UAE Labour Law 2026: Probation, Notice Period, Leave and Overtime Explained

Most employment disputes in the UAE happen because the employee never knew the rules, not because the rules failed them. The UAE's private-sector employment framework is set out in Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, which took effect in February 2022 and replaced the old 1980 labour law. It standardised contracts, capped probation, restructured leave and clarified termination, and it applies to mainland private-sector employees, with free zones like DIFC and ADGM running their own comparable systems.

Here is what every employee in the UAE should know, in plain language.

Employment Contracts: Fixed-Term Only

All private-sector contracts are now fixed-term. Unlimited contracts were abolished; existing ones had to convert. A contract can be for up to 3 years and is renewable, and in practice renewal is routine. Your contract must match the offer letter registered with MOHRE, and it must state your job title, wage (with the basic salary separated from allowances), working hours, leave and notice terms. The basic-versus-allowances split matters more than most people realise, because gratuity and overtime calculations use basic salary, so a package structured as AED 5,000 basic plus AED 5,000 allowances produces materially lower end-of-service benefits than AED 10,000 basic.

Probation: Maximum 6 Months, With Notice Rules

Probation cannot exceed 6 months, and it cannot be extended or repeated with the same employer. During probation:

• The employer can terminate with 14 days written notice.
• If you resign to join another UAE employer, you must give 1 month notice, and your new employer generally compensates your current one for recruitment costs.
• If you resign to leave the UAE entirely, you must give 14 days notice. If you then return and take a UAE job within 3 months, the new employer may owe compensation to the old one.

Walking out without notice during probation can trigger a labour ban of up to one year, so even in a bad situation, resign properly.

Notice Periods After Probation: 30 to 90 Days

After probation, either party can end the contract with written notice of at least 30 days and at most 90 days, as stated in your contract. Key points:

• The same notice length must apply to both employer and employee.
• You are entitled to full pay during notice, and you must keep working unless the employer waives it.
• Either side can pay in lieu of notice, compensating the other with the wage for the notice period.
• During a notice period following employer termination, you are entitled to one unpaid day off per week to search for a new job.

Termination requires a legitimate reason; dismissal for filing a genuine complaint against the employer, or for reasons like pregnancy, is unlawful, and arbitrary dismissal can be compensated by a labour court with up to 3 months of wages.

Working Hours and Overtime

The legal standard is 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week, commonly arranged as a 5-day, 40 to 48 hour week in offices since the UAE moved its weekend to Saturday and Sunday. Overtime rules:

• Overtime is capped at around 2 hours per day in normal circumstances.
• Overtime pay is your basic hourly wage plus at least 25 percent (so 125 percent of basic rate).
• Overtime worked between 10 pm and 4 am attracts basic plus at least 50 percent (150 percent), except for shift workers.
• If you must work on your weekly rest day, you are entitled to either a substitute rest day or pay at basic plus 50 percent.

Certain senior and supervisory categories are exempt from overtime provisions, which is why some managerial contracts lawfully pay no overtime. During Ramadan, working hours are reduced by 2 hours per day.

Annual Leave: 30 Days

Full annual leave is 30 calendar days per year once you complete one year of service. Before that, you accrue 2 days per month after your first 6 months. Additional points:

• Leave is paid at your normal wage; unused leave that exists when you depart must be paid out based on basic salary.
• The employer can set leave timing with reasonable notice, but cannot deny leave for more than two consecutive years.
• The UAE also has roughly 13 to 14 paid public holidays per year, on top of annual leave.

Sick Leave: The 90-Day Structure

After probation, you are entitled to up to 90 days of sick leave per year, structured as:

• First 15 days: full pay.
• Next 30 days: half pay.
• Remaining 45 days: unpaid.

You must notify the employer within about 3 days of falling ill and provide a medical certificate. No paid sick leave applies during probation, and dismissal purely for taking lawful sick leave is not permitted, though an employer may terminate if you exhaust the full 90 days and remain unable to return.

Other Leave Worth Knowing

• Maternity leave: 60 days, of which 45 are full pay and 15 half pay, with additional unpaid leave possible for complications or a sick child.
• Parental leave: 5 working days for each parent within 6 months of the child's birth.
• Bereavement leave: 5 days for a spouse, 3 days for a parent, child, sibling, grandchild or grandparent.
• Study leave: 10 days per year for employees enrolled in an accredited UAE institution after 2 years of service.

Non-Compete Clauses and Resigning the Right Way

Many UAE contracts contain a non-compete clause restricting you from joining a competitor. To be enforceable it must be limited in time (maximum 2 years), geography and scope, and proportionate to the employer's legitimate interests; courts read overbroad clauses narrowly, and in practice enforcement requires the employer to prove real harm. Do not ignore the clause, but do not let HR wave it around as an unconditional ban either.

When you resign, do it cleanly: submit written notice (email counts) stating your last working day per your contractual notice, keep a copy, work the notice professionally, and request your experience certificate, salary certificate and cancellation paperwork. Return company property against a signed receipt, and reconcile any training bond before your final day so it cannot be used to delay your settlement. Your employer must cancel your work permit and visa promptly after your end date; do not sign the final settlement acknowledgment until the amounts on it match your own calculation of notice pay, leave encashment and gratuity.

Termination, Gratuity and Your Protections

On termination, you are entitled to your notice (or pay in lieu), payment for unused annual leave, any unpaid wages and commissions, end-of-service gratuity of 21 days basic pay per year for the first 5 years and 30 days per year beyond (if you completed at least one year), and, where the employer terminated you, a repatriation flight in many contracts. Final settlement should be paid within 14 days of the end date.

It is illegal for an employer to hold your passport, to deduct visa costs from your salary, or to pay wages late; salaries must run through the Wage Protection System (WPS), and repeated late payment triggers government penalties. If your rights are violated, file a complaint with MOHRE first (free, and available by phone or app); most cases settle at mediation, and unresolved ones proceed to labour courts where claims under AED 50,000 are handled through fast-track procedures.

Know your contract, keep copies of everything, and never sign a final settlement you have not read. The law here is more employee-protective than its reputation suggests, but it only protects the people who invoke it.