UAE labour law · maternity and parental leave

UAE maternity and parental leave calculator

Check maternity leave for a mother or parental leave for either parent. Enter your total monthly wage to estimate the pay. Your contract or company rules may give you more.

Estimate, not legal advice. Check your contract and speak to MOHRE about a dispute.

Which parent are you?
Basic salary plus allowances and any benefits included in your contractual wage. Leave this empty to see the days without a pay estimate. If your contract or employer calculates leave pay on the basic salary, enter the basic salary to see that amount.
Shows when maternity leave may start, under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(5). A medical certificate is required.
Shows the parental leave deadline and, for a mother, the breastfeeding-break deadline. Leave it empty if the date is not known yet.
Did the birth happen six months or more into the pregnancy?

Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(3), also covers a stillbirth or a baby who dies after birth at this stage of pregnancy. An earlier loss is not calculated here.

After maternity leave, for illness of the mother or baby caused by pregnancy or childbirth that prevents the mother returning to work. A medical certificate is required. These days do not count towards gratuity or pension contributions (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(2)).
Does the baby need a constant companion because of illness or disability?

A medical report is required for the extra 30 full-pay days under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(4).

Available after the extra 30 full-pay days if the baby needs a constant companion (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(4)).
Your employment

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Example

A full-time private-sector mother with a total wage of AED 9,000 a month: 45 full-pay days and 15 half-pay days of maternity leave, plus five paid working days of parental leave.

Estimated leave pay

Estimated maternity leave pay: AED 15,750. Parental leave pay is shown separately below.

Daily wage: AED 300. Our reading is the total monthly wage divided by 30, using the wage definition in Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 1, and the 30-day month in Article 67.

Full-pay maternity leave: 45 calendar days × AED 300 = AED 13,500 (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(1)(a)).

Half-pay maternity leave: 15 calendar days × AED 150 = AED 2,250 (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(1)(b)).

Total leave shown above: 60 calendar days.

Enter your expected due date to see the earliest day you may request maternity leave. It starts from the last day of the month before the expected birth month, with a medical certificate (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(5)).

After returning from maternity leave, you may take one or two breastfeeding breaks a day, totalling at most 60 minutes, for up to six months from the birth. Enter the birth date to see the deadline (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(9)).

Parental leave for the mother

Parental leave pay: 5 working days × AED 300 = AED 1,500 (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 32(1)(b)).

Take parental leave together or on separate working days, within six months of the birth. Enter the birth date to see the deadline (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 32(1)(b)).

Provide proof of your child's birth. Parental leave may be combined with annual leave or unpaid leave (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Articles 21(4) and 21(5)).

Protections for the mother

Our reading: use the total wage, including allowances, because Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 1, defines wage this way. The Arabic wording of Article 30 is ⁨أجر⁩, rather than ⁨الأجر الأساسي⁩ (basic wage).

Our reading: six months from birth means 180 days, using the 30-day month in Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 67. Confirm the deadline with your employer.

Our reading: one paid parental working day is paid at one daily wage, calculated as the total monthly wage divided by 30. Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 32(1)(b), says paid leave without specifying the daily calculation.

Your contract or company rules may give you more leave or pay.

How this calculator works

  1. Maternity leave is 60 calendar days: 45 at full wage and 15 at half wage (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(1)). The additional illness and companion leave are shown separately.
  2. Both a mother and a father may take five paid working days of parental leave, together or separately, within six months of birth (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 32(1)(b)).
  3. The wage base, the daily calculation, the 180-day deadline and the daily parental pay are our reading. A contract or company policy may give more than the law.

What this page does not cover

  1. It does not assess medical evidence or your individual eligibility. Ask your employer to confirm the dates and documents.
  2. It does not calculate part-time leave pay, earlier pregnancy losses or workers outside this law.
  3. It does not replace advice about a dispute. Contact MOHRE for private-sector labour complaints.

Questions

How many days of maternity leave are paid in the UAE?
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(1), gives 60 calendar days: 45 at full wage and 15 at half wage. Additional illness-related and companion leave may apply with medical evidence.
Is maternity leave based on basic salary or total wage?
Our reading is the total wage, including allowances, because Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 1, defines wage this way and Article 30 uses wage rather than basic wage. We divide the monthly wage by 30 using Article 67.
Is there paid paternity leave in the UAE?
Yes. Each working parent, the father or the mother, may take five paid working days of parental leave, together or separately, within six months of birth (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 32(1)(b)). Proof of birth is required (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 21(4)).
Can parental leave be combined with annual leave?
Yes. Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 21(5), permits combining parental leave, annual leave and unpaid leave.
Does the additional unpaid illness absence count towards gratuity?
No. Up to 45 days of illness-related unpaid absence after maternity leave are excluded from the service period used for gratuity and pension contributions (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 30(2)). A medical certificate is required.

Sources

Read on 13 October 2026; amendments checked on 14 October 2026 (Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2023 and No. 9 of 2024 change Articles 54 and 60 only).