It can be very helpful to have a domestic helper at home who can assist the family with both housekeeping duties and child care responsibilities. Employers have, however, been made aware of domestic workers’ rights in the UAE, notably with regard to the leave benefits they are entitled to.
The Ministry of Human Resource and Emiratization used its social media accounts on August 2 to inform the public about the weekly and yearly vacation days that domestic employees are entitled to.
According to the post, domestic workers are entitled to a paid day off each week, and if they must work on a paid day off, they must be rewarded with a payday or an alternate paid day off.
The article also makes it clear that a worker needs to have access to at least 12 hours of uninterrupted rest per day.
Employers were advised in the post on annual breaks that employees are entitled to a 30-day paid leave each year.
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All domestic workers are entitled to the following weekly days off and annual leave privileges:
Domestic workers’ days off
- Employees are entitled to a paid day off each week.
- In the event that they work on their days off, employees are entitled to an additional day off or a monetary payment equivalent to one working day.
- Days off must include at least eight uninterrupted hours and cannot be fewer than 12 hours each day.
Domestic workers’ annual leaves
- Employees are entitled to a paid annual leave of 30 days.
- In the event of a contract renewal, employees may accrue their days in lieu and use them all at once.
- In the event that the contract is canceled, employees are entitled to a monetary allowance equal to the number of unutilized days.
Domestic workers laws
It is significant to remember that Federal Law No. (10) Of 2017 On Domestic Workers governs the hiring of domestic workers in the UAE. The rights of domestic workers and their employers were further clarified by an executive rule that was later released in 2019 – Cabinet Resolution No. (22) of 2019 regarding the Executive Regulation of Federal Law No. (10) of 2017 on Domestic Workers. The weekly holiday is not needed to fall on a particular day, according to Article 11 of the resolution. “The worker shall be entitled to a weekly rest day to be determined by agreement between the worker and the employer, subject to fixed times as much as possible from the start of the contract”, according to Article 11 of the resolution.
It also specifies a condition for requesting a domestic worker to work on a holiday.
“The employer may require the worker to work on his weekly rest day, subject to the worker’s entitlement to another rest day in place of the original rest day or a cash compensation equaling the total wage thereof, provided the worker may not be required to work on more than two rest days in two consecutive weeks unless there is an agreement otherwise.”