Does unused annual leave expire in the UAE or must it be paid out?

An internal policy cannot erase what the law guarantees. The starting point under the UAE Labour Law is that annual leave should be used in the year it falls due, and carrying days over or cashing them out during service is something the employer can regulate by agreement. But two things cut against a blanket forfeited-in-December rule. First, whatever happens during employment, leave you have legally accrued and not taken must be paid out when the employment ends, calculated on basic salary — a policy cannot delete that. Second, forfeiture is hard to defend where the employer itself stopped you taking leave: you did not skip your days, the company was short-staffed and needed you at your desk, and that context matters in any dispute. So put it in writing now: email HR setting out the leave you requested or could not take and why, and ask for carryover or encashment. Keep copies — that record protects your end-of-service calculation later. If HR holds the line, a MOHRE complaint is the route. It would be sensible to have a licensed UAE lawyer look at the policy wording before you escalate.