Predated Sick Leave No Longer Accepted in Dubai

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has just announced new rules stating that predated sick leave for three consecutive days or more can no longer be obtained.

As a result, patients can only be issued sick leaves on the same day they visit a medical facility. They can no longer get it for previous days.

Doctors and other medical staff have been urged to comply and not to give any patients predated sick leaves.

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This new rule has been implemented as of Saturday, April 29th and it affects both public and private healthcare facilities.

According to the Director of Health Regulation Department, Dr. Marwan Al Mulla, the electronic system Sharian has already been reprogrammed to refuse any predated sick leaves.

Other upcoming changes

There are currently other system standards and guidelines being developed for healthcare facilities and physicians to allow for transparency.

For instance, there will be a smart integrated electronic system which links all external parties responsible for licensing healthcare facilities and medical staff. Other projects include the Dubai Health Registry and licensing standards for health professionals.

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Currently, the DHA’s examinations are valid for one year and there are no exemptions for dentists or specialists who have particular European certificates. This policy is expected to change, extending the validity to five years instead of one and also exempting dentists from the assessment when certain requirements are met.

The exemptions will also include specialists and consultants with European certificates from several countries, including Germany, France, Sweden and Italy.

The aim behind these updates is to simplify the process of licensing for doctors from developed countries and as a result, make it more appealing for them to work in Dubai.

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With the current policies, doctors with experience that doesn’t conform to the UAE State Professional licensing Manual get rejected right away. With the new updates, doctors who have unique professional qualifications needed in the Emirate will be able to get licensed. 

Sick leave 

As per the UAE Labour Law, each employee is allowed the following after the probation period:

• The first 15 days with full pay
• The following 30 days with half pay
• The following periods without pay up to a maximum of 90 days a year