Dubai: President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan approved new amendments to federal law on the regulation of labour relations, granting paternity leave to employees in the private sector, making the UAE the first Arab country to grant parental leave to private sector employees. Paternity leave has been offered as part of efforts to support gender balance and equal opportunities as well as to realize family cohesion and stability.
Accordingly, private sector employees shall be entitled to five-day paid leave to take care of their newborn infants during the period from the date of birth until turning six months. It also aims to encourage young talent to engage in employment in the private sector, where parental leave is the latest in a series of benefits for private-sector employees to enhance the role of parents, which is granted to the “father or mother” employee in childcare and is paid.
The step is part of gender balance-related legislation that aims to create a competitive model for the world and promote the working environment in the country’s private sector to harmonise with the next stage within the leadership’s directives to prepare for the next 50 years. This is a ground-breaking move, putting the UAE not only ahead of its Arab counterparts but also streets ahead of Western countries like the US, where there is no guaranteed paid maternity leave, let alone paid leave for fathers.