UAE Annual Leave and Leave Salary: How Much You Earn and Are Paid

How much annual leave you get

Article 29 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 sets the minimum paid annual leave:

• 30 days for each year of service
• 2 days for each month if your service is more than six months and less than one year
• leave for parts of the last year you worked, if your service ends before you use your balance

Under six months, no annual leave is earned yet.

Are you paid while on leave?

Yes. You are entitled to your wage for the period of your annual leave (Article 29, clause 6).

When you can take it

Your employer can set the dates to suit the work, in agreement with you or by rotating staff, and must tell you at least one month before (clause 4). You must take your leave in the year you earn it, but you may carry it forward with your employer’s approval (clause 5). Your employer may not stop you taking leave for more than two years unless you choose to carry it forward or take cash (clause 8).

The Executive Regulations (Article 19) let you carry forward up to half of your annual leave, or agree with your employer to be paid cash instead.

What you are paid when you leave

When your service ends you receive the cash equivalent of your unused annual leave, calculated on your basic salary (Article 29, clause 9, and Executive Regulations Article 19).

Example: basic salary AED 9,000, 2½ years of service, 40 days of leave taken.

• Leave earned: 30 × 2.5 = 75 days
• Unused: 75 − 40 = 35 days
• Daily wage: 9,000 ÷ 30 = AED 300
• Leave pay: 35 × 300 = AED 10,500

Common questions

• Does leave pay include allowances? On exit it is based on basic salary. During leave you receive your wage for the period.
• What about part-time workers? Leave is in proportion to actual hours with a minimum of five working days a year (Executive Regulations, Article 18).
• Do probation periods count? Time on probation counts towards your service if you pass it (Article 9).

Use the leave salary calculator for your dates and salary. For the rest of your final settlement see gratuity and notice period pay.

Official text: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 · Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022

Checked against the official text on 1 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.