COMPANY LEAVE POLICY

Policy Effective Date: <DD/MM/YY>

No part of this documentation may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, for any purpose without express written
permission of the CEO of <Company Name Here>.

© 2021, <Company Name Here>. All Rights Reserved

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Revision History

Ver Change Prepared Reviewed By Approved Date

No. Description By By

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Objective 5
Scope & Applicability 5
Definition & Glossary 6
Policy / Process 6
4.2 Policy Definition: 6
4.2 Types of Leaves 7
Non-compliance and consequences 14
Special Circumstance and Exception 15

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1. Objective
The objective of the Company Leave Policy is aimed toward building a
structured framework of an effective and efficient company leave policy that
supports the operations of the organisation and creates an effective and
efficient work environment that supports the well-being of all employees.
Effective and Efficient Leave Policy ensures the well-being of the employees
within the organization along with ensuring that there are no disruptions in the
operations of the organization due to unplanned leave taken by the
employees.
The policy educates the employees about the different types of leaves, the
applicability of the leave, eligibility for availing leave, and the procedure for
application & availing the respective leave.

2. Scope & Applicability

The Scope of this policy covers different types of leaves, applicability,
eligibility and procedures. This policy is applicable to all regular employees of
the Company.

3. Definition & Glossary

Term / Definition / Expansion
Abbreviation
Annual Leave Refers to leaves taken by employee/s annually.
(AL)
Sick leave (SL) Refers to leaves taken by an employee/s in the event of
ill-health
Maternity leave Refers to leaves taken by mothers/new mothers
(ML) employed with the organisation.
Paternity leave Refers to leaves taken by fathers/new fathers employed

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 (PAL) with the organisation.
Compassionate / Refers to leaves taken by an employee/s who has
Bereavement experienced a sudden death of a near or dear one i.e.
Leave spouse Or a direct family member.
Study leave (STL) Refers to leaves taken by an employee/s to study at an
accredited UAE university.

4. Policy / Process
4.2 Policy Definition:

The Company Leave Policy defines the structured framework of leaves that
apply to the employees. The policy shall assist the organisation and the
employees in planning the operations of business effectively and efficiently in
order to avoid any disruptions in regular business operations.
Employees are the most valuable assets of an organisation. Lack of proper
leave management can lead to unauthorised absence from duty and thereby
further leading to lower productivity, fall in productivity hours, missing client
commitments, disruptions of processes, and so on. These types of issues can
be resolved with a proper Company Leave Policy for employees in the
workplace

4.2 Types of Leaves

1. Annual Leave : (AL)

The AL calendar year for calculations of leave runs from January 1 to
Dec 31. Employees will need time off from their daily official duties and
routine for rest and recreation.
Eligibility:
● Once employees complete one year of service within the
organisation, then employee/s are entitled to a fully paid AL of
30 days.

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 ● Once employees complete six months of service, but not one
year, then employees are entitled to fully paid AL of 2 days per
month.
● Only full-time employees are entitled to a 30-day AL every year.
Procedure:
● The AL calendar year for calculations of leave runs from
January 1st to Dec 31st of each year
● AL plans should be prepared through coordination between the
employees and the Line Manager. All employees shall apply for
their AL 60 calendar days in advance. In the event of the
absence of response and or approval from the Line manager,
the employee must reach out to the Line manager via an email
as a reminder for necessary approval of AL. Mere application of
AL does not construe approval of leaves.
● Employees must use their leaves in the year of entitlement. The
Line Manager may, in agreement with the employees, set the
dates of leave according to the work requirements. The line
Manager must notify the employees of any change in the date of
applied leaves at least one month in advance.
● Employees may, with the consent of the Line Manager and
following company’s regulations, carry forward the AL balance
to the following year. Leaves must be carried forward only due
to business exigencies. AL carry forward is limited to <xx> days
only.
● Leave encashment of only AL unavailed balance is allowed.
This can be encashed only at the time of retirement or
termination of the contract. The encashment payment is
calculated based on the Basic salary.
● Line Manager may not prevent employees from using their
accrued AL for more than two years.
● If the employee’s service has ended before the AL balance is
availed, leave will be prorated for the fraction period of service.

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 ● Only employees going on unplanned short leaves for emergency
cases (not to exceed three working days) will be exempted from
taking necessary approvals. However, the employees taking
leave shall keep the line manager informed of such an
emergency.
● The calculation of the duration of AL will include official holidays
specified by law or by agreement and any other leaves caused
by sickness if they fall within the AL unless the employment
contract or the company’s regulations have other provisions.
● AL balances cannot be transferred to or from other employees.

2. Sick leave: (SL)

Employees may need time off to rest and recoup during sickness or for
medical care and check-up.

Eligibility:

● Employees are entitled to an SL of not more than 90 days per

year only after the end of their probationary period.
● The 90 days SL can be continuous or intermittent, and the
salary is paid as follows:
○ Full pay for the first 15 days
○ Half pay for the next 30 days
○ No pay for the rest 45 days
● However, during the probationary period, the employees may
get an SL without pay, subject to the approval of the employer
and based on a medical report issued by the medical entity that
stipulates the necessity of the leave.
● Employees are not eligible for SL if the illness directly arises
from the misconduct of the worker, such as consumption of
alcohol or narcotics or accidents caused by reckless driving
● The employees are not eligible for SL if they have violated the
safety instructions following effective legislations in the UAE and

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 the rules set out in the firm's regulations, which the employees
were informed of.
● The organisation may not dismiss an employee or give a
termination notice while the employee is on SL. If the employee
uses all of the 90 days of SL and has still been unable to report
to work, then the employer may terminate his services. In such a
case, the employees are entitled to the end-of-service benefits
as per the provisions of the labour law.

Procedure:

● If employees fall sick and require SL, then he/she should notify
the respective Line Manager within 48 hours of becoming sick, if
not prevented by a forced situation and give an estimation of
how long the employees will be absent from work due to their
sickness. Failure to do so without a forced situation will lead to
deducting the said days from the employee AL.
● The sick employees, upon return from SL, are required to fill
Sick Leave Form and submit a medical certificate to the HR
Department.
● SLs cannot be carried forward or encashed, or transferred.

3. Maternity leave: (ML)

Female employees are eligible for pre and post-maternity time-off to
cater to the needs of the newborn child and to take proper rest.

Eligibility:

● Female employee/s are entitled to an ML of 60 days, out of

which:
○ 45 days will be fully-paid leave
○ 15 days will be half-paid leave.

Procedure:

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 ● Female employees may apply for ML up to 30 days before the
expected date of delivery.
● In addition to the primary ML, she may take additional 45 days
without pay if she has an illness as a result of pregnancy or
childbirth and is unable to resume work. The illness must be
proved via a medical certificate issued by the respective medical
authority. These leave days can be consecutive or intermittent.
● If the baby is sick or suffers from a disability, the employee may
take additional leaves of 30 days fully paid. This leave can be
further extended for additional 30 days without pay. The illness
or disability of the child must be proved via a medical certificate
issued by the respective medical authority.
● After the employee resumes work, she is entitled to one or two
additional breaks each day for nursing her child. The duration of
the two breaks must not exceed one hour. The woman is
entitled to such breaks for six months following the date of
delivery. Such breaks are fully paid for.
● Employees can choose to combine their maternity leave with
any other approved holiday, and employers cannot terminate
employees for taking ML.
● The Line Manager should approve the leave applied by the
employee and keep the HR department informed of the same. In
the event of non-receipt of approval from the Line Manager, the
employee may escalate the issue to the HR department.

4. Paternity leave: (Pa.L)

Paternity leave allows the male parent of a newly born child to take
time off to be with the family, which helps in bonding and to support the
spouse.
Eligibility:
● Married men can claim a five-day Pa.L to be used consecutively
or throughout the first six months of their child’s birth.
Procedure:

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 ● Employees must apply for Pa.L with their Line Manager at least
a week before the expected date of birth of the child.
● The Pa.L can commence from the same day of birth of the child.

5. Compassionate Leave Or Bereavement leave (BL)

Employees need time off to mourn the death of their beloved family
member and to attend to any rituals.
Eligibility:
● An employee of the private sector is entitled to
○ a paid leave of five days in the event of death of a spouse
○ a paid leave of three days in the event of death of a
parent, child, sibling, grandchild or grandparent.

Procedure:

● Employees can apply for BL by keeping the Line Manager

informed.
● The Line Manager should keep HR informed via email or official
Leave Management System platform.

6. Study leave - (STL)

The Company encourages its employees to gain knowledge
continuously, which not only helps them to perform better but also is
suitable for the organisation.
Eligibility:
● Employees enrolled in a UAE-accredited educational institution
or university inside or outside the country are entitled to 10 days
off a year for exams.
Procedure:
● To apply for STL, employees must have completed at least two
years of service with the Company.

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 ● The employee and the Line Manager may mutually agree on
STL. The Line Manager shall approve the leave post the mutual
agreement.

7. Official Leave & vacations

Official Leave and vacations refer to the number of rest days per week
to be extended by the organisation to employees, e.g., public holidays.

Eligibility:
● Official leaves also include the public holidays in the country that
all the employees are entitled to avail.
Employees of the private sector are entitled to at least one day
of paid rest per week as specified in the employment contract or
work regulations of the company.
● The company may increase the number of weekly rest days.
● Additionally, employees are entitled to paid leave on public
holidays.
Procedure:
● The HR department shall educate or communicate to the
employees at the beginning of the calendar year regarding the
Public Holidays available in that year.

8. Compensatory Off
If employees are required to work during holidays or leave days, s/he
will be compensated with another rest day or be paid for that day, a
wage as he would be paid on a typical day plus addition of at least 50
per cent on his/her basic wage.
Eligibility:
● All employees who work on a public holiday.
● Employees on probation are also entitled to a Compensatory Off
if they work on public holidays.

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 Procedure:
● The Line Manager, in mutual agreement with the employee,
shall deploy the employee on work assignments or projects
where the presence and contribution of the said employee shall
be required.
● The employee then needs to apply for compensatory off for the
approval of Line Manager via the official Leave Management
System.
● The Line Manager can notify the HR department about the
Compensatory Off of the employee via e-mail and the HR shall
keep the records.
● The Compensatory off cannot be applied in advance

9. Sabbatical leave:
Emiratis working in the private sector are entitled to a paid sabbatical
leave (extended break from work) to perform National service

Eligibility:
Employee needs to be an Emirati National.

Procedure:
The Emirati employee should mutually agree with the Line Manager
and the Line Manager should keep the HR department informed of the
same.

10. HAJJ Leave:

Employees may request and shall also be granted leave for performing
the journey of Hajj.
● The Hajj Leave is given without pay.
● The Hajj Leave may not extend 30 days .
● Is granted only once during the employment duration with the
company

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 ● If the employee requests a Haj leave, the employer may extend
the consent for the Haj leave and deduct from the employee's
annual leave or consider unpaid leave.
Eligibility
● Employee/s in the private and public sector following and
practicing Islam may apply for the leave and the employer may
grant the same.
Procedure:
● The employee should mutually agree with the Line Manager and
the Line Manager should keep the HR department informed of
the same.

5. Non-compliance and consequences

Non-compliance or violation or misuse of any of these benefits or procedures
shall result in breaching laws and regulations and damage to the overall
reputation of the organisation. The Company shall take disciplinary action
against the employee including termination of employment contract.

6. Special Circumstance and Exception

● In the event of a personal mishap or personal emergency of an
employee, the Company may take a lenient view on a case to case
basis
● In the event of a life threatening situation of any employee, the
Company shall not deduct the employee leaves or salary and shall
forego the compliance of company leave policy for the respective
employee.

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 ANNEXURE
Template - Leave Approval Records

S.NO EMPLOYEE EMPLOYEE EMPLOYEE LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE TYPE OF LEAVE REMARKS-LINE Approved Approved On
. CODE NAME DESIGNATION APPROVED PERIOD DAYS LEAVE CLOSING MANAGER By
(YES/NO) BALANCE

This template is brought to you by

www.greythr.com/ middle-east/

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