Summary
Compassionate leave in the UAE is paid time off granted when an immediate family member dies, five days for the loss of a spouse and three days for a parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild, under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. This guide covers eligibility, required documents, how it differs from sick and annual leave, and what employees can do if an employer refuses it.
Quick facts about compassionate leave in the UAE:
- Meaning: paid statutory leave granted after the death of an immediate family member
- Governed by: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the UAE’s private sector labour law
- Duration: 5 days for the death of a spouse, 3 days for a parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild
- Payment: fully paid, separate from annual leave
- Applies to: private sector and free zone employees, with DIFC and ADGM having their own broadly similar rules
What Is Compassionate Leave in the UAE?
Compassionate leave, also known as bereavement leave, is paid time off granted to an employee following the death of an immediate family member. It exists to give employees space to grieve, travel for a funeral, and handle urgent family matters without having to use annual leave or lose income during an already difficult time.
Under UAE labour law, compassionate leave is a statutory right, not a discretionary benefit an employer can choose to offer or withhold. It sits alongside annual leave, sick leave and maternity leave as one of the leave categories every private sector employer in the UAE must provide. If you are still finalizing your own labour contract in the UAE, it is worth checking that leave entitlements, compassionate leave included, are stated clearly rather than left vague, since ambiguous contract language is one of the most common sources of workplace disputes over leave.
Is Compassionate Leave Mandatory Under UAE Labour Law?
Yes. Compassionate leave is set out in Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the law governing employment relationships in the UAE private sector, which came into effect in 2022. This means it is a legal minimum entitlement for private sector and mainland employees, not a matter of company discretion.
Free zones generally follow the same federal entitlement, though two notable exceptions apply: the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) each operate under their own employment regulations, DIFC Employment Law No. 2 of 2019 and the ADGM Employment Regulations 2019, which set broadly similar minimums but are worth checking directly if your company is registered in one of these zones.
How Many Days of Compassionate Leave Are UAE Employees Entitled To?
This is where a lot of confusion comes from, since the exact entitlement depends on the relationship to the deceased, not a flat number of days for everyone.
- Death of a spouse: 5 paid days
- Death of a parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild: 3 paid days
Note that the law does not scale entitlement by “first-degree” versus “second-degree” relatives in the way some informal guides describe it; the distinction the law actually draws is spouse (5 days) versus every other listed immediate family relationship (3 days). Some employers voluntarily offer more generous leave in their internal HR policy, so it is always worth checking your employment contract or staff handbook, since a company can exceed the legal minimum but cannot fall below it.
Is Compassionate Leave Paid in the UAE?
Yes, compassionate leave under UAE labour law is fully paid, and it does not reduce your annual leave balance. Your salary, including fixed allowances under most standard contracts, continues as normal during the leave period, and it should be processed and recorded separately from any annual or sick leave you take.
If an employee needs more time than the statutory 3 or 5 days, for example to travel internationally for a funeral, additional days are typically taken as unpaid leave or annual leave, at the employer’s discretion, since the law only guarantees the minimum paid period.
Who Qualifies for Compassionate Leave in the UAE?
Private Sector and Mainland Employees
Any employee working under a UAE private sector labour contract qualifies for compassionate leave under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, regardless of nationality or role, provided the death falls within the relationships the law covers.
Free Zone Employees
Most free zone employees are covered by the same federal entitlement, since free zone companies are generally required to align with the federal labour law unless the specific free zone has its own employment regulations.
DIFC and ADGM Employees
Employees under DIFC or ADGM company contracts follow those zones’ own employment laws rather than the federal decree directly, though the leave entitlements are broadly comparable. If you work for a company licensed in either financial free zone, it is worth confirming the exact clause in your contract rather than assuming the federal figures apply automatically.
Government and Public Sector Employees
Federal and local government employees are generally covered under separate human resources laws for the public sector rather than Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, and in practice many public sector entities offer leave terms at least as generous as the private sector minimum, sometimes more.
Documents Required for Compassionate Leave
To apply for compassionate leave, employees are typically asked to provide:
- Death certificate: issued locally, or an authenticated foreign death certificate if the death occurred abroad
- Proof of relationship: such as a marriage certificate, birth certificate, family book, or an official letter confirming the relationship to the deceased
- Travel documents: flight tickets or boarding passes, where relevant, if the employee needs to travel to attend a funeral
Employers cannot reasonably demand documentation before the leave begins, since a death requires immediate action; most companies allow the employee to submit documents shortly after returning to work. When a death occurs outside the UAE, documents may need attestation or translation before they are accepted, which can take longer than the standard leave period itself, so a sensible HR policy treats the leave and the paperwork as two separate timelines rather than making one hold up the other.
Dubai’s Jabr System and Death Certificates
Employers in Dubai should be aware of Jabr, Dubai’s integrated digital system that coordinates government services following a death, including issuing digital death certificates. Where Jabr applies, HR teams can often verify a death and process compassionate leave faster, since the certificate is available digitally rather than requiring physical paperwork collection during an already stressful time. This system currently applies specifically in Dubai; other emirates and free zones like DIFC and ADGM may still rely on standard physical or emirate-specific documentation processes, so it is worth confirming which applies to your specific employee and location.
How to Apply for Compassionate Leave: Step-by-Step
- Notify your manager or HR immediately, ideally in writing, even if it is just a short message confirming the situation and your intent to take compassionate leave.
- Submit the required documents, including the death certificate and proof of relationship, once available, generally acceptable after you return rather than before the leave starts.
- Confirm the leave record with HR, including the number of paid days and how it will be reflected on your payroll and leave balance.
Most companies process compassionate leave quickly given its urgent nature, but if a company’s internal process is unclear, employees should ask HR directly rather than assume, since delays are more often about missing internal clarity than the law itself.
Compassionate Leave vs Sick Leave and Annual Leave in the UAE
These leave categories are often confused, but they serve different purposes and follow different rules.
- Compassionate leave: for a death in the immediate family, 3 or 5 paid days depending on relationship, requires a death certificate
- Sick leave: for the employee’s own illness, up to 90 days total after the probation period under UAE labour law (typically full pay for an initial portion, reduced pay for a further period, then unpaid), requires a medical report
- Annual leave: standard paid vacation entitlement, generally 30 calendar days per year after one year of service, unrelated to bereavement or illness
Compassionate leave should not be deducted from your annual leave balance unless your specific employment contract states otherwise, which is unusual and worth flagging with HR if you see it happen.
Can an Employer Deny Compassionate Leave?
An employer cannot legally deny a valid compassionate leave request that falls within the relationships and documentation the law recognizes. What an employer can do is ask for reasonable proof, and it can decide whether to grant additional unpaid days beyond the statutory minimum.
If an employer refuses a legitimate request or fails to pay correctly during compassionate leave, the employee’s first step is usually to raise it directly with HR or management. If that does not resolve the issue, employees can file a complaint directly through the official MOHRE website, or use this guide to MOHRE enquiry services in the UAE to understand how the complaint and mediation process works before filing. DIFC or ADGM-based employees would raise a dispute with the relevant free zone authority instead, since MOHRE does not have jurisdiction over those two financial free zones.
Employers found non-compliant with statutory leave entitlements can face fines, compensation orders, or other penalties, so ignoring a valid request carries real legal risk rather than just a reputational one. For a broader view of what UAE employment law requires beyond leave specifically, this overview of employment and labour laws and regulations in Dubai is a useful next read for employers building out a full HR policy.
Employer Responsibilities and Best Practices
Employers in the UAE are expected to handle compassionate leave with both legal compliance and genuine empathy.
- Put the policy in writing: a clear compassionate leave clause in the HR handbook prevents confusion and inconsistent treatment across managers
- Train managers to respond appropriately: grief-related requests need a fast, sensitive response, not a slow email chain
- Keep documentation reasonable: ask for what the law requires, not more, and allow it to be submitted after the leave starts
- Track it separately from annual leave: compassionate leave should never quietly eat into an employee’s vacation balance
- Consider going beyond the minimum: offering flexible unpaid extensions, wellbeing support, or a phased return can meaningfully improve retention and morale at very little cost
Getting this right matters for more than compliance. A well-run business setup in Dubai includes HR policies that hold up under real-world stress, not just paperwork that looks good on day one. Companies that treat compassionate leave as an afterthought tend to discover the gaps in their policy at the worst possible moment, when a grieving employee is already dealing with a manager who does not know what to approve.
Common Scenarios for Compassionate Leave
- Death of a parent abroad: the employee can apply for the standard 3-day entitlement and, if travel time exceeds that, request additional unpaid or annual leave to cover the trip
- Death of a spouse: the full 5-day entitlement applies regardless of where the death occurs
- Pregnancy loss or infant death: not always explicitly itemized in the statutory leave categories, though many employers extend compassionate or medical leave for these situations given their severity, so it is worth checking your specific company policy
- Caring for a terminally ill relative: not covered under the statutory compassionate leave provisions directly, since those apply after a death; employees in this situation typically need to rely on annual leave or a company’s discretionary unpaid leave policy
- Death of a grandparent or grandchild: covered under the standard 3-day entitlement alongside parents, children and siblings, a point that is sometimes missed since older guidance treated grandparents separately
Each of these scenarios still requires the same basic proof, a death certificate and evidence of the relationship, so gathering documentation early tends to matter more than the specific circumstances of the loss.
How Incorpyfy Can Help
Getting HR policy right, compassionate leave included, is part of building a compliant, employee-friendly company in the UAE from day one. Our PRO services in Dubai support businesses with labour contract drafting, HR policy alignment, and day-to-day compliance with UAE labour law, so you are not caught off guard by a leave request you have not planned for. If you are setting up a new company and want your employment contracts and leave policies built correctly from the start, get in touch with our team for guidance tailored to your business.
FAQs About Compassionate Leave in the UAE
What does compassionate leave mean in the UAE?
It means paid time off granted to an employee after the death of an immediate family member, five days for a spouse and three days for a parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild, under UAE labour law.
How many days of compassionate leave can I take in the UAE?
Five paid days for the death of a spouse, and three paid days for the death of a parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild.
Is compassionate leave paid in the UAE?
Yes, it is fully paid and does not affect your annual leave balance.
Do I need to submit documents for compassionate leave?
Yes, typically a death certificate and proof of relationship to the deceased, and travel documents if you traveled for a funeral. These can usually be submitted after you return to work.
Can I take more leave than the law allows?
Yes, but any additional days beyond the statutory 3 or 5 are generally unpaid or drawn from annual leave, at your employer’s discretion.
Does compassionate leave affect my annual leave balance?
No, it is a separate category and should not be deducted from your annual leave unless your specific contract states otherwise.
Can my employer deny my compassionate leave request?
No, not if it falls within the relationships and documentation the law recognizes. If an employer refuses a valid request, you can escalate it to MOHRE for private sector roles or the relevant free zone authority for DIFC or ADGM.
Does compassionate leave apply the same way in free zones?
Mostly, yes, since most free zones follow the federal labour law. DIFC and ADGM are the main exceptions, with their own employment regulations that offer broadly similar but separately governed entitlements.
What is the difference between compassionate leave and sick leave?
Compassionate leave covers bereavement in the immediate family and requires a death certificate. Sick leave covers the employee’s own illness, requires a medical report, and can extend up to 90 days under UAE labour law, with pay reducing over that period.
What happens if my employer doesn’t pay me correctly during compassionate leave?
You can raise it directly with HR first, and if unresolved, file a complaint with MOHRE for private sector employment, which can investigate and enforce statutory leave and pay entitlements.
