A reader from Abu Dhabi asks: The private school where I’m working provides paid maternity leave for expatriate ladies only after two years of service. All the expatriate women employees were made to sign an agreement to that effect. However, I have heard that according to the UAE labour law every working woman should get paid maternity leave after one year of service. Is this correct? Is the labour law applicable to us? What about the agreement we have signed?
As per the Federal Law No 8 of 1980 as amended every woman who works in the private sector, regardless of nationality, is entitled to maternity leave. Article 30 of the Labour Law states: “A female worker shall be entitled to maternity leave with full pay for a period of 45 days, including the period preceding and the period following her confinement, on condition that she has been in her employee’s service for a continuous period of not less than one year. If she has not completed the aforesaid period of service, she shall be entitled to maternity leave with half pay.
On the expiry of her maternity leave, a female worker may be absent from her work without pay for a maximum period of 100 consecutive or non-consecutive days if such absence is due to an illness preventing her from resuming work and if the illness is confirmed by the medical service specified by the competent health authority or if the latter authority confirms that the illness was caused by the woman’s work or confinement. The leave provided for in the preceding two paragraphs, shall not be deducted from other periods of leave.”
The law does not stipulate that expatriate women are entitled to maternity leave only after two years of service, as the company alleges. Maternity leave is the right of every woman. The agreement signed by the questioner is not applicable in this case and will be considered null and void under the law.
End-of-service benefits
A reader from Dubai asks: In July 2014, I completed three years of service with one of the UAE’s sport federations. My contract had no fixed term. The federation refused to pay any end-of-service benefits stating that as per my agreement signed with them I’m under a special overseas award and not entitled for employment contract benefits. As per my employer I should fight for my rights outside the UAE. I have taken many steps without success. I have tried to take legal advice, but everyone gives me a different answer which does not convince me. Finally, I went to the Ministry of Labour, but they said since I did not have a labour contract, they could not help either. It seems that I was employed overseas. In addition, I have a complaint about breach of contract by the said federation from the outset of my employment. Please advise.
The questioner is entitled to severance pay for the end of service; in spite of the refusal by the employer (federation), the reasons seems illegal. Every employee in the UAE whether in private sector or government, has the right to obtain end-of-service gratuity even if the questioner has signed his employment contract outside the UAE. So, I advise the questioner to find out whether the department in which he works comes under the law of the Department of Naturalisation and Residency or under the law of Civil Service. If the Ministry of Labour is not considering the questioner’s complaint, he may ask the concerned court to consider his complaint against his department after getting an approval from the concerned department under which the questioner’s employer falls.
— Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.
