Leave and Holidays

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It is the policy of the University to grant leave with pay to provide employees an opportunity for rest and relaxation. This helps employees maintain their personal health and well being needed for continued efficient performance at work. The University also believes in granting other types of leave on humanitarian and other grounds in line with its employee welfare oriented approach.
Leave on full pay covers payment of salary and other benefits where applicable.

Official Holidays:

All National or religious holidays declared by the UAE Government are considered public holidays for employees. However, the University reserves the right to request employees to work on such days.

Employees will be notified of the specific dates of Government declared holidays as much in advance as possible. But since religious holidays are declared as per lunar calculations, it is not always possible for AUS to give much advance notice.

The official holidays observed by the University are:

Hijra New Year (1st Muharam)
New Year's Day (1st January)
Eid Al Fitr (Shawwal)
Eid Al Adha (Al Hijjah)
Prophet's Birthday (12th Rabi Al Awal)
Prophet's Ascension Day (27th Rajab)
UAE National Day (2nd December)

On a few unanticipated occasions, the University may have to close its doors, usually for a day or more, in compliance with the conventions of the community. This specifically refers to certain mourning days declared by the Government of Sharjah.

Holy Month of Ramadan:

During the Holy Month of Ramadan, the normal working hours are reduced from 8 to 6 hours per day or 30 hours per week.

Annual Leave:

The University grants annual leave of 33 working days with full pay per calendar year to non academic full-time employees. The leave policy applies to all AUS non academic employees; it does not, however, supersede contractual obligations with any individual. After three months of satisfactory service, an employee can apply for the prorated number of annual leave days earned up to that point. With the Department Director's approval, employees may take any part of their leave entitlement on more than one occasion provided the employee has completed his/her three months of service.

When an official holiday falls during an employee's annual leave, on a day or days that would normally have been work days, the leave period is extended by that number of days.

If a public holiday falls during leave other than the annual leave it is not compensated for in any manner.

Sickness, official holidays and periods of official mourning occurring during leave periods (other than annual leave) do not automatically result in leave extension.

Time spent on approved University business or training during leave is also not considered as part of the leave.

An employee who is unable to resume work as scheduled is required to immediately advise the Human Resources Department and request leave extension. It is the employee's responsibility to provide immediate notification and receive permission for the delay. The HR Department will require the employee's formal justification for the delay, and will decide the appropriate course of action to be followed after investigating each case. If, in the University's judgement, the delay is caused by circumstances beyond the employee's control, the additional days are debited against current, or future, leave balances. If the employee's reasons for the delay in returning to work are not acceptable to the University, the overstayed period is treated as leave without pay and disciplinary action may be invoked, up to and including dismissal (see Section on Disciplinary/Corrective Action Policy in Chapter 3 of this manual).

Annual Leave Scheduling:

At all times, in determining annual leave schedules, the operational requirements of the University must be considered. Employees' leave periods should be decided according to the needs of the University as well as the employees themselves. It is the Department head's responsibility to carry out appropriate leave planning in advance to strike the right balance between employee needs and work requirements.

Leave Salary:

Leave salary will be paid in advance if the employee applies for accrued annual leave in excess of 10 working days. If the leave period is less than 10 working days, salary for the period will be processed along with the monthly payroll. Unless the HR Department is otherwise advised, salary for the leave period will automatically be credited to the employee's designated bank account ahead of the vacation start date.

Leave salary will include basic pay plus any cash allowances paid on a monthly basis and will be paid for the entire period of leave taken. The HR Department must receive leave applications at least 3 weeks (Three weeks) Before the commencement of leave.

Leave Related Payments:

Salary advances against leave will be credited to the employee's account no earlier than two weeks prior to the commencement of annual leave.

All expatriate employees and eligible dependents who are entitled to leave air tickets will receive such tickets through the most direct and economical route for UAE/point of origin/UAE travel. Class of travel is economy.

By current policy, employees in grade 10 and above are entitled to annual leave tickets for themselves and eligible dependents. Employees in grades 7 through 9 are entitled to annual leave tickets for themselves only.
For the purposes of this policy, eligible dependents are the spouse and up to three children who have been in residence in Sharjah for a period of not less than one academic semester. All eligible children are entitled to Child Class fares

Annual leave tickets may be applied for only once in each employment year and not less than six months from the beginning of each employment year.

All travel paid for by AUS must be arranged by AUS and encashments, if any, will be based on the best rates obtained by AUS.

Leave Accumulation:

As a policy, AUS encourages employees to avail of the entire duration of annual leave to their credit. At times, however, operational considerations or pressing work matters may not allow an employee to avail of the entire accrued leave. In such cases, employees are allowed to carry over only 7 working days of leave to the next year.

Encashment of Leave:

The provision for annual leave is intended to give employees a chance to rest and recoup their energies. As such AUS does not encourage encashment of leave. Under no circumstances will encashment of leave be considered "routine". However the administration recognizes that unforeseen circumstances could require certain employees to work during the period in which they would normally take their leave. In such instances, encashment of leave will be permitted up to a maximum of 10 working days, with written recommendation from the respective employee's Department Head, duly endorsed by the HR Director and approved by the respective administrative authority, i.e. the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs / Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, as applicable.

Encashment is not an entitlement and as such may be refused if circumstances warrant refusal. Employees are definitely encouraged to utilize their entire leave for the year and use the opportunity to rejuvenate themselves annually.

Unforeseen Hospitalization during Leave

Periods of unforeseen in-patient hospitalization occurring during annual leave may be compensated by corresponding additional leave days at the discretion of the University. To be eligible for consideration, the employee must have been admitted as an in-patient and produce authenticated medical reports showing the number of days of admission in a hospital, certified by competent medical officers and endorsed by the AUS University Health Center.

Employees must formally notify the University in advance and as soon as possible if their return from leave is delayed because of sickness which entails hospital admission. Overstaying in these circumstances must be supported by medical certificates and the question of whether the period of absence is to be paid or unpaid will be determined in each individual case by the AUS University Health Center in consultation with the Human Resources Department.

Additional days of leave under this provision will be allowed provided they are taken before the end of the individual's employment year.

Reductions to Leave:

Employees will have their leave entitlement reduced proportionately for the following reasons:

" Absence without permission
" Absence without pay
" Unworked notice period on termination

Sick Leave:

The University grants full-time employees leave of absence with or without pay to provide for time-off from the job while they are undergoing medical care. Periods of sick leave, as a result of non-occupational sickness, must be authorized by the university health center through a sickness report copied to the Human Resources Department and the employee's department.

Employees are eligible for paid sick leave as follows:

" Eight (8) working days during the first year of service at full pay
" Fourteen (14) working days per year of service thereafter at full pay
" An additional thirty (30) calendar days at half pay
" An additional thirty (30) calendar days without pay

Following the period of thirty days without pay noted above, the employee's services will end by way of separation on medical grounds.

The HR Director must approve all additional sick days beyond the first eight or fourteen day period described above.

Sick leave accrued under this policy can be accumulated up to a total of 60 working days.
Sick leave is not an entitlement and cannot be encashed. It is to be used only in cases where the employee is suffering from a genuine non-occupational sickness or injury that makes it impossible for him or her to come to work. Employees are responsible for notifying supervisors as early as possible about any absence for this reason. Employees are also responsible for obtaining approval for each absence through the Medical Services Department.

Occupational Sickness

An employee who suffers from a disabling occupational disease or work-related injury is eligible for occupational sick leave. The employee receives full pay during the treatment period or for six months, whichever is shorter. If treatment extends beyond six months, the University keeps the employee on half pay. The reduced pay continues for a further maximum period of six months or until full recovery, whichever occurs earlier.

Maternity Leave:

The University grants maternity leave to full-time female employees.
In order to be eligible for maternity leave with full pay, the employee must have completed, at the time of expected delivery, at least twelve (12) consecutive months' full-time accredited service with the University. In the event of a period of service of less than 12 months, the maternity leave will be at half pay. The period of leave with full or half pay is 45 calendar days (inclusive of both pre and postnatal leave). At the end of these 45 calendar days, an extension of leave up to an additional 45 consecutive or interrupted days without pay may be granted if the employee suffers from an illness associated with childbirth.
Maternity leave period dates shall be considered as determined by the University's Director of Medical Services in consultation with the employee's attending medical doctors.

When an employee delivers while she is on annual leave, she is still eligible for maternity leave, and the 45 days begin at the birth of the child. The remainder of the annual leave period shall not be deducted if maternity leave starts during annual leave.

Housing and other non-work related allowances will continue to be paid during maternity leave whether the employee is granted leave with pay or half pay. This applies even during extended leave, if granted to the employee.

For the purpose of feeding the baby. Female employees can take one hour a day for a period of two months. The time taken must be made up.

Compassionate Leave

The University grants compassionate leave with pay to employees in cases of death of the employee's father, mother, spouse or children, sibling or any blood relative deemed by the University to be of similar close relationship. Leave is allowed for the period of:

Up to 3 working days compassionate leave with pay: Within UAE

Up to 5 working days compassionate leave with pay: Outside UAE

If the family member's death occurs at a time close to an employee's annual leave eligibility, the employee shall be granted the earned annual leave airfare, and will be granted extra leave up to five (5) working days in addition to the annual leave days.

Additional days may be obtained on request by the employee and at the University's discretion. They are debited against the employee's leave credit or considered as leave without pay.

Compassionate leave is granted subject to production of evidence of both its necessity and genuineness. It applies only when the employee is serving in Sharjah. If the mishap occurs whilst on annual leave, compassionate leave is not granted.

Haj (Pilgrimage) Leave:

All Muslim employees are entitled to Haj Leave of 21 calendar days. Haj leave days beyond seven (7) calendar days will be without pay. An employee is eligible for Haj Leave only once during the tenure of service. The duration of Haj leave will be considered as an accredited service.

Marriage Leave

Unmarried UAE National employees are granted marriage leave of five (5) working days on the occasion of their marriage. This leave entitlement will be over and above their annual leave entitlement and would be granted only once during the UAE employee tenure of service.

Compensatory Time Off

Employees are sometimes required for duty outside scheduled workdays. When employees are asked to work on rest days and official holidays, they may be given compensatory time off.

Compensatory time off is 1 day off for each day worked and, when given, serves as recognition of the dedication exhibited by staff not eligible for overtime pay. Employees may be granted compensatory time as local leave in the form of days off. All such compensatory time off is solely at the discretion of the Director or Dean.

Leave of Absence

Leave of absence is granted to protect continuity of service in such instances as extended illness or personal business.

The granting or denial of leave of absence and determination as to whether the leave of absence should be without salary and benefits will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The decision to grant such leave may be made only by the Chancellor on the recommendation of the Director of Human Resources. Once authorized, such leave of absence of less than 45 calendar days duration shall not affect the employee's continued service or service related benefits. If it is more than 45 calendar days, the full duration will be considered as leave without pay. Hence, not accredited service.

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