UAE: Parents to get 3-hour office break on the first day of school
Students will head back to school on August 28 for most schools
Abu Dhabi: The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) has issued a special circular directed to all ministries and federal entities regarding the Back to School Policy with regard to improving the employees’ work-life balance and strengthen their family cohesion.
For the primary stage and above, on the first day of school, the policy offers employees flexibility in terms of both arrival and departure times. This allows parents to accompany their children to school and back home.
The total duration of this flexibility is set at a maximum of 3 hours for the first day of school. Moreover, the policy takes into account the varied starting dates of different schools, ensuring parents are not left disadvantaged due to specific school curricula.
Further accommodating parents with younger children, during the first week of the school year, those with children in nurseries or kindergartens can avail flexibility in their working hours.
This provision helps parents adapt to new routines as they settle their children into these early learning institutions. Such flexibility, similar to the provision for the primary stage and above, is capped at 3 hours daily.
In addition to the start of the school year, the FAHR policy also extends flexibility for other school-related activities and occasions throughout the academic year.
Employees can utilise up to 3 hours for purposes such as attending parent-teacher meetings or being present for their children’s graduation ceremonies and other school events.
The Federal Authority has emphasised the need to balance this flexibility, ensuring it doesn’t disrupt the workflow or compromise service quality, all while adhering to the Federal Government’s Human Resources Law.