July 19, 2025 | Dubai, UAE: Regarding the Dubai Marriage Leave, in a milestone move to harmonize family life and enhance personal happiness, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, signed the new decree to allow official Dubai marriage leave for UAE government workers.

The decree, effective from 1 January 2025, provides eligible Emirati staff with 10 days of full pay marriage leave. The policy ensures the psychological and social balance of married couples as well as complements the UAE’s overall initiative to promote family values and offer nurturing working environments in the public sector of the UAE.

The Dubai marriage leave policy also applies to Emirati civil servants, special development and free zone authorities—like the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). It also applies to members of the Emirati judiciary and armed forces deployed within the emirate.

The government has assured that this step in the right direction is being taken to foster family harmony and facilitate young Emiratis to start their marriage with more emotional and practical assistance.

Conditions and Entitlements Under Dubai Marriage Leave Policy

Emirati workers seeking Dubai marriage leave must satisfy the following conditions:

The applicant must be a Dubai government employee or associated institution or be an Emirati national.
The spouse of the employee must be a UAE national.
The employee should have finished the probation period of his organization without any complaints.
The marriage contract should have been duly attested by the relevant UAE authority and should have been signed after December 31, 2024.

During availing the authorized Dubai marriage leave, the employees are eligible for their gross salary in full inclusive of all allowances and monetary benefits admissible under his relevant human resources law.

The leave can be taken continuously or periodically, and the liberty is given to the employees to schedule the leave as per family and personal needs. The employee is entitled to take the days of leave within one year from the date of marriage.

The government departments also authorize carrying Dubai marriage leave forward to the subsequent calendar year if the employee provides corroborative reasons and takes approval from his/her immediate supervisor.

Job Security, Flexibility, and Exceptional Cases Handled

Government departments never allow recalling of employees during their Dubai marriage leave duration, promoting uninterrupted personal time—except for military staff. Military employees can be recalled during the leave period. Recall period is served by military employees after which they can resume unused Dubai marriage leave.

Apart from this, if an employee is summoned for national or reserve duty while on Dubai marriage leave or is not able to avail the leave because of such obligations, then such unavailed days may be brought forward. This being said, these days should be availed within a year of resumption of work for duty.

Interestingly, the decree protects marriage leave benefits for government job transfers. Where an employee is transferred or reposted to some other government department before the date on which he or she would have taken his or her marriage leave, the employee is entitled to the remaining number of days that fall within the cover of the Dubai marriage leave policy.

This measure reflects Dubai’s growing emphasis on human capital, social development, and sustainable employee well-being. By supporting young Emiratis at the onset of married life, the government reaffirms its role in promoting social cohesion alongside professional fulfillment.

The Dubai Government Human Resources Department has welcomed the decision and will begin integrating the marriage leave provisions into internal HR frameworks across public sector bodies in preparation for implementation in 2025.

Government officials mentioned that the decree is part of national efforts towards empowering Emiratis by providing them with integrated work and family support systems.