Sick Leave in the UAE: Labour Law Rules, Sick Pay and Medical Certificates

Last updated: 1 November 2026

The sick leave UAE labour law gives private sector employees is up to 90 days a year once probation is over: the first 15 days on full pay, the next 30 on half pay and the rest unpaid. The rules are in Article 31 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.

You must tell your employer within three working days and give a medical report. During probation there is no paid sick leave, and your employer cannot dismiss you while you are on sick leave. This guide explains each rule, with a worked pay example and how to get and check a sick leave certificate in each emirate. It is not legal advice.

Sick leave UAE labour law entitlement at a glance

Your sick leave depends on whether you have finished probation. These are the minimums in the law; a contract or company policy can give more, but not less.

The 90 days can be taken in one block or spread across the year in separate absences. The UAE Government’s types of leaves page counts them per year of service.

How the 90 days of sick leave are paid

Sick pay drops in two steps as your sick days in the year add up. The days count whether they come in one long illness or several short ones.

• First 15 days: full pay.
• Next 30 days: half pay.
• Remaining 45 days: no pay, but your job is still protected.

The law says “full pay” and “half pay” without saying whether that means your basic salary or your whole package. Under the law’s definitions, “wage” includes the allowances in your contract, while “basic wage” does not. Check your contract or company policy, which often spells out how sick pay is worked out.

Worked example: 25 sick days in one year

Sana has passed probation and earns AED 6,000 a month. She is off sick for 10 days in March and 15 days in August, so 25 days in her service year.

1. Daily rate: AED 6,000 / 30 = AED 200.
2. Days 1 to 15 on full pay: 15 x AED 200 = AED 3,000.
3. Days 16 to 25 on half pay: 10 x AED 100 = AED 1,000.
4. Total sick pay: AED 4,000 for the 25 days.

If she is off for 20 more days later that year, all 20 are on half pay, because they take her to day 45. From day 46 onwards, any further sick days in that service year are unpaid.

The law does not fix how a monthly salary becomes a daily rate. Dividing by 30 is the usual method and the one we use for annual leave pay, but your employer may use another method set in its policy.

Sick leave during probation

You are not entitled to paid sick leave during probation, which can last up to six months. Your employer can still give you unpaid sick leave if a medical report says you need it.

In practice, many expats in the UAE fall ill in their first months and worry about losing the job. Send the medical report anyway: it shows the absence had a legitimate reason. Some employers pay sick days during probation as a company benefit, so read your offer letter and the staff handbook.

Probation also has its own exit rules. An employer that ends your service during probation must give you at least 14 days’ written notice.

How to report sick leave to your employer

The law gives you up to three working days to tell your employer or your manager that you are sick. You must also hand in a medical report on your condition from a medical entity.

1. See a licensed doctor. A medical entity means any federal or local government health body or any private health facility licensed in the UAE.
2. Ask for a sick leave certificate covering the days you need off. In Dubai it is issued electronically on the day of your visit.
3. Tell your manager or HR in writing within three working days. An email or a message on the company HR system is easy to prove later.
4. Send the certificate or medical report with the message, or as soon as you have it.
5. Keep copies of every certificate and email until you leave the company.

The law sets no separate rule for a single day off. Your company policy decides whether a one-day absence needs a certificate, and many employers ask for one from the first day.

When sick leave is not paid

Under the sick leave UAE labour law rules, sick leave is unpaid when the illness comes from your own misconduct. The law leaves the exact cases to its Implementing Regulation, and the UAE Government portal lists them in plain terms.

• During probation, as explained above.
• Illness caused directly by alcohol or narcotics use.
• Breaking safety instructions set by UAE law and by the company’s rules, when you had been told about those rules.

Absence without a legitimate reason is a separate matter. The employer can dismiss a worker without notice, after a written investigation, for unexcused absence of more than 20 separate days in a year or more than 7 days in a row. A valid medical report is what turns an absence into sick leave.

Work injury and occupational disease

An illness or injury caused by your work is not counted against your 90 days of sick leave. It falls under the work injury rules in Article 37 of the same law, which are more generous.

• The employer pays for your treatment until you recover or a disability is proven.
• You get your full wage during treatment, for up to six months.
• If treatment takes longer, you get half your wage for up to six more months, or until you recover.

There is no work injury compensation if you hurt yourself on purpose, were under alcohol or drugs, deliberately ignored posted safety instructions, acted with wilful misconduct, or refused treatment without a serious reason. Report a workplace accident to your employer straight away so it is recorded as a work injury.

Can you be dismissed during sick leave in the UAE?

No, your employer may not dismiss you or give you a termination notice while you are on sick leave, according to the UAE Government portal. The law adds two more protections.

• Health fitness: under Article 46, an employer cannot end your service because of your health before you have used your legally due leave. Any agreement saying otherwise is void.
• Notice during leave: under Article 35, if either side gives notice while you are on leave, the notice period starts the day after your scheduled return, unless you both agree otherwise.

Resigning is your choice at any time, but the same notice rule applies, so a resignation sent during sick leave normally starts counting only when you are due back.

After the 90 days are used up

If you have used all 90 days and still cannot return to work, the employer may end your service under Article 31. You must receive all your financial entitlements: final wages, payment for unused annual leave, notice pay where due and your end of service gratuity.

You can estimate the gratuity with our UAE gratuity calculator. Unpaid days of absence are left out of the service period for gratuity. The law does not say in so many words whether unpaid sick days count as such absence, so ask MOHRE if a long unpaid sick period affects your figure.

Separately, a contract ends if a medical entity certifies that the worker has a full and permanent inability to work.

Sick leave UAE labour law rules for certificates in each emirate

Each emirate’s health authority runs the system for sick leave certificates, and most are now electronic. Here is how to get one and how you or your employer can check it.

Dubai: DHA certificates through Sheryan

In Dubai, only doctors and dentists licensed by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) can issue a sick leave certificate, and they do it electronically through DHA’s Sheryan system. Under DHA’s sick leave policy (October 2024):

• The certificate is issued only after a consultation, with a medical reason, on the day of the visit.
• No backdated certificates are issued.
• A GP can give up to 5 days, a specialist up to 14 and a consultant up to 30. Telehealth certificates are limited to 3 days.
• Longer leave needs a full medical report, and DHA can ask for more documents or reject the certificate.
• Sheryan certificates need no stamp or manual DHA attestation unless someone asks for it. An altered certificate is invalid.

To check a Dubai certificate, use the “Verify Document” service on Sheryan with the barcode number and PIN printed on the certificate.

Abu Dhabi: checking sick leave on TAMM

The Department of Health Abu Dhabi offers a Sick Leave Validation service on TAMM. It lets you or your employer confirm that a sick leave is valid and print it, without contacting or visiting the Department of Health.

Sharjah and the northern emirates: MOHAP

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) issues and attests sick leave and medical reports through its website and app, logging in with UAE Pass. Gulf News reported in May 2025 that leaves of up to five days are attested instantly, while longer ones go to a medical committee for approval, and that leaves from facilities in Sharjah and the northern emirates can also be attested at the facility that treated you.

A sick leave already attested by the Dubai Health Authority, the Department of Health Abu Dhabi or the Sharjah Health Authority does not need a second attestation from MOHAP. A fee may apply for attestation, so check the amount on the service page before you pay.

If your sick pay is refused

Start with HR, in writing. Quote Article 31, list the dates, attach the certificates and ask for the sick pay to be corrected in the next salary.

If the employer still refuses sick pay you are owed, dismisses you during sick leave, or leaves sick pay out of your final settlement, you can file a labour complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). Our MOHRE complaint guide explains the app, the website and the 600590000 call centre, and what happens after you file.

Who these sick leave rules cover

The sick leave UAE labour law rules in this guide apply to private sector employees, expats and nationals alike.

• Not covered: employees of federal and local government entities, the armed forces, police and security services, and domestic workers. They have their own laws.
• DIFC and ADGM: the two financial free zones have their own employment laws with different sick leave rules. If you work there, check your free zone’s law and your contract.

Sick leave and other leave types

Sick leave is a separate entitlement from annual leave, set in a different article of the law. Our guide to annual leave under UAE labour law covers the 30-day entitlement, carry over and leave pay on exit.

Illness linked to pregnancy or childbirth follows a different rule. After maternity leave, a mother can take up to 45 more days without pay if she or her baby is unwell, as our maternity leave UAE guide explains.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Telling only a colleague. Notice must reach your employer or your manager within three working days. Use email or the HR system.
• Waiting for the doctor’s note before reporting. Report first, then send the certificate.
• Asking for a backdated certificate. Dubai doctors cannot issue one, and a certificate that was altered is invalid.
• Counting calendar months, not service years. The 90 days run per year of service, so check where your service year starts.
• Treating a work injury as sick leave. Report workplace accidents as work injuries; they are paid on better terms.
• Signing a final settlement without checking it. Make sure any sick pay due, leave pay and gratuity are all in the figures.

Frequently asked questions

How many sick leave days are allowed in the UAE?

Private sector employees in the UAE are allowed up to 90 days of sick leave a year after completing probation, under Article 31 of the UAE Labour Law. The first 15 days are on full pay, the next 30 days on half pay and the remaining 45 days unpaid. The days can be taken in one block or spread across the year.

Is sick leave paid during probation in the UAE?

No, sick leave is not paid during probation in the UAE under the labour law. Your employer can still give you unpaid sick leave if a medical report from a licensed medical entity says you need it. Some companies pay sick days during probation as a benefit, so check your offer letter and the staff handbook before assuming you will lose pay.

Can my employer terminate me while I am on sick leave in the UAE?

No, your employer may not dismiss you or give you a termination notice while you are on sick leave in the UAE. Under Article 46, it also cannot end your service for health reasons before you use your legally due leave. Only after all 90 days are used, and you still cannot return, may the employer end your service and pay all your entitlements.

How many days do I have to submit a sick leave certificate in the UAE?

You have three working days to tell your employer that you are sick and submit a medical report, under Article 31 of the UAE Labour Law. The report must come from a government health body or a licensed private clinic or hospital. Your company policy may ask for the certificate sooner, or even for a one-day absence.

How can I verify a sick leave certificate in the UAE?

You can verify a sick leave certificate in the UAE through the health authority of the emirate that issued it. Dubai certificates are checked on DHA’s Sheryan “Verify Document” service with the barcode and PIN. Abu Dhabi leaves are checked with the Department of Health’s Sick Leave Validation service on TAMM. MOHAP handles leaves from Sharjah and the northern emirates.

Key takeaways

• The sick leave UAE labour law allows is up to 90 days a year after probation: 15 on full pay, 30 on half pay, 45 unpaid.
• Tell your employer within three working days and give a medical report from a licensed medical entity.
• There is no paid sick leave during probation, and none for illness caused by alcohol, drugs or breaking safety rules.
• You cannot be dismissed or given notice while on sick leave; notice given during leave starts after your return.
• After 90 days, if you still cannot work, the employer may end your service but must pay all your entitlements.
• Check certificates on Sheryan in Dubai, TAMM in Abu Dhabi and MOHAP in the other emirates.

Sources

• Types of leaves in the private sector, The Official Portal of the UAE Government (updated 14 October 2026)
• Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 regarding the regulation of employment relationships, text published by the UAE Government
• Issuance of Sick Leave Certificate and Escort Certificate, Dubai Health Authority (October 2024)
• Lists and Tools: Sick Leave Validation, Department of Health Abu Dhabi
• Attestation of medical leaves and reports, Ministry of Health and Prevention
• Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE)
• Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Articles 1, 3, 9, 31, 35, 37, 38, 42, 44, 46 and 51