave needs your employer’s approval and does not count towards your service (Art. 33), which lowers your gratuity. The end-of-service gratuity calculator lets you enter unpaid days.

These rules cover the UAE private sector. They do not apply to federal and local government employees, the armed forces, police and security services, or domestic workers (Article 3). Your contract can give you more than the law, never less.

Checked against the text of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on 24 September 2026. The 2024 amendment replaced Articles 54 and 60 only; none of the articles cited here. General information, not legal advice. See our editorial policy.