Private-sector employees covered by the UAE’s federal Labour Law can take up to 90 days of sick leave per year after probation: the first 15 days at full pay, the next 30 at half pay and the remaining 45 without pay. The leave can be continuous or split across separate illnesses. The employee must notify the employer within three working days and submit a medical report issued by a recognised medical authority.
Updated 19 October 2026 with a fresh review of the sick-pay bands, ADGM and DIFC guidance, certificate attestation and the distinction between medical dismissal and notice timing. This is general information, not legal advice or a review of your contract. Government employees, domestic workers, DIFC and ADGM have different rules: identify your employment regime before using the table.
UAE sick leave in 2026: the quick table
| Sick-leave days used in the year | Federal private-sector entitlement | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1–15 | Full pay | Notify the employer and submit a medical report |
| Days 16–45 | Half pay | Keep the approved certificate and payroll record |
| Days 46–90 | Unpaid | Leave remains within the statutory 90-day maximum |
| After day 90 | No further entitlement under Article 31 | If the employee cannot return, the employer may end service and must pay legal entitlements |
The main rule is in Article 31 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, as amended. The Dubai Government’s summary of federal leave rules sets out the same 15/30/45 bands. My first recommendation is to check which law covers your job—not start with a sick-pay calculator. The wrong regime gives you the wrong answer before any arithmetic begins.
Who does the 90-day UAE sick-leave rule cover?
This guide’s main rule applies to workers in the UAE private sector who fall under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. Article 3 expressly excludes federal and local government employees, armed forces and security personnel, and domestic workers. Employees registered in the UAE’s two financial free zones—DIFC and ADGM—also work under separate employment regulations.
| Employment regime | Maximum sick leave | Pay structure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal UAE private sector | 90 days per year after probation | 15 full + 30 half + 45 unpaid | Federal Labour Law, Article 31 |
| DIFC | 60 working days in 12 months | 10 full + 20 half + 30 unpaid | DIFC Courts employment FAQ |
| ADGM | 60 working days in a 12-month period | 10 full + 20 half + 30 unpaid | ADGM Employment Regulations 2024 |
| Domestic workers | 30 days per contractual year | 15 full + 15 unpaid | UAE Government domestic-workers guidance |
If your employment falls under DIFC or ADGM law, do not apply the federal 90-day calculation. ADGM’s Employment Regulations 2024 took effect on 1 April 2025, replacing the 2019 regulations. Its Employment Affairs Office identifies that change. For a government job, check the entity’s HR law and policy. For other free zones, check the applicable contract and authority rather than guessing from the office address.
ADGM probation is another important difference: its EAO guidance describes sick leave during probation without sick pay. Do not transfer the federal provision making probationary unpaid sick leave discretionary into an ADGM answer. The table is an overview; working arrangements and the applicable law still matter.
How many paid sick days do UAE private-sector employees receive?
The 90 days are not 90 paid days. Only the first 45 carry statutory pay, divided into two bands:
- First 15 days: full pay.
- Next 30 days: half pay.
- Final 45 days: no pay.
The bands accumulate across the entitlement year. If an employee uses 10 sick days, returns to work and later uses another 10, the first five days of the second absence complete the full-pay band; the remaining five move into half pay. Article 31 allows the 90 days to be continuous or intermittent.
Is sick-leave pay based on basic salary or total wage?
The statute uses the terms full pay and half pay. The Labour Law separately defines “wage” as the basic wage plus cash allowances and benefits in kind stipulated for the work under the contract or law. That is different from end-of-service gratuity, for which official guidance specifically uses basic salary.
Do not accept a social-media calculator as the final answer for a disputed payroll. Check the wage components recorded in your MOHRE contract and payslip, ask payroll to show its calculation in writing, and seek a MOHRE ruling or legal advice if the employer applies half pay only to a figure you believe is wrong.
Do you get paid sick leave during probation?
No statutory paid sick leave is due during probation under Article 31(2). The employer may grant unpaid sick leave when a medical report says it is necessary, but that wording makes the leave discretionary rather than an automatic paid entitlement.
An employer can offer a more generous contractual benefit. Check the employment contract and staff policy, but a company policy cannot reduce the minimum rights that apply after probation.
Is a medical certificate required for one day of sick leave?
Article 31 does not create a one-day exemption. It says the worker must notify the employer within no more than three working days and submit a medical report issued by the medical entity. An employer may operate a more generous internal policy, but an employee who wants statutory protection should not assume a self-certified day will be accepted.
Use a licensed healthcare facility and keep the electronically issued certificate. Screenshots of an appointment, pharmacy receipt, prescription, invoice or laboratory result are not the same as an approved sick-leave certificate.
How quickly must you tell your employer?
Article 31 requires notification within three working days, along with a medical report. I would notify HR or the manager on the first day when possible, rather than treat that ceiling as a reason to wait. Keep the message and use the company’s authorised submission channel. DIFC has a different notification rule: its Courts’ FAQ says to notify as soon as reasonably practicable on the first day and at least every three days thereafter; a medical certificate is required if the employer asks.
A defensible record contains:
- a written message or email stating that the absence is illness-related;
- the first day of absence and expected return date, if known;
- the certificate or its official digital reference; and
- an acknowledgement from HR, the manager or the company leave system.
A medical report contains sensitive health data. Send it through the authorised HR channel rather than a public group chat, and keep your own copy.
When must a UAE sick-leave certificate be attested?
Medical-certificate issuance and attestation sit with the health authority, and the process can differ by emirate. The MOHAP attestation service checked on 28 October 2026 separates three submission routes. I would identify who is submitting before treating a duration as a promise:
- The health facility submits for you: MOHAP lists instant completion.
- You submit the request yourself: MOHAP lists two working days, with the attested document available after approval and fulfilment of the requirements.
- You work for a federal or local government entity in the Northern Emirates and need more than five days: the service directs the request to the Higher Medical Committee and lists five working days. That is not a general rule that every private-sector absence over five days requires committee approval.
The service is free. For five days or fewer it lists the sick-leave certificate as the required document; for more than five days it also lists the related medical report. The issuing facility must meet the service’s licensing requirement. Keep the certificate and the supporting report separate from a pharmacy receipt, appointment confirmation or invoice, which are not accepted substitutes.
If the document is already attested by DoH Abu Dhabi, DHA, Dubai Health, SHA or EHS, MOHAP says another attestation is not needed, except for certificates requiring Medical Committee approval for a federal or local government employer in the Northern Emirates. Check that exception rather than sending every document through a second process. For Dubai, licensed professionals use the DHA sick-leave service; Abu Dhabi’s DoH services directory is the separate local starting point.
A certificate issued abroad needs a separate check
MOHAP does not attest an overseas medical report or sick-leave certificate unless it has been attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and meets the service requirements. Its current conditions give one year from certificate issuance to submit the MOHAP attestation request—not one month. That service deadline does not replace the federal private-sector requirement to notify the employer within three working days. I would ask HR and the relevant health authority which route applies before assuming that an overseas certificate, or an unattested copy, is accepted.
What happens if the illness was caused by misconduct?
Paid sick leave can be withheld in the cases set out by Article 31 and Article 20 of the Executive Regulation. The current regulation identifies illness resulting from worker misconduct such as alcohol or drug use, and illness linked to a worker’s violation of applicable safety instructions that the worker had acknowledged.
This is not an invitation for an employer to label any disputed illness “misconduct”. The Executive Regulation says a report from the competent UAE authorities is required to establish the alcohol/drug misconduct case.
Are work injuries counted as ordinary sick leave?
No. The 90-day structure covers illness that is not caused by a work injury. Occupational injury and disease have a separate compensation and reporting framework. UAE Government guidance says the employer bears treatment costs and provides different wage protection during treatment for a qualifying work injury.
If the condition arose while performing work or because of it, do not let it be recorded automatically as ordinary sick leave without checking the official work-injury rules.
Can an employer dismiss someone during sick leave?
Being medically unfit and the timing of a notice period are separate questions. Article 46 prohibits dismissal for medical unfitness before the employee has exhausted the leave legally due. Article 31(5) permits termination after the statutory sick-leave entitlement is exhausted if the employee remains unable to return, with financial entitlements payable. The government sick-leave page describes protection under the heading “terminated on grounds of sickness”; do not turn that into a complete answer for every possible termination dispute.
Article 35 concerns notice when a contract is ended during leave: the notice period generally starts on the first working day after the leave ends, unless the parties agree otherwise. DMCC’s employment FAQ, questions 36–37, distinguishes that timing rule from medical termination after sick leave. It does not make an otherwise unlawful dismissal lawful. If you receive a notice, ask MOHRE or a qualified employment lawyer to examine the stated reason, leave balance, certificate and dates together.
Does illness automatically convert annual leave into sick leave?
The federal private-sector provisions do not state that annual leave must automatically be restored whenever an employee becomes ill during it. Do not rely on the common claim that a medical certificate always “converts” annual leave. Check the company policy, contract and the legal regime governing the employer, then obtain written confirmation from HR.
DIFC’s vacation-leave rule requires employer agreement for conversion to sick leave, as reproduced in its published Courts decision. That is not a federal rule for every UAE employee. Ask HR which regime and policy it is applying, and keep its answer with the certificate.
What records should an employee keep?
- The employment contract and applicable leave policy.
- Every medical certificate and attestation reference.
- The original notification to the employer and its timestamp.
- HR approval, rejection or request for more evidence.
- Payslips showing how each sick-leave day was paid.
- A running total of full-pay, half-pay and unpaid sick days used in the entitlement year.
Ask HR to correct a payroll or leave-balance error in writing. A clear chronology is much more useful in a dispute than a collection of undocumented phone calls.
A short HR email you can adapt
This is a sample message, not a reported case or a legal notice. Replace the bracketed details with your own and send supporting records through the appropriate private channel.
Subject: Sick-leave record and pay calculation for [dates]
I notified [manager/HR] on [date] and submitted medical certificate [reference] through [channel]. Please confirm the sick-leave days recorded for this absence, my cumulative balance in the relevant entitlement year, and the pay band applied. My payslip shows [specific deduction or discrepancy]. Please provide the calculation and the applicable policy or legal basis so I can understand or correct the record.
Attach only the relevant records. Do not put a diagnosis into a broad email group or send more medical information than the authorised process requires.
What can you do if an employer refuses lawful sick leave or pay?
First, send HR a concise written request that cites Article 31, attaches the approved certificate and identifies the exact days or pay band in dispute. If the issue is not resolved, eligible private-sector employees can use MOHRE’s Register Labour Complaints service.
MOHRE’s published service information has listed a free complaint channel and a 14-working-day completion duration. That is not a promise that a contested claim, court case or recovery of money finishes in that period. Confirm the current service conditions when filing; the live service card could not be fully retrieved in this review. For assistance, MOHRE lists 600 590 000. DIFC, ADGM, government and domestic-worker complaints follow their respective routes.
UAE sick-leave myths that cause real problems
| Claim | Reality |
|---|---|
| “Everyone in the UAE gets 90 paid sick days.” | False. The federal private-sector structure is 15 full, 30 half and 45 unpaid, and other regimes differ. |
| “No certificate is needed for one day.” | Article 31 does not provide a one-day exemption. |
| “Probation employees get the normal paid entitlement.” | False. The employer may grant medically supported unpaid leave during probation. |
| “All free zones use the same rule.” | False. DIFC and ADGM have their own 60-day systems. |
| “A pharmacy receipt proves sick leave.” | False. The law requires a medical report from the medical authority. |
| “A Google calculator settles which salary components count.” | False. Use the contract, statutory definitions and MOHRE for a disputed calculation. |
My recommendation: get the entitlement and the record straight before arguing about a deduction. Identify the governing law, notify promptly, obtain the medical certificate and ask payroll to show which band it used. If the documents do not match the payslip, put that exact discrepancy to HR in writing. A general “90 days” headline cannot resolve it.
