Transguard Group now grants 85 calendar days of fully paid maternity leave to eligible staff, a figure that significantly exceeds the UAE’s statutory minimum. The Dubai-based business solutions provider revealed on Sunday that it has extended equivalent entitlements to employees adopting infants or taking permanent guardianship of young children.
The policy applies to all female employees who have completed one year of service, regardless of their role or function within the organisation. It marks a substantial leap beyond the baseline protections mandated under UAE Labour Law.
What sets the initiative apart is the newly introduced adoption leave framework. Employees of all genders who complete their probationary period can access paid leave when welcoming children through legal adoption or guardianship arrangements. For infants aged two or younger, the provision mirrors the enhanced maternity terms—effectively granting adoptive parents the same 85 days.
Families bringing older children into their homes receive additional paid time off, scaled to account for differing adjustment needs. The company has built flexibility into the structure, allowing parents to extend their absence through unpaid leave when circumstances require it.
“Best-in-class employee welfare remains central to our culture,” said Rabie Atieh, Chief Executive Officer, Transguard Group. “By extending our support beyond maternity to include adoption, we are recognising the many ways families are formed and ensuring our people feel valued, supported and secure, regardless of their personal journey into parenthood.”
The move arrives as Gulf employers face mounting pressure to demonstrate tangible commitments to workforce wellbeing, particularly in sectors reliant on large-scale staffing operations. Transguard operates across security, facilities management, cash services, and white-collar recruitment—domains where employee retention and morale directly influence service delivery.
Expo City Dubai recognised the firm’s maternity provisions in 2024 for their impact on worker welfare, lending external validation to an internal priority. That acknowledgement came before the adoption policy was formalised, suggesting the organisation has continued to build on its initial framework rather than treating family leave as a static achievement.
Rachael Tutungi, Director of Group Human Resources, explained the rationale behind the expansion. “Introducing adoption and guardianship leave is a natural extension of our people-first approach. We recognise and support all paths to parenthood and our policies are designed to be inclusive whilst continuing to exceed statutory requirements and promote genuine work-life balance.”
The three-month timeframe for biological mothers places Transguard well ahead of minimum legal obligations in the Emirates, where recent reforms have improved protections but still leave room for employers to differentiate themselves. By matching adoption leave to maternity terms for the youngest children, the company has avoided creating a two-tier system that might inadvertently signal that one form of parenthood matters more than another.
Founded in 2001, Transguard reported an annual turnover of AED 3.2 billion in FY24/25. The scale of its operations—spanning thousands of employees across multiple service lines—means policy changes carry weight beyond individual beneficiaries. When a workforce of this size gains access to enhanced leave, it can shift expectations across the broader labour market.
The timing of the announcement, aligned with the Global Day of Parents on 1st June, underscores the symbolic dimension of the initiative. Yet the substance lies in the detail: 85 paid days, available after 12 months of service, with no distinction between departments or salary bands.
For employees navigating adoption processes, which can be protracted and emotionally demanding, the guarantee of paid leave removes at least one source of anxiety. The policy applies to permanent guardianship arrangements as well, recognising that formal adoption is not the only route through which families expand.
Transguard frames the initiative within its broader environmental, social, and governance commitments, positioning family support as integral to responsible business practice rather than a discretionary perk. That framing reflects a wider trend among regional employers seeking to embed social priorities into operational strategy.
The question now is whether other large employers in the UAE will follow suit, particularly in sectors where competition for skilled staff is fierce. Transguard’s move sets a benchmark that may prove difficult to ignore, especially for organisations promoting their own credentials on diversity, inclusion, and employee care.
Whether the policy translates into measurable retention benefits will become clearer over time. For now, the 85-day figure stands as a concrete commitment, and the extension to adoptive parents signals recognition that the path to parenthood takes many forms.
