The Ministry of Civil Service confirmed that employers must approve annual leave requests by employees, but are permitted to delay the leave request for a period of no more than 90 days from the date of the request if work conditions necessitate. The employer is also responsible for making alternative arrangements and guaranteeing that another employee will carry out the work during an employee’s period of leave.

Employees are entitled to 36 days of full-paid annual leave for each year of service with full pay, and this salary may be provided in advance if the period of requested leave amounts to one month or more. Employees are permitted to this leave annually, either in full or in segments, but must be taken for a period of at least five days.

The ministry said that it is not permissible to extend leave more than once, nor delay leave for more than three years. Employees are required to take at least 36 days of leave during a three-year period, and employers should provide employees with the opportunity to enjoy their leave annually as per a schedule that is consistent with work activities.

According to the ministry, in case an employee does not request for taking his annual leave, the employer should issue a decision granting leave without first obtaining consent from the employee, and should inform the employee of the decision. The employee must make use of leave days accordingly in order to avoid having the days deducted from total accrued annual leave, as well as lose the right to claim these days at a later time or be denied leave compensation at the end of service.