A new UAE law, doubling paternity leave, went into effect on January 1, 2026, and governs more than 25,000 employees across Abu Dhabi’s government entities.
Under the Human Resources Law No. 8 of 2025, paternity leave has been doubled from three days to six, according to Emarat Al Youm. The entitlement rises to 16 days for fathers of twins or multiple births.
The increase puts Abu Dhabi government fathers among the best-supported categories of employees in the country when it comes to paternity leave.
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While parental leave in the federal and private sectors typically stands at five working days, Abu Dhabi’s new six-day baseline, doubling to 16 for multiple births, is among the most generous paternity provisions in the country’s public sector.
The law also expands flexible and remote work arrangements, giving fathers more room to adjust their schedules around different stages of family life, whether that means a new baby at home, school-age children, or ageing parents who need care.
Key leave entitlements
Paternity leave is one part of a wider package of 15 categories of leaves introduced under the law. These include:
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Annual leave: 22 to 30 days, depending on job grade
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Paternity leave: 6 days (16 for twins or multiple births)
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Marriage leave: 10 days
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Childbirth and adoption leave: 3 months each
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Bereavement leave: 10 days
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Hajj leave: Up to 15 days
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Work injury leave: 12 days
People of Determination receive an additional five working days on top of their standard annual leave entitlement. Employees can find the full list of provisions through DGE’s published executive regulation for Law No. 8 of 2025.
The initiative also ties into the UAE’s Year of Family 2026, under which the government has rolled out a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening family cohesion, from an extension of the Nafis programme to 2040, to group weddings for hundreds of Emirati grooms, to a new Family Care Authority centre in Al Dhafra.
For Abu Dhabi’s government workforce, the new HR law is being positioned as one of the more concrete expressions of that agenda, giving fathers measurable additions to their leave entitlements.
Source: Khaleej Times