Annual Leave in UAE: How Many Days Do You Get? (2026)

How leave accrues

• First 6 months: no annual leave entitlement
• 6–12 months: 2 days per month (up to 12 days)
• After 1 year: full 30 days per year
• Part-time workers: leave is pro-rated under the part-time regulations

Rules employers and employees should know

• Employer sets the dates — but must consider your preferences where possible; leave can be split with your agreement
• Carry-forward: unused leave can be carried to the next year by agreement — many companies cap it (commonly 30 days)
• Encashment: unused days are paid out at basic ÷ 30 per day when you exit (or by agreement)
• Public holidays falling during your leave don't count against your 30 days
• Sick leave during annual leave: the overlap rules depend on medical certification — get it in writing
• Employers cannot cancel approved leave arbitrarily; changes need mutual agreement

What to do before you resign

Check your leave balance before resigning. Some employers require you to take the leave during your notice period (which shortens nothing but uses the days), while others encash it. Either way, unused leave is money — 10 days at AED 10,000 basic is AED 3,333.

Carry-forward policies: what companies typically do

The law allows unused leave to be carried forward by agreement — which means your company's written policy decides what actually happens. In practice, most UAE employers follow one of three models:

• Cap-and-carry (most common) — up to 30 days roll into the next year; anything above lapses
• Use-it-or-lose-it — balances reset each January or on your work anniversary; common in larger corporates
• Encash-and-reset — excess days are paid out annually at basic ÷ 30 instead of being carried

Whichever model your employer uses, get it in writing — in your contract or the HR handbook. Verbal "we'll carry it" promises are where leave balances go to die, and if your policy is use-it-or-lose-it, the time to plan is Q3, not the last week of December.

If your company has no written policy at all — common in small firms — the safest assumption is that the law's default applies: carry-forward only by agreement, which in practice means by the employer's agreement. That puts the burden on you to raise it early. Send HR a short email each year asking to confirm your carried balance in writing; a confirmed number is far harder to dispute at exit than a remembered one. And when you do resign, remember that unused leave converts to cash at basic ÷ 30 per day as part of your final settlement, due within 14 days of your last working day.

Turning unused days into dirhams: encashment examples

At exit, unused days convert to cash at basic ÷ 30 per day (Cabinet Resolution 1/2022, Article 19). This table shows what common balances are worth at two salary levels:

Read the last row carefully: a full unused year equals one month of basic salary. That's why the timing advice in our leave-salary article matters — ten unused days at AED 10,000 basic is AED 3,333 you don't want to leave on the table. And if you're resigning, decide early whether those days will be taken during notice or encashed at exit.

Requesting leave without losing days: a safe process

1. Request in writing — email or the HR portal, with dates; verbal approvals evaporate in disputes
2. Get written approval before booking travel — non-refundable flights on a verbal "should be fine" are a gamble
3. Confirm the day count — ask HR exactly how many leave days the request consumes, especially around public holidays, which shouldn't count against your balance
4. Keep a personal log — a simple spreadsheet of requested, approved and remaining days; HR systems do get "recalculated"
5. Screenshot your balance quarterly — if the portal number ever drops without explanation, you have dated evidence