Does Maternity Leave Affect Your UAE Gratuity? What Every Working Mother Should Know (2026)

If you're planning a family while working in the UAE, one question rarely gets a straight answer: does taking maternity leave affect your end-of-service gratuity? The answer depends entirely on which part of your leave you're talking about — and the distinction matters more than most guides let on.

The Short Answer

Your standard 60-day paid maternity leave does not reduce your gratuity. It counts as normal service, exactly like any other paid period of employment. However, if you take the additional unpaid extensions available under the law — for pregnancy-related illness or a personal extension — those extra unpaid days are excluded from your qualifying service period, the same way any other unpaid leave is treated under Article 51.

How UAE Maternity Leave Is Structured

Under Article 30 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, every female employee in the UAE private sector is entitled to maternity leave regardless of how long she has worked for her employer:

• 60 days total leave — the first 45 days at full pay, the remaining 15 days at half pay
• No minimum service requirement to take the leave itself — though pay entitlement can differ for employees with under one year of service (see below)
• Up to 30 additional days with full pay if the newborn has a medical condition or disability requiring extra care

Because this core 60-day period is paid leave, it is treated as continuous, qualifying service for gratuity purposes — just like your regular working days. Employers should not exclude it when calculating your final gratuity.

Where It Gets Complicated: The Unpaid Extensions

The law also allows for additional leave beyond the core 60 days, and this is where gratuity impact actually starts:

• Up to 45 days of unpaid leave if the mother or the child falls ill as a result of the pregnancy or birth (Article 30(2))
• A further 30 days of unpaid leave available as a personal extension, at the employee's request

Because these extensions are explicitly unpaid, they follow the same rule as any other unpaid leave under Article 51: the days are not counted toward your qualifying service period. If you take the full 60-day paid leave plus the 45-day unpaid illness extension, only the 60 paid days count toward your gratuity service — the 45 unpaid days do not.

What If You Have Less Than One Year of Service?

You're entitled to take maternity leave from your very first day of employment — there's no minimum tenure requirement to access the leave itself. However, if you haven't yet completed one year of continuous service, your entire 60-day maternity leave may be unpaid rather than following the standard 45-full-pay/15-half-pay split. In this situation, confirm directly with HR whether that unpaid period is treated as qualifying service, since practices can vary and gratuity itself only becomes payable once you cross the one-year mark regardless.

Worked Example

Consider an employee with a basic salary of AED 10,000 who has worked for 5 years by her employment start and end dates. During her tenure, she took the standard 60-day paid maternity leave, plus a 30-day unpaid personal extension afterward.

• Calendar tenure: 5 years
• Unpaid days to exclude: 30 days (the paid 60-day leave still counts as service)
• Qualifying service after adjustment: 5 years minus 30 days — just under the full 5-year mark
• Daily wage: 10,000 ÷ 30 = AED 333.33
• Result: because she has not yet completed a full 5 qualifying years, her final year is calculated at the 21-day rate rather than the 30-day rate that would otherwise apply from year 6 onward

The exact treatment can depend on your employer's specific payroll practices and how leave is recorded, so this example illustrates the mechanism rather than a guaranteed outcome for every case.

What to Do If You're Planning Maternity Leave

• Know the split. The core 60-day leave is protected as qualifying service — you don't need to worry about that portion affecting your gratuity.
• Think twice before extending unpaid. If you're close to a milestone year (especially year 1 or year 5), an unpaid extension could push your qualifying service just under that threshold. Ask HR how it will be recorded before deciding.
• Get it in writing. Ask HR to confirm in writing which portion of your leave is paid and which is unpaid, and how each will be reflected in your service record.
• Check your maternity leave record before resigning. If you're planning to leave the company after your leave, confirm your exact qualifying service date first, especially if you took any unpaid extension.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the standard 60-day maternity leave reduce my gratuity?

No. The standard 60-day maternity leave (45 days full pay, 15 days half pay) is paid leave and counts as normal qualifying service for gratuity purposes.

Does the extra 45-day unpaid illness leave affect my gratuity?

Yes. Because this extension is unpaid, it is excluded from your qualifying service period, the same as any other unpaid leave under Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.

Can I take maternity leave if I've worked less than a year?

Yes, there is no minimum service requirement to take maternity leave itself. However, if you have less than one year of service, your entire 60-day leave may be unpaid rather than following the standard full-pay/half-pay split.

Can my employer terminate me during or because of maternity leave?

UAE Labour Law prohibits employers from discriminating against or terminating female employees for reasons related to pregnancy or maternity leave. If you believe this has happened, you can raise it with MOHRE.

Does paternity leave affect gratuity the same way?

Paternity leave in the UAE is 5 working days of paid leave, taken within 6 months of the child's birth. Since it is fully paid, it counts as normal qualifying service and does not reduce gratuity.

Want to see how leave affects your own numbers? Read our guide on how unpaid leave impacts UAE gratuity for the full mechanics, then use our UAE Gratuity Calculator to get an instant estimate based on your salary and service duration. If you also run a business in the UAE, our UAE Corporate Tax Calculator can help you estimate your Corporate Tax liability.

This article provides general estimates based on publicly available UAE labour law information and is not a substitute for professional legal or HR advice. Confirm your exact entitlement with your employer, a licensed labour lawyer, or MOHRE. See our Privacy Policy for details on how we handle data.

Curious how sick leave is treated differently from maternity leave for gratuity? See our guide on Sick Leave and UAE Gratuity.