Sharjah Ruler steps in to restore employee’s leave, orders urgent HR reforms

Sharjah: His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has directed immediate intervention to resolve humanitarian cases involving government employees and ordered the creation of a fast and flexible mechanism to address similar situations.

The directive came on Thursday during the “Direct Line” programme, where a Sharjah government employee, Amal Al Junaibi, raised concerns over the handling of her leave after accompanying her husband — a person of determination — for medical treatment.

Al Junaibi explained that her husband, who uses a wheelchair and requires frequent hospital visits, had undergone surgery last year and is scheduled for another procedure on February 26. She had previously been granted medical companion leave and submitted all required medical documentation confirming the need for her presence.

However, she later discovered that her entire leave balance had been deducted and her salary withheld for three consecutive months.

Responding live on air, His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi said the measures taken against Amal Al Junaibi were in clear violation of existing regulations.

“I would like to clarify that the action taken in the case of our daughter, Amal Al Junaibi, violates the existing regulations. There are no rules that govern this process in this manner,” he said.

Sheikh Sultan stressed that the employee responsible had acted independently without referring to the relevant instructions or the general administration, describing all the measures taken as incorrect.

He added that Abdullah Ibrahim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Sharjah Department of Human Resources, had been contacted and instructed to intervene immediately to resolve the matter.

Al Zaabi later called into the programme to assure Al Junaibi that her case would be fully reviewed, and her leave balance restored. He described it as an exceptional humanitarian case and stressed that Sharjah’s human resources laws take social and humanitarian circumstances into account.

He confirmed that all government entities would be contacted to implement a rapid-response mechanism, with immediate solutions provided through a dedicated section within the Human Resources Department.

In a separate call, a resident from Kalba complained about sewage issues caused by nearby apartment buildings.

Sheikh Sultan confirmed that the matter would be addressed as part of the development plan. He announced that residents of affected homes in Khor Kalba would be relocated to a new residential complex in the University District opposite Khor Kalba within six months.

“We have done everything possible to complete the project quickly,” he said, adding that handover could take place within six months or even earlier.

Approximately six homes will be relocated to the new complex.

Sheikh Sultan also announced the forthcoming opening of a new lodge in Kalba, similar to the Al Rayaheen Retreat in Khorfakkan.

The lodge will feature a private beach and fully equipped homes named after their owners instead of numbered units. The project forms part of ongoing redevelopment efforts in Kalba.

He also urged residents who have yet to receive housing compensation in old Khor Kalba to contact the municipality.

In another humanitarian gesture, Sheikh Sultan directed Al Diwan Al Amiri to cover one academic year’s tuition fees for the daughter of citizen Fatima Mohammed from Kalba, who is studying at the University of Sydney in Australia. During her call to the programme, Fatima explained that her daughter had received a merit scholarship but had lost one grade in part of a course, resulting in the scholarship being suspended for the current academic year in accordance with regulations. The scholarship will resume in subsequent years. Due to the high tuition cost of Dh300,000 for the current year, she requested assistance.

Sheikh Dr Sultan also directed the Chairman of Al Diwan Al Amiri to coordinate with the Friends of Patients Society to reinstate medical assistance for Umm Abdulrahman, who suffers from several health conditions and currently has no health insurance or independent source of income.

The move underscores Sharjah’s continued focus on humanitarian and social support initiatives.