Dubai: Having a domestic worker at home, who can support the family with household chores and the responsibilities of child care, can be a great help. However, employers have been made aware of the rights of a domestic worker in the UAE, particularly in terms of the leaves they are entitled to.
On August 2, the Ministry of Human Resource and Emiratisation took to its social media channels to raise awareness about the weekly days off and annual leave for domestic workers.
As per the post, domestic workers are entitled to a weekly paid day off, and in case they need to work on an off day, they must be compensated with an alternative off day or the day’s salary.
The post also clarifies that a worker should be allowed to rest for at least 12 hours every day, including at least eight continuous hours.
As for annual leaves, the post informed employers that workers are entitled to a 30-day annual paid leave.
Here are all the rights of a domestic worker in terms of their weekly days off and annual leaves:
Domestic workers' days off
• Workers are entitled to a weekly paid day off.
• Workers are entitled to an alternative day off or cash allowance equivalent to a working day in case they work on their days off.
• Days off shall not be less than 12 hours daily, including at least eight continuous hours.
Domestic workers' annual leaves
• Workers are entitled to a 30-day annual paid leave.
• Workers can accumulate their days in lieu and take them all at once in case of contract renewal.
• Workers are entitled to a cash allowance equivalent to the unused days in lie in case the contract is terminated.
Domestic workers laws
It is important to note that domestic worker recruitment in the UAE falls under Federal Law No. (10) Of 2017 On Domestic Workers. An executive regulation was also subsequently issued in 2019 - Cabinet resolution no. (22) of 2019 regarding the executive regulation of Federal Law no. (10) of 2017 on domestic workers – which further clarified the rights of domestic workers and their employers. As per Article 11 of the resolution, the weekly day off does not have to be a specific day. Article 11 of the resolution states: “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.”
It also stipulates a condition for asking a domestic worker to work on his or her day off.
“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.”
