It is no secret that the UAE, and Dubai in particular, has a stringent work culture that is partly to thank for its massive growth. And although this demanding environment can be exciting and rewarding, it can also leave professional women who want to build a family with little room for manoeuvre due to a restrictive maternity leave allowance.
“A pregnant working woman in the UAE is entitled to maternity leave with full pay for a period of 45 [consecutive] days, including both pre- and post-natal periods, provided she has completed not less than one year of continuous service with her employer,” says Hassan Al Hais, Senior Partner at Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Mums can also get extra leave, he says. A female worker who has exhausted her maternity leave may be absent from 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 her work. Al Hais says, “A medical certificate issued by a duly authorised medical institution confirming that the illness is a result of [the]pregnancy or delivery is required.”
There is change under way though. Sharjah recently extended paid leave for mothers to 60 days. And the good news for many is a new law is reportedly in the works for this year that could give all new mums up to six months off. At the time of going to press, a clarification on the status of this proposed law was not available.
Many misgivings
Human resources staff offer mixed opinions about the prospect of increased maternity leave rights in the country. While sympathetic to women who want time to properly rear their babies, off the record, some argue that the UAE’s still youthful status and drive to succeed is not compatible with lengthy staff absences and European-style employee rights. For example, Dagmar, a German expat who is the HR manager of a media agency in Dubai and spoke to us on the condition we only use her first name, has misgivings. “It’s hard enough to get a business off the ground in such a competitive market, but if a group of your female staff suddenly get pregnant and effectively disappear for half a year on pay, then companies are going to really struggle — that’s just the reality.”
Unfortunately, in the UAE as things stand right now, there are many women reporting distressing behaviour from unscrupulous employers who either flout the law or find ways around it.
American expat Zabeen Mirza was let go from her company shortly before she was due to go on maternity leave. “I worked in a small company in Media City that had never had a pregnant woman work for them before and so had no idea how to support her or provide her with what she needs and is required to receive by the law,” she says.
“I was told I would be awarded maternity leave, and that I would be able to seek alternative options to the traditional work pattern after the birth of the baby until I was ready to come back.”
However, as she approached the seventh month of pregnancy, she says her employer started talking about how the company was struggling financially and that she couldn’t count on having a job, never mind even receiving maternity leave. “It’s not enough for there to be a law — [it] needs to be enforced,” says Mirza. “Women need to feel secure and protected from unscrupulous employers.”
The experience has put her off of working for anyone else, and has opened her eyes about the sad state of maternity practices at several companies in the UAE, which, she says, operate apparently without fear of prosecution.
Unfair practices
Briton Claire White, a new mum, was made redundant from her job in a large real estate firm when she was seven months pregnant. “I was let go about six weeks before I completed one year with my firm,” she says. “After that time you have more rights as an employee.” As she was already seven months into the pregnancy, she didn’t see any real prospect of getting a new job in that situation.
“I think a lot of people would probably say it’s my fault for getting pregnant before my year was up, but when you’re 35, you have limited childbearing years left and you don’t want to tempt fate by waiting too long,” says White.
“I can’t prove I was let go because I was pregnant, but put it this way: two women in my department were let go while they were on maternity leave, one before I joined and one while I was working there. When the firm started having financial problems, my bosses suggested that I and one other woman who was in my department, who was also pregnant, went part-time to save them money.”
Policy watch
Pregnant employees need to think carefully about what maternity leave they can realistically expect from their employer as it may depend on whether they work in the private sector or for the government. It may also simply depend on the individual policies of a particular organisation.
But there are companies willing to embrace change, and they are doing so without waiting to be legally obliged. Media agency MediaCom, for example, made the news recently by announcing up to six months’ paid and unpaid leave for any pregnant staff.
A cultural shift in the workplace seems to be coming — it just may have a long gestation period.
