UAE Labour / Employment LawCabinet Resolution No. (12) of 2023 Concerning the Freelance Work Leave for Employees of the Federal Government

Article (1) For the purpose of applying the provisions of this Resolution, and unless the context requires otherwise, the following words and expressions shall have the meanings assigned thereto respectively: Federal Entity : Any ministry established in accordance with Federal Law No. (1) of 1972 concerning the Competences of Ministries and the Powers of Ministers, as amended, as well as any authority, institution or regulatory agencies affiliated to the Federal Government. Head of the Federal Entity : The Minister, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Head of the Entity, or the like, as the case may be.

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Cabinet Resolution of 2023 Concerning Full-Time Self-Employment Leave for Federal Government Employees 2 Employee : The national employee who occupies one of the positions mentioned in the budget of the Federal entity, exclusive of temporary or part-time employment contracts. Citizen : A person who holds the nationality of the United Arab Emirates. Authority : The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources. Leave : The full-time self-employment leave.

Article (4) Conditions and Controls for Granting the Leave In order for the leave to be granted, the following conditions shall be met: 1. The employee’s purpose of the leave shall be to establish his economic enterprise in the private sector, manage an existing enterprise or participate with others in establishing an economic enterprise. 2. The employee shall obtain the necessary licenses for his economic enterprise from the competent authorities in the State, has documents proving that he has initiated or is initiating the procedures necessary for obtaining the required licenses, or prove that he has a previous

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Cabinet Resolution of 2023 Concerning Full-Time Self-Employment Leave for Federal Government Employees 3 enterprise that he wishes to manage by himself or is a partner with others in an economic enterprise. 3. The criteria contained in the manuals issued by the Authority in coordination with the Ministry of Economy shall be met. 4. The percentage or number prescribed by the Federal Entity to grant its employee this leave shall be complied with as determined by the Authority. 5. The employee shall have obtained a performance evaluation not less than 2 or its equivalent by his employer. 6. The employee's total period of service in the entities he has worked for (Federal or local) shall not be less than (5) five years. 7. The employee shall have performed the national service or have evidence of his status. 8. The employee shall not be committed to service for his employer due to dispatch on a study mission, unless the employer decides otherwise. 9. The employee shall satisfy any other additional conditions or controls set by his employer. 10. The employee shall undertake not to use the channels, electronic means, or other means available to his employer to promote his economic enterprise.

Article (5) Duration of Leave and Allocations 1. The leave shall be granted to the employee once only throughout the period of his service in the federal government. The duration of such leave shall be one (1) year, during which the employee shall receive 50% of their total salary. Allowances and benefits associated with the position shall not be disbursed, with the exception of the Child Allowance, which shall be paid in accordance with the approved rules throughout the duration of the leave. 2. The Head of the entity may, based on the results of the project and in a manner consistent with the interest of work, extend the leave for a maximum period of one additional year, with the same financial allocations set out in clause (1) of this Article. 3. The federal entity may benefit from the remaining portion of the financial allocations

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Cabinet Resolution of 2023 Concerning Full-Time Self-Employment Leave for Federal Government Employees 4 approved for the leave during the two-year period. 4. The federal entity shall obtain the approval of the Cabinet prior to granting leave to employees holding positions of undersecretary, director general, assistant undersecretary, or chief executive officer of a federal entity, or their equivalent.

Article (6) bis Obligations of Federal Entities Federal entities shall comply with the following: 1. Undertaking prior financial planning to ensure coverage of the financial costs arising from the granting of the leave, within the limits of the approved financial appropriations in their respective budgets. 2. Not requesting the creation of new positions to appoint a replacement for the employee granted leave. 3. Refraining from reappointing the employee benefiting from the leave in their entity or any other federal entity, if they resign after the leave, and a period of two years has not elapsed from the date of resignation. 4. Bearing the financial costs arising from the employee’s return to work after the end of the leave, from its approved budget, without requesting any additional financial allocations.

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Cabinet Resolution of 2023 Concerning Full-Time Self-Employment Leave for Federal Government Employees 5

Article (10) General Provisions 1. During the leave period, the employee shall be subject to the provisions of Law of Human Resources in the Federal Government and its Executive Regulations, and all the resolutions issued based thereon. 2. During the leave, the employee shall not be entitled to the annual leave or any type of promotion, incentives, bonuses, or any other type of leave or promotions.

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Cabinet Resolution of 2023 Concerning Full-Time Self-Employment Leave for Federal Government Employees 6 3. Official holidays or any other holidays during the leave period shall be considered as part of it and the employee shall not be granted an extension or compensation therefor. 4. The employee's participation in retirement shall continue throughout the leave period where the leave period shall be considered as a continuous period of service of the employee. Further, the employee's monthly retirement deduction shall continue on the basis of calculating the employee's contribution salary before obtaining the leave, and the employee shall assume his contribution rate. The employer shall transfer all the monthly contributions due from him to the General Pension and Social Security Authority on the scheduled dates. 5. After the end of the leave period, the employee shall return to his original job in the Federal Entity, or to any other job approved by the employer, as required by the interest of work.