Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the Executive Council, on Wednesday approved the new maternity leave policy for Dubai Government employees.
The policy extends maternity leave to three months paid leave, effective from March 1 and covers all governmental entities, a statement said.
The amendment to the maternity leave aims to extend the compulsory fully paid maternity leave to three months for the female employee. It is also permitted to add the annual leave and the unpaid leave to the maternity leave, with the condition that it does not exceed 120 days.
The change will also extend the breast-feeding period to two hours instead of one hour effective from the date of the end of the maternity leave for a period of one year from the date of the baby’s birth.
It can be taken either at the beginning or towards the end of working hours, and will be fully paid hours. This will be reduced to one hour during Ramadan.
The amendment also includes a clause for abortion and miscarriage cases whereby female employees will receive sick leave upon the presentation of a sick leave note from an authorised doctor.
There is also a special care leave clause which grants leave to a female employee who has delivered a baby with special needs with a salary that specified by the official medical commission, depending on the case.
Sheikh Hamdan said: “As part of our efforts to support different sections of society, and provide various kinds of support for families, we have approved the extension of the maternity leave for employees of Dubai Government to three months.
“This will help employees have closer family bonds, and enhance their sense of family stability. It will also help working mothers to play their crucial roles in the family more effectively and help ensure the proper upbringing of the individual.”
He added: “In this amendment of the maternity leave, we focused on the comfort of working mothers and the need for legislation that meets their need for family-work balance. We have also taken into consideration the need to provide working mothers enough time to take care of their new born babies.
“This is particularly important in the case of babies that have special needs, since the parents may need to provide a higher degree of care and follow up.
“The amendments to the maternity leave is a token of our appreciation for the efforts of working mothers in contributing to the well-being of the country, family and society. We are offering working mothers the opportunity to achieve their professional ambitions in a conducive environment that attracts talented and productive people and helps enhance the competitiveness of women in the job market.”
