Work out an estimated UAE annual leave entitlement and accrued balance from your employment start date.
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Enter your employment start date and a calculation date to see an estimated leave entitlement, along with every line of the calculation.
Namya lets employees request leave, managers approve it and HR track balances from one place.
See Namya Leave ManagementAnnual leave for employees covered by UAE federal private-sector employment law is set out in Article 29 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. An employee who has completed one year of service is entitled to 30 calendar days of fully paid annual leave a year. Where the period of service exceeds six months but is less than one year, the employee is entitled to 2 days of leave for each month of service. Part-time employees are entitled to annual leave in proportion to the actual working hours set out in their employment contract.
Public holidays and agreed leave days that fall inside an annual leave period count as part of that annual leave unless the contract or company policy provides otherwise. Employers may set leave dates according to business requirements, in agreement with the employee, and must give at least one month's notice of those dates.
The law sets an annual entitlement rather than a daily accrual formula, so most UAE employers accrue leave evenly across the leave year. This calculator follows the same approach: after one full year of service it accrues the annual entitlement of 30 days in proportion to the days elapsed since the most recent work anniversary, which is why a balance part-way through a leave year is lower than the full 30 days. Where employment or a leave year is only part-complete, leave is due for the fraction of the year worked.
Annual leave entitlement begins once six months of service are completed. From that point until the first anniversary, leave accrues at 2 days for each month of service — so an employee with eight completed months has accrued 16 days. Before six months there is no statutory annual leave accrual, although an employer may allow leave earlier under its own policy. Once one full year of service is completed, the 30-day annual entitlement applies.
Annual leave should be used in the year it falls due. With the employer's consent, and in line with company regulations, an employee may carry unused annual leave — or part of it — into the following year, or be paid for the unused days on the basis of basic salary. An employer may not prevent an employee from using accrued annual leave for more than two consecutive years unless the employee chooses to carry it over or take cash in lieu, in accordance with company policy and the implementing regulations of the labour law.
If service ends before annual leave has been used, the employee is entitled to leave for the fraction of the last year worked, and any unused balance is paid as part of the final settlement, calculated on basic salary. This is separate from end-of-service gratuity — you can estimate that with the UAE gratuity calculator.
An employee joined on 1 April 2024 and wants a balance as at 1 October 2026, having taken 12 days of leave in the current leave year.
Had the same employee joined on 1 February 2026 instead, they would have seven completed months of service at 1 October 2026 and an accrual of 7 × 2 = 14 days under the first-year rule.
Employees covered by UAE federal private-sector employment law are entitled to 30 calendar days of fully paid annual leave a year once they have completed one year of service. Where service exceeds six months but is less than one year, the entitlement is 2 days of leave for each month of service.
The statutory entitlement of 30 days is expressed in calendar days. Public holidays and agreed leave days that fall within an annual leave period are treated as part of that annual leave unless the employment contract or company policy says otherwise.
Annual leave entitlement begins once six months of service are completed. Before that point there is no statutory annual leave accrual, although many employers allow leave to be taken earlier as a matter of company policy.
Leave should normally be taken in the year it is due. With the employer's agreement and in line with company regulations, an employee may carry unused annual leave (or part of it) into the following year, or receive payment for the unused days calculated on basic salary.
Yes. An employee who leaves before using their annual leave is entitled to leave for the fraction of the last year worked, and unused days are paid on the basis of basic salary.
No. DIFC and ADGM operate their own employment regimes and the government sector has separate rules, so leave entitlement is calculated differently there.
This is an indicative calculator, not legal advice. It shows the statutory minimum position under UAE federal private-sector employment law; many company policies provide enhanced entitlements, different accrual methods, carry-over rules or working-day rather than calendar-day leave, so your contract and HR policy take precedence. Part-time and flexible work patterns, unpaid leave, DIFC, ADGM, government-sector employment and other special regimes may operate differently. Please check the official sources below, or consult the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) or a professional adviser, where appropriate.
Looking for HR software rather than a one-off calculation? See the Namya platform, pricing or the UAE HR guide. Read our complete UAE Annual Leave Guide.
These tools are part of the free Namya HR toolkit for UAE employers. Each one works in your browser with no sign-up.
