UAE Maternity Leave Unpaid or Underpaid? Your Rights and the MOHRE Complaint Route in 2026

If you work in the UAE private sector and your employer has refused to pay your maternity leave, paid you only your basic salary instead of your full wage, or paid nothing at all, you almost certainly have a valid claim. Under the UAE labour law that took effect in 2022, a female worker is entitled to 60 days of maternity leave: the first 45 days at full wage and the next 15 days at half wage. This is set out in Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (Article 30) and confirmed on the official UAE government portal. There is no minimum service requirement, so the entitlement applies from your first day on the job.

The key word that employers most often get wrong is wage. Maternity pay is not calculated on basic salary alone. It is calculated on your full wage, which generally includes your basic plus the regular allowances you receive each month, such as housing and transport. An employer who pays you only the basic portion has, in most cases, underpaid you, and the gap is recoverable.

You do not have to argue this alone. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) runs a free labour complaint process for exactly this kind of dispute, and the law specifically protects you from being dismissed for being pregnant, taking maternity leave, or filing a legitimate complaint. The rest of this guide walks through what the law says, what counts as full wage, how the MOHRE grievance works, the timelines, a worked example, a documents checklist, the most common mistakes, and how Wathim can file the complaint on your behalf. Please treat this as general information rather than legal advice, and confirm the figures specific to your case directly with MOHRE.

One more thing to settle: this guide covers the private sector governed by the federal labour law. If you work in a free zone with its own employment regulations, the headline maternity provisions are often similar, but the complaint authority and the precise figures can differ, so confirm which regime applies to you.

The current framework is Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations, which came into force on 2 February 2022 and replaced the older 1980 law. For maternity, the core entitlement is straightforward to state:

• 60 calendar days of maternity leave. These are calendar days, not working days, so weekends and public holidays inside the period count toward the 60.
• 45 days at full wage. The first 45 days are paid at your full wage.
• 15 days at half wage. The following 15 days are paid at half of that wage.
• No minimum service period. Unlike the old law, there is no requirement to have worked a set number of months before you qualify. The entitlement applies from day one.
• Early start option. You may begin maternity leave up to 30 days before the expected delivery date.

The law also preserves your other leave. Taking maternity leave does not reduce your annual leave, sick leave, or other statutory entitlements. That is an important point on its own: an employer cannot quietly net your maternity period against the annual leave you have built up, and you do not lose the right to accrue annual leave while you are on maternity. The two run on separate tracks.

Beyond the headline 60 days, the law also contemplates situations that go beyond a routine delivery. A medically certified illness arising from pregnancy or childbirth can support additional leave, and a newborn who is sick or has a disability can support a further protected block. These are separate provisions with their own conditions, summarised in the pay table further down, so do not assume your only entitlement is the headline number if your circumstances are more complicated.

If you are unsure whether your contract, your labour card, or your offer letter match what was registered with the ministry, it is worth running a MOHRE labour card and contract check before you raise anything, because the registered contract is what the ministry will look at. A surprising number of disputes turn out to hinge on a mismatch between the contract an employee signed and the contract the employer actually registered, and clearing that up early saves a great deal of friction later.

Here is the standard private-sector entitlement laid out against the days. Use it to compare against your payslips for the leave period and identify exactly where the shortfall sits.

The first two rows are the rows most disputes turn on. If your employer paid you basic-only for the 45 days, or skipped the half-wage 15 days entirely, that is the recoverable gap. The additional and special blocks above are separate provisions with their own conditions, and you should confirm eligibility for them with MOHRE.

It helps to think of the pay in two layers. The first layer is the rate (full wage versus half wage), and the second layer is the base on which that rate is calculated (full wage versus basic wage). An underpayment can happen in either layer. An employer might pay the right number of days but on the wrong base (basic instead of full wage), or pay the right base but skip the half-wage block. Reading the table alongside your payslips lets you isolate which layer failed, and that precision is exactly what makes a complaint move quickly.

Because the 60 days are calendar days, a leave period that includes public holidays or weekends does not get extended to compensate, and any days taken before the expected delivery count toward the 60 as well, so plan the start date deliberately.

This is the single most common way employers underpay maternity leave, so it is worth being precise. Under the labour law, your pay is split into the basic wage and the total wage. The basic wage is the core figure in your contract. The total wage (often called full wage) is the basic plus the allowances and other regular cash benefits you receive, such as housing, transport, and any fixed monthly allowances stated in your contract.

For the 45 full-pay days of maternity leave, the entitlement is generally the full wage, not the basic wage. So if your monthly total is made up of a basic of AED 6,000 plus AED 4,000 in allowances, your full-pay maternity days should reflect the AED 10,000 figure, not AED 6,000. An employer who quietly drops the allowances during your leave has underpaid you.

To make the distinction concrete, here is how common pay components usually map onto the two wage definitions. Treat this as a guide for spotting where a shortfall might sit, and confirm the treatment of any borderline item with MOHRE, because contract wording controls.

A few practical points to confirm for your own case:

• Look at your contract's wage breakdown and your normal payslips before leave. The allowances that appear there every month are the ones that usually belong in full wage.
• One-off or variable items (such as a discretionary annual bonus or irregular commission) can be treated differently. Where commission is a regular part of your earnings, raise it specifically.
• Gratuity is calculated on basic wage, not full wage, but that is a separate calculation from maternity pay. If you later leave the company, see our guide on recovering unpaid gratuity through MOHRE.

Because the exact treatment of allowances and commission can depend on your contract wording, confirm the final figure with MOHRE rather than assuming. You can also model your expected pay using our UAE leave salary and notice calculator to get a starting number before you file.

Numbers make the entitlement far easier to see, so here is an illustrative walk-through. The figures are an example only, not a quote for your case, and the final reconciliation is done by MOHRE against your registered contract.

Imagine Layla, who works in Dubai with a monthly package of AED 6,000 basic plus AED 4,000 in fixed housing and transport allowances, for a full wage of AED 10,000 a month. She takes the standard 60 days of maternity leave. To translate monthly pay into a daily figure, a common approach is to divide the monthly wage by 30. So her daily full wage is roughly AED 333, and her daily half wage is roughly AED 167.

Here is what she should receive against what an employer paying basic-only would have paid.

In this illustration, paying basic-only left Layla roughly AED 7,000 short across the 60 days. If instead the employer had paid the full wage for 45 days but skipped the half-wage block entirely, the shortfall would be the missing ~AED 2,500. And if nothing was paid at all, the shortfall would be the entire ~AED 17,500. The method is always the same: work out the correct entitlement block by block, subtract what was actually paid, and the difference is what you claim.

Two cautions on the arithmetic. First, the exact daily-rate convention (dividing by 30, or by the actual days in the month) can vary, so treat the totals as estimates and let MOHRE confirm the precise figure. Second, the numbers above are rounded for readability. When you build your own calculation, use your real basic, your real allowances, and your actual payslip amounts for the leave months, and tie every line back to a document. Our leave salary and notice calculator can help you produce a defensible starting figure.

Most maternity-pay disputes are not dramatic. They are quiet shortfalls that a new mother only notices when the salary lands. The patterns we see most often:

• Basic-only payment. Allowances are stripped out during the leave period, so you receive only your basic wage for the 45 full-pay days.
• Skipping the half-pay 15 days. The employer pays the 45 days but treats the remaining 15 as unpaid, when they should be paid at half wage.
• Forcing annual leave instead. You are told to use your annual leave balance to cover the maternity period, which is not a substitute for the statutory entitlement.
• Unpaid leave relabelling. The whole period is logged as unpaid leave. Forcing genuinely unpaid leave generally requires your consent and cannot override a statutory paid entitlement.
• Delayed or no payment at all. The salary simply does not arrive on time, or at all, for the leave months.
• Pressure to resign. The most serious pattern: you are pushed to resign before or during leave so the employer avoids the cost. This can amount to unlawful conduct, covered in the protection section below.

It is worth understanding why these tactics surface. For a small employer, two months of full wage feels like a cost they would rather avoid, and some try to shift it onto the employee. The law does not give them that option, and the fact that a tactic is common does not make it lawful.

The table below maps each common tactic to the practical fix, so you can locate your situation quickly and see where it leads. Each fix routes back into the complaint process described later in this guide.

If any of these match your situation, document it and read on. The complaint route below is the same regardless of which pattern you are facing.

One of the biggest fears for a new or expecting mother is losing the job for raising the issue. The law addresses this directly. Under the labour law, an employer may not terminate a female worker, or serve her notice of termination, because she is pregnant, because she has taken maternity leave, or because she is absent from work for reasons connected to pregnancy or maternity that are protected under the law.

Separately, dismissing an employee because they filed a legitimate complaint with MOHRE or pursued a lawful claim is treated as arbitrary dismissal. Where a dismissal is found to be arbitrary, the worker may be entitled to compensation, commonly assessed up to around three months' wage, in addition to other end-of-service dues. The exact amount is decided on the facts of the case.

This matters because it removes much of the leverage an employer might try to use against you. If you are told that filing a complaint will cost you your job, that threat itself points to conduct the law is designed to penalise. If a termination has already happened and you believe it was linked to your pregnancy or your complaint, that strengthens your case rather than ending it. The same logic applies to subtler forms of pressure: a sudden, unexplained move to push you out the door during or just after maternity leave is exactly the kind of timing a complaint can highlight. Keep dates, keep messages, and keep the sequence clear, because the timeline is often what tells the real story.

For the related scenario where an employer refuses to cancel your visa after you leave or are dismissed, see what to do when your employer will not cancel your visa. That problem frequently follows a disputed exit, and handling it through the same ministry channel keeps your file moving rather than stranded.

Please confirm the precise protections and any compensation figures with MOHRE, as these are applied case by case and the ministry has the final word on your file.

A clean, well-documented complaint moves faster and settles for the right amount. Before you raise anything with MOHRE, pull together:

• Your employment contract showing the wage breakdown (basic and allowances).
• Payslips for several months before your leave, so the normal full wage is clear, plus the payslips for the leave months that show the shortfall.
• Proof of the leave dates, such as the medical or delivery certificate and any written approval of the leave.
• Any written communication with HR or your manager about the maternity pay, including messages where you were told you would receive basic only, would have to use annual leave, or would be unpaid.
• Your Emirates ID and labour card details.

Calculate the gap before you file: full wage you were owed for 45 days, plus half wage for 15 days, minus what was actually paid. Our leave salary and notice calculator can help you arrive at a defensible figure. Keep the calculation simple and tied to your payslips, because that is what the ministry will reconcile against the registered contract.

It is worth turning the evidence list into a checklist you can tick off, because a complaint with gaps in its supporting documents tends to stall while the ministry asks for more. The table below sorts the documents into what is essential, what strengthens the case, and what to have on hand if it is requested.

Two tips on assembling the bundle. First, label and order the documents so the story reads in sequence: contract, then normal payslips, then leave proof, then the underpaid payslips, then your calculation. A reviewer who can follow the gap quickly is more likely to move the file. Second, submit clear copies and make sure names, dates, and the employer's registered name are consistent across everything, because inconsistencies are a common reason a straightforward wage claim stalls in clarification requests.

MOHRE handles private-sector labour disputes, and the maternity pay shortfall is exactly this type of dispute. The general process in 2026 works like this:

• Step 1: Raise it internally first. A short, dated written request to HR for the correct maternity pay creates a record and sometimes resolves the matter without escalation.
• Step 2: Register a labour complaint with MOHRE. You can do this through the MOHRE app, the MOHRE website, the call centre, or an authorised typing centre (Tasheel). You provide your details, the employer's details, and a description of the unpaid or underpaid maternity leave, with your evidence.
• Step 3: Amicable settlement stage. MOHRE assigns the case to its dispute team, which contacts both sides and tries to resolve it. The ministry generally aims to settle within a short statutory window of around 14 working days.
• Step 4: Referral to court if unresolved. If the employer does not respond or no agreement is reached, MOHRE refers the case onward with a memo so it can proceed to the labour court. Recent rules have streamlined this, with hearings scheduled quickly once a case is referred.
• Step 5: Resolution and payment. The outcome may be a settlement or a court decision directing the employer to pay the shortfall, and where relevant, compensation.

The table below restates the same flow in a form you can use to track where your case sits at any moment, along with the channel and the rough time you should allow for each stage.

The complaint itself is free to file. Confirm the current channels and exact timelines with MOHRE, as the ministry periodically updates its portals and procedures, including a newer instant complaint route for delayed or unpaid salaries that ties into the Wages Protection System.

Timelines vary with the complexity of the case and how the employer responds, but the broad shape is predictable:

• Internal request: give HR a few working days to respond before escalating.
• MOHRE amicable settlement: the ministry generally targets resolution within around 14 working days of the complaint being registered.
• Court referral: if no settlement is reached, the case is referred onward, and recent procedural changes mean an initial hearing can be scheduled quickly, in some cases within a few working days of referral.
• Final resolution: simple, well-documented wage claims tend to resolve fastest. Disputed facts or a non-responsive employer extend the timeline.

What pushes a case to the slow end of the range is almost always one of three things: an employer who does not respond, a factual dispute about what was agreed, or a thin evidence bundle that forces repeated clarification. You control the third of those directly, which is the strongest argument for doing the documents work up front. A complaint that arrives complete and reconciled to payslips gives the dispute team very little to argue about, and that is what keeps it inside the amicable window rather than spilling into a court referral.

There are also time limits for bringing labour claims, so do not sit on the issue. If you are weighing whether to file while still employed or after leaving, note that the anti-retaliation protection works in your favour either way. For figures and deadlines specific to your case, confirm with MOHRE.

Maternity-pay shortfalls rarely happen in isolation. While reviewing your file, watch for these adjacent issues, because resolving them together saves time:

• Labour ban threats. Some workers are warned they will face a ban if they push back. Bans are not automatic and can often be challenged. See how labour ban removal grievances work.
• Unemployment insurance fines. A lapsed ILOE subscription can block a visa renewal at the worst possible time. Read how an ILOE fine can block your visa renewal.
• Family visa salary thresholds. If you are also sponsoring your spouse or child, a misstated salary can cause a rejection. See family visa rejections for low salary and the workarounds.
• Newborn residency deadline. A new baby must be brought onto residency within a set window. Do not let the maternity-pay dispute distract from the 120-day newborn visa deadline.

Each of these has its own process, but they often share documents with your maternity complaint, so handling them in one pass is efficient. The newborn deadline in particular deserves a place on your calendar the moment the baby arrives, because the maternity dispute can absorb a lot of attention and it is easy to let the residency clock run down while you focus on the pay. Treat the two as parallel tracks rather than sequential ones.

Even a strong claim can be undercut by avoidable missteps. The mistakes below come up repeatedly, and each one is easy to sidestep once you know to watch for it.

The thread running through all of these is documentation and timing. The strongest position is one where every claim you make is tied to a document, every commitment from the employer is in writing, and you act before any deadline narrows your options. If you treat the maternity-pay issue as a paperwork exercise rather than an argument, you will usually find the paperwork does most of the persuading for you.

Filing a labour complaint while caring for a newborn is a lot to carry. Wathim is a done-for-you paperwork desk, and maternity-pay recovery is a service we handle end to end. We do not provide legal representation, and nothing here is legal advice, but we manage the administrative grievance process so you do not have to navigate the portals yourself.

What that looks like in practice:

• We review your contract, payslips, and leave records and calculate the exact shortfall for the 45 full-pay and 15 half-pay days.
• We prepare the MOHRE complaint with the supporting evidence assembled and labelled.
• We submit the grievance through the correct channel and track it through the amicable settlement stage.
• We keep you updated on responses and timelines, and flag the related issues above before they become problems.

The value, beyond saving you the hours on the portal, is in getting the figure right and the bundle clean the first time. A complaint that arrives reconciled to payslips, with the contract and the leave proof labelled in sequence, gives the dispute team a clear story to act on, and that is what tends to keep a case inside the amicable window. We also keep an eye on the adjacent files, the visa, the newborn deadline, the gratuity, so that resolving the maternity pay does not leave a different problem to surface a month later.

You can start with our work permit and labour services, and use the UAE gratuity calculator if you are also checking your end-of-service entitlement. Final entitlements and outcomes are determined by MOHRE and, where applicable, the labour court, so treat our figures as a well-supported starting point rather than a guarantee.