Free UAE Leave Policy Template (Editable Word File)
A leave policy you can adopt in an afternoon. It is written in plain English, the legal minimums are already filled in with the source article next to each one, and the places where the law leaves a choice are marked for you to decide.
The short answer
This is a Word template for UAE companies with 16 policy sections. Fill in your company details, tick the options that suit you, and you have a complete leave policy, a leave request form and an employee sign-off sheet. It is free: enter your email below and we send it to you.
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Why write a leave policy at all
Most leave disputes are not really arguments about the law. They happen because the rules were never written down: how leave is counted, who approves it, what is paid while someone is away, and what happens to unused days when they leave. When the answer lives in a manager's memory, two people in the same situation get two different answers. A written policy gives every manager the same answer. (For the thinking behind it, read how to structure a leave policy.)
What is in the template
- Purpose
- Scope
- Definitions
- General rules for all leave
- Annual leave
- Sick leave
- Maternity leave
- Parental leave
- Bereavement leave
- Study leave
- Hajj and Umrah leave
- National and reserve service
- Public holidays and weekly rest
- Unpaid leave and other leave
- Leave records
- Policy review
After the 16 sections there are five appendices you can use straight away, and a references page listing the official sources:
- A. Entitlements at a glance. A one page summary of every leave type.
- B. Worked examples. Real sums for the situations that cause the most arguments, such as how leave is paid and how unused leave is calculated when someone leaves.
- C. The eight leave disputes employees raise most. Each one is matched to the clause in the policy that answers it.
- D. A leave request form.
- E. An employee acknowledgement sheet, so you have a signed record that staff have read the policy.
How the policy choice boxes work
This is the part that makes the template more than a copy of the law. Where the law sets a minimum but leaves room, the template shows a yellow Policy choice box. The first option is always the legal minimum, and the others are more generous. You tick one and delete the rest. For example, you decide how public holidays that fall inside someone's annual leave are treated, and how leave in the first months of service works. There are nine of these boxes, so the policy ends up reflecting what your company will actually do. Your policy can always give employees more than the law requires, and it can never give them less.
Who it is for
The template follows the UAE federal labour law that applies to mainland companies and most free zones. It does not apply to companies in the DIFC or ADGM, which have their own employment laws, or to domestic workers and federal government employees. If your company is one of those, use it only as a starting point and take advice.
How to use it in four steps
- Replace the highlighted fields, such as [Company Name] and the leave year, with your own details.
- Make your choices. Tick one option in each Policy choice box and delete the others.
- Get it checked. Have an HR professional or a UAE employment lawyer read the final version. The clause on public holidays that fall inside annual leave is a good one to ask about.
- Share it and collect sign-offs. Give it to every employee, and keep the signed acknowledgement sheets (Appendix E).
Related guides
- UAE annual leave entitlement
- UAE sick leave rules
- How end of service gratuity is calculated
- Attendance and overtime rules
This template and page are general information based on UAE federal labour law as checked in October 2026. They are not legal advice. Laws and public holiday announcements change, so check anything unusual with MOHRE or a qualified UAE employment lawyer before you adopt a policy.
Want the policy to run itself?
OfficeHR applies your leave policy for you. Requests, approvals and balances run from one place, and stay in sync with payroll.