Sharjah Approves Fully Paid ‘Care Leave’ for Mothers Caring for Sick or Disabled Children After Maternity Leave

Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah and a senior member of the Supreme Council, has approved a new government-wide leave policy known as “Care Leave.” The measure, unveiled through an official WAM report and communications on Sharjah’s Direct Line platform, aims to provide extended, fully paid leave to female employees who give birth to a child with a medical condition or a disability that necessitates constant care and companionship. The policy, set to follow after the completion of maternity leave, can be extended with the approval of the relevant authority, signaling a significant step in the Sharjah government’s approach to employee welfare and family support. The announcement was made during a live broadcast on Sharjah Radio and Television, where Abdullah Ibrahim Al Zaabi, the Chairman of the Sharjah Department of Human Resources, outlined the policy’s core framework and its practical implications for workers and departments across the emirate. The policy is designed to ensure that mothers who face the additional burden of caring for a child with ongoing medical needs can balance their professional responsibilities with essential family duties, while the state provides a robust, structured mechanism to support such arrangements. This introductory summary presents a detailed, structured examination of Care Leave, its provisions, governance, workplace impact, and the broader context within which Sharjah’s public sector is evolving its approach to leave entitlements and human resources management.

Overview of the Care Leave Policy in Sharjah Government

Care Leave represents a formal addition to Sharjah’s government leave policies, specifically targeting scenarios in which a mother’s child is born with a medical condition or a disability that requires consistent, long-term care. The policy places a premium on ensuring that the child’s needs are met while preserving the mother’s continued engagement with the workforce. The policy triggers after the standard maternity leave period, thereby creating a continuous leave sequence that begins with maternity leave and transitions into care leave. Importantly, the leave is fully paid, thereby removing the financial strain that could otherwise accompany extended time away from work and enabling the employee to devote attention to caregiving responsibilities without sacrificing remuneration.

A key feature of the policy is its structured eligibility and extension framework. The entitlement is explicitly tied to the birth of a child with a medical condition or disability that requires constant care and companionship. This specificity ensures that the policy targets cases with clear, demonstrable needs, while maintaining a consistent standard across departments. The initial period of care leave lasts one year of full pay following the conclusion of maternity leave, which provides a stable foundation for families navigating early years of medical care and support. Beyond this initial year, the policy allows for annual extensions for up to three additional years, contingent on the approval of the relevant authority and the submission of ongoing medical documentation that substantiates the child’s continued need for care.

In practical terms, the policy envisions a phased approach to leave that aligns with the child’s health trajectory. If the child’s medical condition or disability remains persistent or emerges as a long-term requirement for care, extensions can be sought each year. Conversely, should there be an improvement in the child’s health, the relevant authority can terminate the care leave based on medical recommendations. This provision ensures that the policy remains flexible and responsive to changes in the child’s medical status, while upholding the rights and interests of both the employee and the organization. The policy also integrates with the broader performance management framework: the employee’s performance during care leave continues to be evaluated according to the standard performance management system, ensuring accountability and ongoing alignment with organizational goals.

The policy’s operational framework includes important checks and references: a medical report from an authorized medical body is required to establish the need for continued care and to justify extensions. The care leave is counted as part of the employee’s total long service in the organization, which preserves the continuity of service records and future eligibility for benefits tied to total years of service. For cases that exceed the three-year extension mark, the policy requires referral to the Higher Committee for Human Resources, ensuring governance oversight and consistency in decision-making across departments. These elements work collectively to provide clarity, precedence, and equity in how care leave is granted, extended, or terminated, while reinforcing the principle that caregiving demands are a legitimate and protected factor within the public sector employment framework.

Finally, the policy’s public significance is underscored by the formal announcement from the Sharjah Department of Human Resources and the involvement of the emirate’s top leadership in signaling a strong official commitment to supporting families. The care leave policy is positioned as a strategic component of Sharjah’s human resources strategy, reflecting a broader emphasis on employee welfare, gender equity, and the social responsibilities of government employers. The policy’s development and communication through the Direct Line program illustrate the government’s intent to engage with public audiences directly, explaining not only the what and how of the policy but also the rationale behind its introduction. As such, the care leave policy is more than a procedural change; it is a reflection of Sharjah’s ongoing evolution in creating a workplace environment that acknowledges caregiving challenges and fosters long-term workforce participation among mothers who face the demands of raising a child with special medical needs.

Key Provisions and Operational Details

The Care Leave policy is underpinned by a set of clearly defined provisions designed to ensure fairness, predictability, and administrative ease for both employees and the organizations that employ them. At its core, the policy stipulates that a female employee who has given birth to a child with a medical condition or disability necessitating constant care is eligible for fully paid care leave, provided that this leave follows immediately after the end of maternity leave. The financial protection aspect—full pay during care leave—represents a deliberate measure to relieve the financial pressure associated with extended caregiving responsibilities, enabling mothers to focus on essential caregiving without the burden of wage reduction or financial instability.

The first major provision is the requirement for a medical report. To qualify for care leave, the employee must submit a medical report from an authorized medical body. This report serves as the evidentiary basis for the leave request, confirming the child’s medical condition or disability and the ongoing need for constant care and companionship. The emphasis on an authorized medical body ensures that the evaluation process adheres to professional standards and maintains consistency across cases. In practice, this means that the employee will need to secure documentation from recognized clinical authorities, which will then be reviewed by the relevant authority to determine eligibility and appropriate duration of leave.

The initial duration of care leave is one year with full pay, commencing after maternity leave has concluded. This one-year period provides a substantial window for families to establish routines, coordinate care, and attend to medical appointments and therapies without the added pressure of imminent return-to-work obligations. The policy allows for an extension, with annual renewals permitted for up to three additional years. Each extension is contingent on the submission of a supporting medical report and the approval of the relevant authority. The ability to extend on an annual basis is intended to reflect the dynamic nature of caregiving needs, which can fluctuate over time as a child’s medical condition evolves, and as treatment regimens and caregiving requirements change.

If the child’s health improves to a level that no longer requires constant care, the authority may terminate the care leave based on medical recommendations. This provision introduces a structured exit pathway that recognizes medical improvement while safeguarding the employee’s rights to remain engaged with the workforce when appropriate. It also emphasizes the linkage between medical status and leave duration, reinforcing the principle that leave provisions should be proportionate to the actual caregiving needs of the family.

Employee performance during care leave will be evaluated within the existing performance management framework. This ensures that even during extended caregiving periods, employees remain accountable to organizational standards and continue to contribute to the success of their departments in ways that are feasible given caregiving responsibilities. The policy preserves the continuity of performance expectations and allows for appropriate accommodations in light of caregiving demands, thereby balancing personal needs with organizational objectives.

For cases where care leave exceeds three years, the policy requires referral to the Higher Committee for Human Resources. This mechanism provides an additional governance layer to review exceptional circumstances, ensuring consistency and fairness in handling extended caregiving cases. The Higher Committee serves to assess whether continued leave remains warranted and to determine the appropriate course of action in alignment with the policy’s ethical, legal, and administrative principles.

Finally, the policy confirms that care leave is counted as part of the employee’s total service. This means that the time spent on care leave contributes to the employee’s overall tenure, ensuring that long-term service benefits and recognition for loyalty and commitment are preserved. The integration of care leave into total service underscores the government’s commitment to maintaining an accurate and comprehensive record of an employee’s time with the organization, even when that time is spent in caregiving duties.

In summary, the key provisions lay out a clear pathway: eligibility is anchored in the child’s medical condition and care needs; a medical report from an authorized body is required; the initial leave is one year of full pay; extensions can be sought annually for up to three more years; termination can occur if health improves; performance continues to be evaluated under standard frameworks; the Higher Committee for Human Resources handles cases beyond three years; and the leave counts toward total service. Together, these provisions create a structured, transparent, and flexible approach to care leave, recognizing caregiving as an essential element of personal well-being and organizational health.

Operational steps and decision flow

• The employee obtains a medical report from an authorized medical body confirming the child’s condition and ongoing care needs.

• The employee submits the care leave request to the relevant authority with the medical documentation.

• The authority reviews eligibility, the need for care, and the anticipated duration, then grants an initial one-year period of full-pay care leave following the end of maternity leave.

• If care is still needed after the first year, the employee applies for an annual extension, providing updated medical documentation to justify continued leave.

• The relevant authority reviews each extension request, ensuring physicians’ assessments align with policy criteria and that the duration remains appropriate given the child’s medical status.

• If the child’s health shows improvement, the authority may terminate the leave upon medical recommendation, following appropriate assessment and documentation.

• The employee’s performance during care leave is still evaluated under the standard performance management framework to maintain organizational accountability.

• If the care leave extends beyond three years, the case is escalated to the Higher Committee for Human Resources for a higher-level decision and guidance.

• Throughout the process, the care leave is counted as part of the employee’s total service, ensuring continuous recognition of tenure.

This structured sequence aims to provide predictability for employees while maintaining accountability and governance for the organizations involved. The combination of medical documentation, annual extensions, and escalation to a higher committee ensures that the policy remains rigorous and fair, balancing caregiving needs with organizational efficiency and workforce planning.

Implementation and Governance

The Care Leave policy has been promulgated under the authority of Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah and a key figure within the Supreme Council, who oversees the emirate’s government administrative reforms. The policy’s public communication underscores the government’s intent to place caregiving considerations at the heart of human resources management, particularly for female employees who are balancing maternity with subsequent caregiving duties for children with medical conditions or disabilities. The policy’s governance is anchored in the Sharjah Department of Human Resources (DHR), with the Chairman, Abdullah Ibrahim Al Zaabi, playing a central role in articulating the policy’s scope and operational mechanics.

The announcement on the Direct Line platform, broadcast by Sharjah Radio and Television, signals a direct channel of communication from the government to its public sector workforce and the broader community. This approach emphasizes transparency and accountability, providing employees with a clear understanding of eligibility criteria, procedural steps, and decision-making responsibilities. The Department of Human Resources is charged with implementing the policy consistently across government entities, ensuring uniform interpretation and administration of care leave entitlements. The department’s governance role encompasses approving extensions, validating medical documentation, coordinating with treating physicians or medical bodies, and determining whether the case warrants referral to the Higher Committee for Human Resources.

A critical component of implementation is the seamless integration of care leave with the existing maternity leave framework. The policy clarifies that care leave follows the completion of maternity leave, establishing a continuous trajectory of leave that begins with maternity and then continues into a caregiving phase. This sequencing ensures that the employee’s income remains stable during caregiving and that the transition from maternity to care leave is predictable and clearly defined. The requirement for authorization from the relevant authority for annual extensions reflects a balance between employee flexibility and organizational oversight, preventing indefinite or unbounded leave while still supporting legitimate caregiving demands.

The policy also stipulates that a medical report from an authorized medical body is a prerequisite for care leave eligibility and extensions. This ensures that decisions are evidence-based and aligned with professional medical assessments. The framework thus relies on established medical standards and recognized medical bodies to provide documentation that can be reviewed consistently across departments. The High Committee for Human Resources, to which cases exceeding the three-year extension limit are referred, acts as an appellate or oversight body, ensuring that extraordinary or prolonged caregiving situations receive comprehensive review and consistent treatment across the government.

In terms of performance management, the policy maintains that the employee’s performance during care leave remains subject to the standard performance evaluation system. This provision preserves accountability and encourages continued alignment with organizational objectives, even as caregiving commitments take precedence in the short term. The governance structure also implies that collaboration among human resources, line managers, and medical professionals is essential to manage pathways for extensions, terminations, and eventual return-to-duty decisions, ensuring a holistic approach to the employee’s career progression.

Strategic implications of the policy are significant. By formalizing care leave as a paid, structured option, Sharjah demonstrates its commitment to family welfare and gender-inclusive workplace practices. The policy’s design recognizes caregiving as a legitimate vocation-critical responsibility that complements professional duties, rather than something to be overcome or neglected. The governance framework provides a clear mechanism for ensuring consistency, fairness, and accountability in decisions, which can reduce ambiguity and foster trust among public sector employees. Moreover, the policy’s emphasis on medical documentation and annual review signals an evidence-based approach that respects both employee needs and organizational constraints, enabling departments to forecast leave availability and plan staffing accordingly.

From an operational standpoint, the policy’s implementation requires robust administrative processes to manage documentation, approvals, and track the duration of care leave. The integrated approach to service counting ensures that employees’ total years of service are preserved, which is important for determining benefits, promotions, and long-term entitlements. The policy’s governance stack—a direct line from the Ruler’s office to the Department of Human Resources, through the direct outreach program, and finally to the individual departments—demonstrates a centralized yet pragmatic model of policy deployment, designed to ensure consistency while leaving room for local adaptation where appropriate.

The governance framework thus combines executive leadership, departmental administration, medical validation, and high-level oversight, creating a resilient model for managing care leave in a public sector environment. The policy’s structure aims to support both women and their families while maintaining operational integrity and ensuring that the government’s human resources strategy remains aligned with broader social and economic objectives. In essence, implementation is a collaborative process that requires ongoing coordination among various stakeholders, ongoing documentation and validation, and a clear, consistent decision-making pathway for extensions and terminations.

Employee Lifecycles, Workplace Implications, and Cultural Significance

Care Leave introduces a shift in how public sector employers in Sharjah conceive and manage employee caregiving responsibilities. For female employees who have given birth to a child with a medical condition or disability requiring constant care, the policy provides a safety net that reduces financial stress and offers sustained income during a period of intensive caregiving. This arrangement supports the broader goal of preserving workforce participation among women, mitigating potential attrition associated with caregiving demands, and reinforcing the government’s commitment to gender equity in the workplace. The fully paid nature of the initial year, followed by well-defined extension options, creates a predictable framework within which families can plan for the child’s care needs, medical appointments, therapies, and other essential activities without sacrificing stability of income.

In addition to economic considerations, Care Leave has implications for workplace culture and organizational performance. By formally recognizing caregiving as a legitimate and protected factor, the policy fosters a culture of empathy and support within the public sector. Managers and colleagues are encouraged to view caregiving commitments as legitimate grounds for flexibility, potentially enabling accommodations such as flexible scheduling, job-sharing arrangements, or revised performance targets where appropriate and feasible. The policy’s integration with the existing performance management framework ensures that caregiving responsibilities do not automatically translate into punitive performance outcomes, while maintaining accountability for work deliverables. This balanced approach supports employee morale and retention, particularly for those who might otherwise feel compelled to resign due to caregiving pressures.

The policy also has implications for recruitment and talent management, signaling to prospective employees that the government considers care responsibilities a legitimate factor in employment decisions. By establishing a legal framework that explicitly protects and supports mothers facing caregiving needs, Sharjah’s public sector positions itself as an employer of choice for skilled professionals who require flexible arrangements due to family obligations. This, in turn, can contribute to higher job satisfaction, improved retention rates, and a more diverse and resilient workforce, particularly in roles that demand specialized expertise and long-term commitment.

From a workforce planning perspective, care leave necessitates thoughtful operational management. Agencies must anticipate potential gaps in staff coverage during extended caregiving periods and develop contingency plans that minimize disruption to essential services. This can include cross-training, temporary reallocation of responsibilities, and the development of backfill strategies that align with the policy’s duration and extension provisions. The annual extension mechanism requires ongoing governance oversight to ensure that staffing levels remain sustainable while honoring the employee’s right to care leave. The Higher Committee for Human Resources’ involvement in cases exceeding three years provides an additional layer of oversight to protect the organization’s ability to deliver programs and maintain service quality.

The policy’s emphasis on medical documentation also highlights the importance of healthcare partnerships and formalized processes for documenting disability and chronic illness needs. Authorized medical bodies must operate consistently to ensure that the care leave determinations are sound and based on current medical evaluations. This emphasis on medical validation supports the credibility of the policy and helps ensure that extensions are justified by legitimate, ongoing care requirements. For families, this means a transparent process with clear criteria, timelines, and decision points, which can reduce ambiguity and anxiety during what is often a stressful period.

In terms of social impact, Care Leave aligns with broader regional and global trends toward recognizing caregiving as a central factor in human resources policy. It reflects an understanding that family welfare, child health outcomes, and caregiver well-being are closely tied to broader public health and social stability. By offering a robust, paid caregiving leave option, Sharjah positions itself within a growing movement that values supportive family policies as a core component of sustainable economic and social development. The policy thus has potential implications beyond the immediate workplace, contributing to the emirate’s reputation as a pro-family, pro-worker governance model that prioritizes long-term human capital development and social welfare.

Practical considerations for employees and managers

• Clear documentation: Employees should assemble and maintain updated medical reports from authorized bodies to support each extension request.

• Timely applications: Extensions should be requested in advance of the current leave’s expiry to ensure continuity of income and avoid gaps in benefits.

• Coordination with managers: Open dialogue between employees and their supervisors can help identify reasonable accommodations during caregiving periods and maintain alignment with organizational needs.

• Return-to-work planning: As health improvements occur, planning for a safe and phased return to work can help reduce potential disruption and ensure a smooth reintegration.

• Documentation retention: Maintaining organized records of medical assessments, approvals, and performance evaluations ensures a clear trail that supports decisions across multiple years.

• Professional support: Employees may benefit from counseling or workplace support programs that help manage the emotional and logistical aspects of caregiving during extended leave.

These practical considerations complement the policy’s formal provisions, ensuring that employees and managers can navigate care leave with clarity, fairness, and minimal disruption to both family life and organizational performance.

Context, Comparisons, and Regional Significance

The Care Leave policy reflects a broader regional and global trend toward recognizing and supporting caregiving responsibilities within formal employment structures. While the policy’s specific terms—one year of full pay following maternity leave, with annual extensions up to three years, contingent on medical documentation and authority approvals—are tailored to Sharjah’s administrative and governance framework, the underlying philosophy is shared with many jurisdictions that seek to balance family welfare with sustained workforce participation. The policy’s emphasis on medical validation, governance oversight, and continuity of service aligns with best practices in human resources management for public sector organizations, where consistency and fairness across departments are essential for maintaining public trust and service quality.

In the regional context, Sharjah’s move to formalize care leave mirrors similar initiatives across other emirates and country-states that have expanded leave entitlements to address caregiving demands. The measure signals a broader commitment to social indicators that influence health outcomes, child development, and family stability. By codifying care leave in law or policy, governments provide a predictable framework that can reduce financial and professional risk for families, enabling more equitable access to caregiving resources. The policy also emphasizes the role of leadership in setting policy direction, as evidenced by the Ruler’s approval and the public communications through the Direct Line program. This leadership signaling can have a catalytic effect on organizational culture, signaling that compassionate care and employee welfare are integral to the public sector’s mission.

From a comparative perspective, the combination of paid caregiving leave, mandatory medical documentation, annual extensions, and escalation to a higher committee for extended cases resonates with international best practices that prioritize both employee well-being and governance rigor. While different jurisdictions may structure the eligibility criteria, the balance between protecting caregivers and maintaining service delivery is a common objective. Sharjah’s policy adds to a growing catalog of family-friendly labor policies in the region, contributing to a more inclusive, resilient public sector that recognizes the multifaceted duties employees may juggle.

The policy’s design also raises considerations for regional labor-market dynamics, including how caregiving leave interacts with recruitment, retention, and skill development within the public sector. The fully paid initial year provides a strong financial cushion for families, which may reduce the temptation to drain savings or to rely on informal networks for support during caregiving. The subsequent extensions, supported by medical documentation, offer ongoing assurance that caregiving needs will be accommodated for as long as medically necessary, within clearly defined timeframes. This structure helps create a predictable environment for both employees and their managers, enabling better workforce planning and resource allocation.

In sum, Sharjah’s Care Leave policy situates itself at the intersection of welfare, governance, and workforce management. It embodies an approach that respects employees’ caregiving responsibilities while preserving the integrity of public service delivery. Its emphasis on medical documentation, annual extensions, and escalation procedures ensures that the policy remains robust, fair, and adaptable to changing medical circumstances. The policy thereby contributes to a regional framework that recognizes caregiving as a legitimate and enduring factor in employment decisions, aligning with broader social policy objectives and the emirate’s long-term human capital strategy.

Administrative Procedures, Timelines, and Compliance

Implementing Care Leave requires a disciplined administrative process to ensure consistency, transparency, and fairness. The period following maternity leave is the window during which care leave begins, and it is expected that departments will have standardized procedures for handling requests, validating medical documentation, and communicating decisions to employees. The administrative framework should include formal templates for medical documentation submission, a clear chain of approval, and defined timelines for decision-making to minimize uncertainty for employees.

A typical workflow might involve the following steps:

• The employee prepares a care leave request accompanied by a medical report from an authorized medical body that documents the child’s condition and ongoing care needs and submits it to the department’s human resources division.

• The HR division conducts an initial eligibility check, confirming that the request aligns with the policy’s criteria, including the child’s medical condition and the requirement for constant care.

• If eligible, the employee is granted an initial one-year period of care leave with full pay after maternity leave concludes.

• Before the end of this first year, the employee submits an extension request accompanied by updated medical documentation, and the authority reviews the medical evidence and determines whether to approve the extension for another year.

• This extension process can continue annually for up to a total of three additional years, subject to continued medical need and approvals.

• If the child’s condition improves to a degree that eliminates the need for constant care, the authority may terminate the care leave on medical grounds, with appropriate documentation and communication to the employee.

• In cases where the leave extends beyond three years, the case is escalated to the Higher Committee for Human Resources for a comprehensive review and final determination.

• Throughout the process, the employee’s performance and conduct are reviewed under the standard performance management framework, ensuring that caregiving does not undermine accountability or organizational objectives.

To support smooth implementation, organizations should establish clear communication channels with employees, ensuring that they understand what documentation is required, how to submit it, and the timelines associated with each step. Training for managers and HR personnel is essential to ensure consistent application of the policy, including how to handle extensions, what constitutes adequate medical documentation, and how to manage potential exceptions or special cases. Documentation management is critical, with secure storage for medical reports and extension approvals to protect privacy while enabling retrieval for audits or reviews.

Because the policy counts care leave as part of total service, HR systems must be able to track the duration of care leave within each employee’s service record. This requires robust human resources information systems (HRIS) that can integrate medical extensions, leave statuses, and service time to ensure accurate calculation of benefits, pension eligibility, and career progression trajectories. Data governance measures should be in place to protect sensitive medical information while enabling necessary oversight and compliance checks.

Additionally, the policy’s governance mechanism, including escalation to the Higher Committee for Human Resources, implies a formal decision-making sequence that must be documented and auditable. This necessitates clear documentation of rationales, medical evidence, and consistent application of criteria across departments. The committee’s reviews should be guided by established criteria to ensure uniformity and avoid ad hoc decisions, thereby reinforcing trust in the process among employees and supervisors alike.

From a compliance standpoint, regular audits and internal reviews can help verify that care leave decisions adhere to policy requirements, medical documentation standards, and coding within the HRIS. Compliance checks may also address the accuracy of leave durations, the handling of extensions, and the proper accounting of care leave within total service. The goal is to maintain a transparent, accountable system that supports caregivers while ensuring organizational resilience and service delivery.

In closing, the administrative dimensions of Care Leave emphasize the need for robust processes, transparent communications, and strong governance to sustain the policy’s objectives. When implemented effectively, these procedures can deliver equitable care support for families while enabling departments to maintain continuity, optimize staffing, and uphold performance standards. The result is a well-managed policy that aligns with Sharjah’s strategic priorities for public service excellence, workforce stability, and social welfare.

Conclusion

Sharjah’s Care Leave policy stands as a landmark provision within the emirate’s government leave framework, reflecting a deliberate prioritization of family welfare and workforce participation for women facing caregiving responsibilities. By providing a fully paid initial year of care leave after maternity leave, followed by annual extensions for up to three additional years contingent on medical documentation and authority approvals, the policy offers a structured, compassionate approach to balancing professional duties with essential caregiving needs. The requirement for a medical report from an authorized medical body ensures that extensions are evidence-based, while the possibility of termination upon medical improvement provides a clear, humane transition when the child’s condition changes. The policy’s integration with the existing performance management system ensures accountability remains intact, and its escalation pathway to the Higher Committee for Human Resources adds a layer of governance that protects against overextension and ensures consistent application.

Announcement of the policy by the Ruler of Sharjah and the direct communication through the Direct Line program underscore the government’s commitment to transparency and engagement with public sector employees and the wider community. The policy’s governance structure—led by the Sharjah Department of Human Resources, with oversight from higher authorities as needed—demonstrates a robust, centralized approach designed to ensure consistency across departments while allowing for case-by-case consideration of exceptional circumstances.

Beyond its immediate benefits to families, Care Leave signals Sharjah’s broader orientation toward modernizing human resources practices in the public sector. It recognizes caregiving as a legitimate and enduring factor in an employee’s life course and positions the emirate as a forward-looking jurisdiction that values employee well-being as a driver of long-term organizational resilience. As workplaces continue to adapt to evolving social expectations and demographic realities, policies like Care Leave may serve as models for balancing caregiving responsibilities with the demands of public service, ensuring that talented professionals can remain engaged and productive while providing essential care for their children.

In short, Care Leave embodies a principled commitment to supporting families without compromising service delivery, aligning administrative rigor with compassionate stewardship. It is a policy that stands to strengthen the social contract between Sharjah’s government and its workers, reinforcing a shared understanding that caring for family members—particularly children with medical needs—deserves dedicated, dignified support within the public sector.