Companies across the UAE are extending paternity leave and embedding more support for new fathers in HR policies, workplace experts have told The National.
Under UAE labour law, fathers are entitled to five working days off, but many companies are offering significantly more.
One of the latest announcements came from Chalhoub Group. Last month, the luxury goods retailer extended paternity leave from 14 to 30 calendar days in eight countries in which it operates, including the UAE. This can be taken in one block or spread out within the first six months of a child’s birth.
The new policy puts Chalhoub Group within the region’s top 10 per cent of organisations for parental leave benefits, and earned it the Parent-friendly Label by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority.
It’s important to afford our new dads the time to be able to soak up the special moments, to help and to be present
Richard Stillgoe,
HR director at WSP Middle East
The group also offers parents and other staff flexible working hours, remote work options and an employee assistance programme that includes mental health support.
“Our people are our most valuable asset and, as we evolve, so do the ways in which we support them,” said Wassim Eid, the group’s president of people and culture.
“By implementing these parent-friendly policies, we can support our colleagues in their professional and personal lives and further attract talents from the region and across the world.”
Although comprehensive research into this area is lacking, various studies have shown that fathers taking time off work to help care for a newborn is good for bonding, the baby’s development and the parents’ relationship.
National development and employee engagement
A study by UN Women last year found high support (86 per cent among respondents) for expanded paternity leave policies throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
Seventy-six per cent of men surveyed believed they spent too little time with their children, which reflects a 2020 UN Women study that found men in Arab countries invested one hour in care for every 4.7 hours by women, the highest imbalance globally.
Susanne Mikhail Eldhagen, regional director of UN Women for the Arab States, emphasised that increased parental leave seeks to “enable men to spend more time with their children, which in turn enables women’s participation in the paid labour force, hence increasing overall well-being of children as well as increasing the family income and, consequently, national economic and social development”.
Viachelsav Shakhov, a managing partner at GCC recruitment agency Cooper Fitch, said while paternity leave policies are still not one of the major factors for jobseekers, candidates are beginning to place more emphasis on non-financial benefits, “which include paternity leave in particular”.
“Such policies tend to increase employee engagement, which could then further impact the business positively,” he told The National. “In today’s competitive talent market, such policies become an important part of the employee value proposition.”
Leave duration is not the only way to support new fathers, he added. “Flexible work arrangements also contribute positively as an employee can spend more time with the newborn and family.
"In other GCC countries, we’ve seen some organisations providing cash rewards for each newborn.”
'Mums need help'
Richard Stillgoe, HR director at professional services consulting firm WSP Middle East, took one week off when his twin girls were born a little over a year ago, in line with UAE labour law.
“It became quickly apparent to me that we needed to do more in this space for our future fathers,” he told The National. “They grow up so fast and mums need help. It’s important to afford our new dads the time to be able to soak up the special moments, to help and to be present.”
His company has since announced it is extending its paternity leave policy to 10 working days this year, which can be used at any time within the first year of their child’s birth.
It also offers four additional remote-working weeks that can be used as needed and a return-to-work programme will be set up imminently, allowing flexibility to employees who have taken extended leave.
“This includes counselling to help [fathers] navigate parenthood and adjust to the seismic shift this can have on their lives,” said Mr Stillgoe.
“We will also provide a lean-in group for returning fathers so that they have a network of like-minded people around them to help embrace the shared experience of becoming new dads.
"Can we do more still? Absolutely."
Up to 26 weeks paternity leave
S&P Global, a US financial information and analytics company, have offered 26 weeks of paid parental leave globally since January 2022, meaning it has one of the best such policies in the region.
“Once parents return to work, we also offer flexible ‘recharge’ time, under which there is no prescribed maximum amount of paid time off our people can take, provided they are fulfilling the duties of their role,” said Dimitra Manis, the company’s chief purpose officer.
Parents are able to work in a hybrid model, between the office and their home, and the company also has health and well-being programmes, as well as a people resource group tailored to parents.
“Career-minded parents and caregivers have space to discuss topics essential to successful families and careers, and advocate solutions that improve outcomes for communities, families and children,” said Ms Manis.
“Having a child is a significant moment for both parents and we are committed to providing the support they need to successfully navigate this meaningful journey into parenthood.
“We believe that this helps both parents integrate their new roles while advancing work-life balance and career satisfaction.”
Elsewhere, technology giant Microsoft offers six weeks paid leave for new fathers in the UAE, including adoptive parents, which can be used all at once or split into two segments where they take four weeks at once, followed by the remaining two at a later date.
“The policy remains unchanged for multiple births, ensuring that fathers are able to meet the needs of their families as they grow,” said Zeina Fakhry, Microsoft's HR director for the Middle East.
“This will provide them with valuable time to bond with their newborn child or welcome an adopted one into their families and adjust to the demands of parenthood.”
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The biog
Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.
Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs: 2018 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE
Price, base / as tested: Dh263,235 / Dh420,000
Engine: 3.0-litre supercharged V6
Power 375hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque: 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.4L / 100kms
Spec%20sheet
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
THE SPECS
Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 518bhp
Torque: 625Nm
Speed: 0-100kmh 5.3 seconds
Price: Dh633,435
On sale: now
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
