In his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, Vice President and Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has issued Law No (18) of 2017 partially amending Law No (6) of 2012 pertaining to HR polices applied on police, civil defense and immigration officers.

The new amendment aims at providing better work environment for officers, most particularly mothers officers. The new Law amends articles (88), (107) and (122) of original Law regarding all types of leaves.

Article (88), as amended, defines all leaves granted to officers under this Law, including annual leaves, sick leaves, maternity leaves, paternity leaves, bereavement leaves, Haj leaves, emergency leaves, study leaves, leaves without pay and administrative leaves.

Article (107) prescribes the maternity leave and breastfeeding breaks for female officers. The Article states that female officer may benefit from a 90 days paid leave, starting of the date of childbirth and she may apply for this leave within 30 days from the date expected for childbirth, conditionally the leave is continues. The medical committee may postpone the maternity leave for a maximum of three months if any medical case occurs. The mother officer may join her maternity leave with any other leave prescribed in this Law, conditionally the entire leave does not exceed 120 days. If the newborn child passed away during the maternity leave then the leave is cancelled. In such case, the officer may apply for a 60 days birth leave or administrative leaves, whichever longer.

If a miscarriage occur before the 24th week of pregnancy, the female officer may duly apply for a sick leave, if the miscarriage occur after the 24th week or the newborn baby was dead then the officer will receive a 60 days leave. If the newborn is a baby with disability, the mother officer may benefit from a one year paid leave, conditionally she receives approval from the medical committee and the Director-General may add another 6 months or otherwise until the child is three years old.

According to the Law, the female officer may enjoy a 2 hours breastfeeding break daily, and she may benefit from this break in the beginning and end of her shift. The breastfeeding break starts from the child’s birth and continues for one year, and the break is not applicable during Ramadan unless the mother officer is on shift routine. Weekends and official holidays are considered part of the maternity leave.

Article (122) states that officers may not apply for paid examinations leaves. The officer that resigns or terminated for any reason during the examination period does not receive any annual leave for the period he or she worked for the department. The new Law is applicable on the current cases of maternity leaves and breastfeeding break and officers may benefit from it duly.

This Law is valid from the date of issuance and to be published in the Official Gazette.