Employees working in the private sector in UAE can now be benefited with the parental leave of five working days. Employees can entitle this leave from the birth day of their child to their six months. This leave is a paid leave that can be availed by both the mother and the father of the baby. This was approved as an amendment and enforced into the Labor law in August 2020 by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE.
It is notable that ‘UAE is the first Arab country to permit the parental leave to the employees of private sector’
Other Arab nations including Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Qatar do not allow the paternal leave at all. UAE is the only Arab country to permit parental leave to the employees working in the private sector.
This amendment to federal labor law shows the empathy by the government to care for their employee’s children. The law decree aims to provide the secured and stabilized family cohesions of employees working in UAE. It is also a huge leap in balancing the gender, encouraging the young minds to work in the private sector and enhancing the brand image of UAE in the international market.
The UAE government continuously initiates steps & measures through the Gender Balance Council established in 2015, ensuring that Emirati women continue to play a decision making role in the development of the UAE. As per the directive by the president UAE, His Highness Sheik Khalifa Zayed Al Nahyan, Emirati women tend to occupy 50% of the seats in Federal National Council (FNC).
According to the world economic forum’s global gender gap report 2020, UAE advanced to 10th rank for the sub-index of wage equality for similar work. Mona Al Marri, vice president of UAE Gender Balance Council said that UAE is studying the legal constitution of Scandinavian countries, who are considered as the global leaders for gender equality, to provide a standard guidelines while framing the local laws. Hence, this parental leave leaves us in no surprise to balance the gender in the working environment of the economy. It is a huge stride with the intention of retaining their female workers in the private sector.
‘Private Sector Youth Council’, which was launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. This serves as the initiative ideation team to encourage UAE’s youth in the private sector in local, regional and international categories. Adding to this, the current ‘parental leave’ amendment also serves as a clear evidence that the government is encouraging the youth talent pool to enter into the private sector.
The ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) runs so many strategic plans with the objective to transform the job market in the UAE into the most empowering and attractive market for Emirati talents. Stay connected with our page, to get the latest updates about the UAE market.
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