Annual leave in DIFC

Annual leave in companies registered in the DIFC is governed by special labor laws which differ from the general rules of the UAE. DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019 is the core legislative act that stipulates regulations in this regard in DIFC.

1. General rules 

2. When does the right to leave arise?

The right to paid leave arises after 90 days of employment. Employees cannot take paid leave before this period. The annual leave limit is 20 working days.

Note: in the DIFC, the leave is calculated in working days, not in calendar days.

3. Annual leave compensation

During annual leave vacation, the employee receives their normal daily wage and their salary is not reduced.

Example:

Daily wage - AED 500 

Vacation for 5 working days → compensation of AED 2,500 

4. How is vacation calculated during an employee's first year of work?

Although annual leave vacation entitlement begins after the expiration of 90 days of service, all 20 working days of the leave cannot be used at once in the first year. 

Vacation accrues monthly: 20 ÷ 12 ≈ 1.67 days per month.

Example:

An emp...