UAE: Only given basic salary for annual vacation. Is it legal?
What are the rights of an employee when it comes to being paid leave salary?
Dubai: If you are about to go on your annual leave, how much of your total salary should you be paid during the leave period? Can an employer only pay the basic salary for the leave period? Or are they obliged to pay the salary in full? This was the query raised by a Gulf News reader.
He asked: “I am working on an unlimited contract with a company in Sharjah. As per the contract, my total salary is Dh7,500, with the basic salary being Dh3,000 along with other allowances for Dh4,500. The company provides the accommodation and transport. Last year, I received Dh7,500 as my annual leave salary, but this year my employer is refusing to give me the full salary for the leave. As per the employer, I am only supposed to be getting the basic salary, which is Dh3,000. Is this correct, as per the law?”
Gulf News raised the query with Mohamed Gamal, Legal Adviser at Kaden Boriss Legal Consultants Dubai, who said that an employee should first have the correct information on the number of leave days he or she is entitled to take.
Mohamed Gamal, Legal Adviser at Kaden Boriss Legal Consultants Dubai
“Under Article 75 of the UAE Labour Law, the worker is entitled to two days for each month, if the work period is more than six months and less than a year; and 30 days each year, if the period of his service exceeds one year. Finally, the law guarantees the worker's right to a vacation salary in the event of his dismissal from work,” Gamal told Gulf News.
He added that the law stipulates giving the authority to the employer to determine the date of the leave for the worker, which can also be mutually agreed upon.
“With regard to the money that the worker is entitled to for the leave, the law has specified a time to receive that money, which is before the worker goes on leave. Also, the law has determined, through Article 78, the value of that wage, which is the basic salary as well as the housing allowance, if it is mentioned in the contract,” Gamal said.
Work during annual leave
If the worker is forced to work during the vacation period, he deserves his full salary in addition to the vacation salary, which consists of the basic salary only. Also, the employer cannot force the worker to work for two consecutive vacations.