Maternity Leave in UAE: Duration, Pay & Rights (2026)

The pay structure

• First 45 days: full salary
• Next 15 days: half salary
• Extra 30 days: unpaid leave available if medically needed (illness from pregnancy/delivery, certified)
• Leave can start before delivery — the 60 days are flexible around the birth date

Protection and extras

• No dismissal for pregnancy or maternity leave — termination on these grounds is unlawful discrimination
• Nursing breaks: after returning, up to 1 hour per day of paid nursing breaks for the first 6 months
• Annual leave continues to accrue during maternity leave
• End-of-service: maternity leave counts as continuous service for gratuity
• Paternity leave: fathers get 5 working days of parental leave within 6 months of birth

What to prepare

Notify your employer in writing with the expected delivery date and a medical certificate. Keep copies of everything — approvals, certificates, payslips showing the correct pay split. If pay is miscalculated, raise it with HR first, then MOHRE.

Month-by-month pay timeline: an example

Take a monthly salary of AED 9,000 and a delivery on 1 January, with leave starting that day. The 60 days split into 45 days of full pay and 15 days of half pay:

• Full-pay entitlement: 45 ÷ 30 × 9,000 = AED 13,500
• Half-pay entitlement: 15 ÷ 30 × 4,500 = AED 2,250
• Total maternity pay: AED 15,750

On actual payslips it lands across three months: January shows a full month (AED 9,000, plus a 31st-day top-up of AED 300 = AED 9,300); February covers 14 full-pay days and 14 half-pay days (AED 6,300); March covers the final half-pay day (AED 150). 9,300 + 6,300 + 150 = AED 15,750 — the same total. If your payslips do not reconcile to the entitlement, that is your first flag to raise with HR.

Starting leave before delivery works the same way — the 45/15 split simply begins earlier. The 30 extra unpaid days, if medically certified, attach after the 60 paid days end.

Returning to work: nursing breaks and your rights

For the first six months after you return, you are entitled to up to one hour per day of paid nursing breaks. Practical points most mothers only learn by asking:

• Scheduling is flexible — many employers allow the hour as two 30-minute breaks or a single block at the start or end of the day. Agree the pattern with HR in writing before you return, not after.
• It is paid time — the hour counts as working time, so it cannot be deducted from your salary or your leave balance.
• Annual leave kept accruing while you were away — check the balance before planning your first holiday back. Our leave salary calculation guide shows how those days are valued.
• Still unfit after the 60 days plus the 30 certified unpaid days? The general sick leave rules take over — up to 90 days with a medical certificate.

If you decide to resign after maternity leave, the standard notice rules for your contract type apply, and gratuity still requires one full year of service — the maternity months count toward that year. Whatever you decide, confirm your return date (or resignation) in writing at least two weeks before the leave ends so payroll processes the transition cleanly.

If your maternity pay is wrong: fix-it checklist

The most common payroll errors are paying the full 60 days at the half rate, or starting the half-pay period too early. Work through this checklist before escalating:

1. Recalculate the split yourself — 45 days at full salary, 15 at half, using the timeline method above.
2. Check the salary base — maternity pay is on your full salary as stated in your contract, not just the basic portion.
3. Match each payslip line to a specific date range; ask payroll for a written breakdown if the lines do not reconcile.
4. Keep everything — the medical certificate, the written leave approval, every payslip, and your HR correspondence.
5. Escalate in order — HR first (in writing), then a formal complaint to MOHRE via the app, website, or 80060.