We get asked new questions all of the time about maternity and over the years here are some of the most important ones that you need to know as an expecting mother:
1. You CAN extend your maternity leave by up to 100 unpaid days even as a new employee
Following the 45 days of paid maternity leave, you are able to extend your leave by up to 100 days for illness related to the pregnancy as long as it has been medically diagnosed by a doctor. Obviously, this would be unpaid but it doesn’t matter at all on your length of service.
2. Your maternity leave counts towards your end-of-service gratuity
The maternity leave counts towards your length of service. If you are also taking the additional 100 days due to sickness there is no law whether this would also count but by looking at previous examples it would. If the leave is not for medical purposes then this would not be part of the gratuity package
3. Weekends count as part of your maternity allowance
The maternity leave allowance for employees in the UAE who have completed one year of continuous service is 45 days at full pay – but these are calendar days, not working days. If your company stipulates that it is working days please make sure you have this in writing.
4. The full pay you receive will always be gross salary
The pay you will receive during the maternity is the gross. This will include basic and all of the allowances on top. If you have served less than a year this would be half pay.
5. If you’re too sick to work while pregnant, you don’t have to use up your maternity leave
Where you are experiencing pregnancy health issues, you would be entitled to sick leave in the normal manner if it has been made medically necessary to be off of work by a doctor. The normal days off would apply and the maternity leave would not be affected. These would be 15 days full pay, 30 days with half pay and following that no pay
6. If you are outside of your medical network maternity can become pretty expensive
As an expecting mother, it is extremely important that you know where you have cover and what you are covered for. A lot of doctors and nurses that are preferred work at a specialised clinic and then deliver at certain hospitals. If the prenatal services are not within the network we have seen prices that are double the price. Not only that, the services will not be on direct billing so it will be pay and claim.
If you want any information about your own maternity cover or your HR wants help with any of this we would be happy to give some education and expertise