UAE annual leave: 30 days a year, and the one word that changes what your unused balance is worth

Legal information, not legal advice. Mohamy.ai is not a law firm and is not licensed to practise law or to provide legal consultancy in the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Egypt. This page describes the law of the United Arab Emirates in general terms as it stood on 21 August 2026. It is not advice about your situation. Before you act, and especially if a deadline may be running, consult a lawyer licensed in the United Arab Emirates.

Your annual leave is not less than thirty days for each year of extended service, and two days for each month if your service is more than six months and less than a year. That is Article 29(1) of Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021. Leave is on full wage, and if your service ends before you use your balance you are paid for the accrued days.

And here is the finding that costs money, which almost no page states. The base changes depending on when you take the cash:

• Cash in lieu while you are still employed is calculated according to the wage you receive at the time of your entitlement to the leave. Cabinet Resolution No. (1) of 2022, Article 19(1).
• The balance paid when your service ends is calculated according to the basic wage. Article 29(9) of the Decree-Law and Article 19(2) of the Resolution.

Since Wage under Article 1 includes allowances and Basic Wage excludes them, the same twelve days are worth two different amounts depending on which side of your last day they are paid on. Section 3 computes both.

Scope, stated once. UAE federal onshore private sector. Not the DIFC. Not the ADGM. Article 3(2) also places federal and local government employees, the armed forces, police and security, and domestic workers outside this Decree-Law.

1. The entitlement, quoted

Article 29(1), verbatim from MOHRE's own English:

1. Without prejudice to the worker's acquired rights for the period preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of this Decree-Law, the worker shall be entitled to an annual leave with full wage, of not less than: a. Thirty days for each year of extended service. b. Two days for each month if his service term is more than six months and less than a year. c. A leave for parts of the last year he spent at work if his service is ended before using his annual leave balance.

"Not less than" is a floor. Thirty days is the statutory minimum for a full year, and a contract giving more is valid and binds.

And item (b) has a genuine ambiguity we will not paper over. "Two days for each month if his service term is more than six months and less than a year" reads two ways:

• Two days per month of service. At nine months, 2 x 9 = 18 days.
• Two days per month beyond six. At nine months, 2 x 3 = 6 days.

The ambiguity is in the Arabic itself, and we have read the Arabic. Article 29(1)(b) in the language of enactment is structured in exactly the same way and bears both readings just as the English does, so this is an ambiguity in the drafting and not an artefact of the translation. We therefore label any figure here ESTIMATE and give the range: 6 to 18 days at nine months. Anyone handing you one number has chosen a reading, and the two readings are a factor of three apart. If the amount matters, that is a question for a licensed lawyer.

And item (c) is the pro rata rule on exit: leave for parts of the last year spent at work, where service ends before the balance is used.

2. Carrying it forward, and who decides when you take it

Article 29(5), (6) and (8):

5. The worker may, with the approval of his employer and in accordance with the applicable regulations at the establishment, carry forward his annual leave balance or days thereof to the following year. 6. The worker shall be entitled to the wage for the period of his annual leave. 8. The employer may not prevent the worker from benefiting from his annual leave accrued for more than two years, unless the worker wishes to carry it forward or receive a cash allowance for it, in accordance with the regulations in force at the establishment and the Implementing Regulation hereof.

Cabinet Resolution Article 19 then narrows clause 5 rather than contradicting it:

Subject to the provisions of Clauses (8) and (9) of Article (29) of the Decree-Law: 1. The worker may carry forward not more than half of the annual leave to the following year, or they may agree with the employer to receive a cash allowance in lieu thereof, according to the wage they receive at the time of their entitlement to the leave. 2. If the worker's service ends, they shall be paid a cash allowance for the balance of their legally due annual leave, according to the basic wage.

So three limits operate together. Carry-forward needs the employer's approval under Article 29(5). It is capped at not more than half the annual leave under Resolution 19(1). And under Article 29(8) the employer may not prevent you from taking leave accrued for more than two years, unless you want to carry it forward or take cash for it.

Read Article 29(8) as the protection it is. A worker sitting on three years of untaken leave who is being refused it has the article on their side, and the employer's ability to refuse falls away once the accrual passes two years.

And two provisions that move the dates around leave. Article 34: a worker who does not return directly to work without a legitimate reason after their leave ends is not entitled to their wage for the absence period following the leave end. Article 35: where either party wants to terminate while the worker is on leave, the notice period does not begin to run until the day after the worker was due back, unless both parties agree otherwise.

3. What the balance is worth, computed both ways

This is the section that pays for the page.

On exit, the base is the basic wage. Article 29(9), verbatim:

9. The worker shall be entitled to a wage for the accrued leave days if he quits the work before using them, regardless of the leave duration, with respect to the period for which he did not obtain his leave. He shall also be entitled to receive leave wage for parts of the year in proportion to the period he spent in work and it shall be calculated according to the basic wage.

Note "regardless of the leave duration". The entitlement is not capped by how long the balance is, which matters for a worker carrying a large accrual.

Worked example. 12 accrued days, monthly total wage AED 12,000, of which the contract states AED 7,500 is basic. Service ended.

• Base: the basic wage, per Article 29(9) and Resolution 19(2).
• Daily basic wage on the Article 67 thirty-day month: 7,500 / 30 = AED 250.00.
• 12 x 250.00 = AED 3,000.00.

The same 12 days, taken as cash in lieu while still employed, under Resolution 19(1), which uses the wage you receive at the time of entitlement:

• Daily wage: 12,000 / 30 = AED 400.00.
• 12 x 400.00 = AED 4,800.00.

A difference of AED 1,800 on identical days. Same worker, same twelve days, two bases, because the Resolution uses "the wage" in clause 1 and "the basic wage" in clause 2. FACT, from the quoted texts. We are not advising you to take one route or the other, and the choice is not always yours: Resolution 19(1) requires agreement with the employer, and it is capped at not more than half the annual leave.

And we have to tell you which half of this is verified. The exit basis is confirmed in the language the law was enacted in: Article 29(9) of the Decree-Law ends "and it shall be calculated according to the basic wage", and we have read that in the Arabic. The other half, the cash-in-lieu basis while you are still employed, rests only on the Ministry's English of Cabinet Resolution Article 19(1), and we do not hold the Arabic of the Cabinet Resolution at all. The Ministry stamps its own Resolution translation "not an official translation". So treat AED 4,800 as the figure that follows from the English we hold, not as a figure you can rely on. If the Arabic of Resolution Article 19(1) also says "basic wage", the difference on this page disappears.

The divisor, and how we treat it. FACT: Article 67 provides that in applying the Decree-Law the Gregorian year includes 365 days "while the month represents (30) thirty days". OUR READING, labelled as ours: that a provision headed "Calculation of Periods and Dates" also governs converting a monthly wage into a daily rate. Every dirham figure above is therefore shown with its inputs and its divisor visible.

Part-time workers have their own rule, and we quote it without working it. Cabinet Resolution Article 18 provides that a part-time worker is entitled to annual leave according to the actual working hours spent with the employer, determined "on the basis of the total working hours after converting them into working days, divided by the number of working days in the year, multiplied by the legally prescribed leaves, with a minimum of five working days per year for annual leave, and a fraction of a day considered as a full day". The five-day floor and the fraction-rounding rule are clear and we state them. The article's clause 4 then sets out a percentage equation whose relationship to the preceding sentence we cannot state with confidence from the published text, so we do not produce a part-time figure. If you are part-time and the number matters, take Article 18 to a licensed lawyer rather than to a calculator.

4. Public holidays are a different entitlement, with a different rate

Article 28:

1. The worker shall be entitled to official days off with full pay on public holidays, which are defined by a resolution of the Cabinet. 2. If work conditions require that the worker works during any of the public holidays, the employer shall compensate him with another day off for each day, on which he works during the holiday, or pay him the wage for that day according to the wage established for the normal working days, plus an increase of not less than (50%) fifty percent of the basic wage for that day.

Three things here. Public holidays are defined by a Cabinet resolution, which we do not hold, so we do not list them or count them. Working a public holiday earns either another day off or the day's wage plus not less than 50 per cent of the basic wage for that day. And note the mixed base in clause 2: the day's wage is on the normal-working-day wage, while the uplift is expressly of the basic wage.

Worked example. Monthly total wage AED 12,000, basic AED 7,500, one public holiday worked, and the employer elects to pay rather than give a day off.

• The day's wage at the normal rate: 12,000 / 30 = AED 400.00.
• The uplift, not less than 50 per cent of the basic wage for that day: (7,500 / 30) x 0.50 = 250 x 0.50 = AED 125.00.
• Total for that day: 400.00 + 125.00 = AED 525.00, of which AED 125.00 is the statutory minimum uplift.

"Not less than" again, so the 50 per cent is a floor and a contract may give more.

And the weekend is separate. Article 21: the worker is granted a paid weekend of not less than one day, according to the employment contract or the work regulation, and the Cabinet may increase it. Article 19(4) governs pay for working the weekend and is dealt with on our overtime page.

5. The other leaves, and one that reduces your service

Article 32:

1. The worker shall be entitled to a paid leave in the following cases: a. A bereavement leave of (5) five days, in case of death of the husband or wife and (3) three days in case of death of the mother, father, son, brother, sister, grandson, grandfather or grandmother, starting from the date of death. b. A parental leave for a period of (5) five working days, for the worker (either the father or mother), who has a newly born child, in order to take care of his child and the worker is entitled to such leave for a continuous or intermittent period, within (6) six months from the date of the child birth. c. Any other leaves specified by the Cabinet. 2. The worker may be granted a study leave for a period of (10) ten working days per year for the worker who is enrolled or regularly studying at one of the educational institutions approved in the State, in order to sit for exams, provided that the service term at the employer is not less than two years.

Parental leave is available to the father or the mother, it may be taken in pieces, and the six-month window is the limit. Cabinet Resolution Article 21 adds the proof requirements: bereavement leave runs from the date of death provided proof of death is submitted after returning to work, parental leave requires proof of the birth, and bereavement leave, parental leave, annual leave and unpaid leave may be combined.

And the one that costs you. Article 33:

1. The worker may, after obtaining the approval of the employer, have an unpaid leave, other than that referred to herein. 2. The leave mentioned in this Article shall not be included in the worker's service term at the employer or in the period of the contribution in the retirement scheme in accordance with the legislation in force in this regard.

Unpaid leave does not count towards your service term. Which means it reduces the base of every entitlement measured in years, including the end of service benefit under Article 51, whose clause 4 separately provides that unpaid days of absence are not included in calculating the service term. A month of unpaid leave is not free.

6. What this page does not tell you

• Which figure is right under Article 29(1)(b). The drafting bears two readings and the Arabic is structured the same way, so we give the range and label it ESTIMATE.
• The list of public holidays. Defined by a Cabinet resolution we do not hold, so we neither list nor count them.
• A part-time leave figure. We state the five-day floor and the fraction rule from Cabinet Resolution Article 18 and decline to compute the rest, because the published equation in its clause 4 is not one we can apply with confidence.
• The limitation period for a leave-pay claim. We withhold it deliberately. Separately, a ministerial resolution imposes a much shorter window for lodging a complaint with the Ministry than the period for bringing a claim. Ask a licensed lawyer now rather than later.
• Any case law, of which we hold none, and any ministerial resolution not named and pinned here.
• DIFC and ADGM leave. Different statutes entirely.

Article 54 is withheld from our corpus, and here is exactly why. The Arabic of Article 54 of the Decree-Law directs a challenge to the Ministry's decision to the competent Court of First Instance, and clause 8 of the same article agrees. MOHRE's English of clause 3 says Court of Appeal and contradicts its own clause 8. And the Arabic of Ministerial Resolution No. (782) of 2023 also says Court of Appeal. So this is not simply a translation error: two instruments in force, read in Arabic, point at different courts, and the window to act is counted in working days. We will not choose a court for you, because filing in the wrong one can cost you the claim. Take this to a lawyer licensed in the UAE, or ask the Ministry directly, and do it now.

7. What to do now, in order

1. Write down two numbers before anything else: your total monthly wage and your contractual basic wage. Every figure on this page turns on which of the two applies, and your contract is where the split lives.
2. Get your leave balance in writing from your employer, with the accrual and the days taken shown separately.
3. If you are being refused leave you accrued more than two years ago, cite Article 29(8). The employer may not prevent you from taking it unless you want to carry it forward or take cash instead.
4. If you want to carry days forward, get the approval in writing, and remember the cap: not more than half the annual leave, under Cabinet Resolution 19(1).
5. If you take cash in lieu during employment, check the base. Resolution 19(1) uses the wage you receive at the time of entitlement, which is the larger number.
6. On exit, expect the balance on the basic wage, under Article 29(9) and Resolution 19(2), and expect it within 14 days of the end of the contract term under Article 53.
7. If it is not paid, the route starts at the Ministry, under Cabinet Resolution Article 31(1), and claims not exceeding AED 100,000 are exempt from judicial fees at all stages of litigation and execution under Article 55(1).

8. When to get a licensed lawyer

• Your service is between six and twelve months and the size of your entitlement is in dispute, because Article 29(1)(b) supports two readings that differ by a factor of three.
• Your employer is paying your exit balance on a base you think is wrong, because the difference between wage and basic wage on a typical UAE package is roughly the whole allowance stack.
• You are part-time. Cabinet Resolution Article 18 is the provision, and we decline to compute under it.
• You took unpaid leave and your service length is now disputed, because Article 33(2) and Article 51(4) both bear on it.
• Any deadline may be running. This is the item where we are declining to give you a number, and where waiting is itself the risk.

9. Before you argue about a single day: get your contract read against Article 29

The two things that decide your figure are in your contract: how many days it gives you, and how it splits basic wage from allowances.

Mohamy.ai document analysis reads your UAE employment contract and shows you your leave clause beside the thirty-day floor in Article 29(1)(a), and how your wage is split beside the two definitions in Article 1, which determines whether your exit balance is computed on the bigger number or the smaller one. It also shows you whether your contract or your establishment's regulation says anything about carry-forward, which Article 29(5) makes relevant.

It does not compute your entitlement as an entitlement and does not tell you what to do about a gap. Bring the contract, get the comparison, then go to the right channel with the right documents.

About this guide

What we are. Mohamy.ai publishes general legal information. We are not a law firm. We are not entered on the roll of lawyers and legal consultants held by the UAE Ministry of Justice under Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2022. We are not registered under the Saudi Code of Law Practice. We are not members of the Egyptian Bar Association under Law No. 17 of 1983. Nothing on this page is legal advice, an opinion on your case, or a prediction of any outcome. No lawyer and client relationship is created and no duty of care is owed to you.

The Arabic governs, and the English we quote is the Ministry's own. Article 66(1) of the Decree-Law makes Arabic the approved language, and Article 66(2) provides that where the Arabic text and another language differ, the Arabic text prevails. Every English quotation on this page is taken verbatim from MOHRE's own bilingual publication, which the Ministry disclaims: its standalone Cabinet Resolution PDF carries the footer "THIS is Not an official translation". So where an English word matters to your case, the Arabic is the law and the Ministry's English is not. That is not a formality, and the note on Article 54 earlier on this page sets out exactly why.

What this page does not cover. The UAE federal onshore private sector only. It does not cover the DIFC or the ADGM, which are separate common law jurisdictions with their own employment legislation, their own limitation periods and their own courts. It does not cover federal or local government employees, members of the armed forces, police and security, or domestic workers, all of whom Article 3(2) places outside the Decree-Law, domestic workers being governed by a separate instrument we do not hold. It does not cover any ministerial resolution except where one is named and pinned on the page, and it holds no case law of any kind.

How current this is. Every legal statement here was checked on 21 August 2026 against the pinned MOHRE publication, which is the consolidation including Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024. The UAE Legislation portal records Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 as Active with three amendments, being Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2022, No. 20 of 2023 and No. 9 of 2024, and a last update of 29 July 2024.

Deadlines. Limitation periods and filing deadlines can extinguish an otherwise valid claim permanently. Do not rely on any period stated here. Confirm it with a licensed lawyer without delay. Note in particular that the deadline to lodge a labour complaint with the Ministry and the period for bringing a claim are different numbers of a different order of magnitude, and that the shorter one sits in a ministerial resolution.

Sources. Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 Regarding the Regulation of Employment Relationships and its amendments, and Cabinet Resolution No. (1) of 2022 on its Implementing Regulation, official MOHRE bilingual publication, pinned SHA-256 db64033d...1d833b6, from which 113 articles were extracted mechanically into an internal corpus. No character of the legal text was typed by a person or produced by a language model. Where the governing Arabic is quoted, it is from the UAE Legislation portal records for Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, read by our primary-source researcher.

How this was produced. Drafted with the assistance of AI and checked against the primary legislation cited above before publication. If you believe anything here is wrong or out of date, write to contact@mohamy.ai and we will correct or withdraw it.

Finding a licensed lawyer. UAE: the roll of lawyers and legal consultants held by the Ministry of Justice. In Dubai, advocacy and legal consultancy firms are licensed by the Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department.