With another work law becoming effective in the UAE from the following year, the legislation that will administer employer-employee relations in the private sector will be updated from February 2, 2022.
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 which detailed different parts of work-life that influence employees, including how gratuity is calculated, maximum working hours, and the different leaves that an individual is entitled to, was announced this month.
Article 82 of the new law explicitly sets out the details of how to calculate sick leaves, including the maximum number of days an individual can take off and how pay is determined for these days.
What is New Labour Law?
1. According to Article 82 of the UAE labour law A worker who gets a disease that isn't a work-related injury will report his sickness within a limit of two days and shall submit a medical report of his illness from a medical institution. The employer will immediately take the essential measures to have him medically examined immediately for the purpose of verifying his illness.
2. Eligibility for a sick leave (Paid and Unpaid) Article 83
- During the probationary period, a worker shall not be entitled to sick leave.
- After completing if a worker contracts illness, in the continuous service of an employer shall be entitled to a sick leave of a maximum of 90 days, continuously or otherwise, in respect of each year of service, to be calculated as follows.
a. The first 15 days with full pay.
b. The next 30 days with half pay.
c. No pay for the rest of 45 days.
3. Ineligibility for a paid sick leave
The worker will be ineligible for paid sick leave in the following conditions:
a. During the probation period.
b. If the illness results from the worker's misconduct, such as the consumption of alcohol or narcotics.
c. If the employee is working for someone else during the sick leave.
4. During sick leave, an employer may not terminate an employee or send him a termination notice. After the employee uses all of his 90 days’ sick leave and if not able to report to work afterward, the employer may terminate his services. In such a case, the employee shall be entitled to the end of service gratuity in accordance with the provisions of the labour law.
5. An employee can resign from work because of illness and before the expiry of the initial 45 days of the sick leaves if the physician from the particular health center or the physician designated by the employer agrees to the reason for resignation. In such a case, the employer must pay the resigned employee the wage that is due to him with regard to the remainder of the initial 45 days.