When your family goes on holiday and the domestic worker remains in the UAE, agree a separate home plan before departure. Record the duties that continue, tasks that pause, living arrangements, work and rest schedule, access and the responsible contact. Your family's travel dates do not by themselves rewrite the worker's employment terms or the agency service agreement.
Separate
Distinguish family travel, worker leave and service changes.
Record
Write duties, living arrangements, access and work/rest schedule.
Connect
Name a local decision-maker and update channel.
Resume
Complete the return handover and restore the normal routine.
Original household-planning sequence for the family travelling while the worker remains in an agreed UAE arrangement.
This guide concerns a worker staying at the UAE home or in an agreed local arrangement. For the worker's own annual leave or travel accompanying your family, use the separate leave and travel guide.
Decide what the home actually needs while you are away
Start with the work that remains when normal family routines stop. There may be less cooking and laundry, while agreed routine cleaning still continues. Identify rooms that will be closed, appliances that should not be used and household items that need ordinary care. Give clear instructions for anything you want left untouched.
Avoid filling the quieter period with an unlimited backlog. Heavy moving, specialist cleaning, repair work and responsibility for contractors are distinct tasks, with their own suitability and safety considerations. Use the household duties guide to decide which changes belong in a revised scope rather than a verbal instruction at the airport.
Use a family-away duty and responsibility table
The table is an original planning template, not a new package inclusion or an instruction to keep the worker continuously available.
| Area | Before the family leaves | During the agreed period |
|---|---|---|
| Routine duties | List the tasks that continue and those that pause | Follow the recorded priorities and schedule |
| Living arrangements | Record accommodation, meals and the responsible party | Keep the agreed arrangements accessible and usable |
| Home entry | Identify authorised visitors and a family decision-maker | Refer unexpected visits to that contact |
| Supplies | Prepare the agreed products and replenishment method | Report what is needed through the agreed channel |
| Household issue | Name a local contact and professional service route | Report the issue; do not improvise repairs or specialist work |
| Family return | Set a practical handover time | Review the home and resume the agreed routine |
If the worker will not remain at the home, arrange the alternative with the legal employer or agency before travel. Record where the person will stay, who manages that arrangement and how the period affects the customer service. Keep these operational points separate from the worker's protected employment rights.
Provide one local contact and clear boundaries
Choose someone who can make decisions in the UAE, not merely a relative who is also travelling. Explain which issues require prompt contact and which can go into a routine update. The worker should know where to report a failed appliance, an unexpected visitor or an access problem without becoming the property's security guard or maintenance contractor.
Use a brief update format: date, agreed work completed, supplies needed and decisions requested. Keep keys and household information within the home-access and privacy arrangement. Do not ask for passwords, bank details or identity documents in a public travel group.
Keep holiday planning separate from employment changes
If you want to reduce, pause or change an agency service, raise that request through the service agreement. If you want to arrange the worker's annual leave, treat that as its own employment discussion. Sending the worker to another household is also a different arrangement and needs the appropriate provider and official review.
The UAE Government domestic-worker guide and domestic-workers legislation provide the employment framework. A family holiday checklist is a practical supplement, not a replacement for the applicable contracts.
Plan the return handover before departure
Agree how the family will receive the keys, the final update and any decisions that were left open. Check food, laundry and room-readiness priorities for the first day back, then return to the normal task list rather than carrying holiday instructions forward indefinitely.
Contact INAYA with the travel dates, selected service arrangement, living plan and proposed duties. The team can discuss the written service scope and responsibilities with you while you keep a clear record of the family's home plan.
Customer questions and answers
Is my family holiday automatically the maid’s annual leave?
Keep the two calendars separate. Record whether the worker is taking annual leave, continuing agreed work locally or travelling with the family, then follow the applicable employment and service arrangements.
Can the maid stay in our home while we travel?
Settle the living arrangement with the legal employer or agency and record accommodation, meals, access, duties, work/rest schedule and the responsible local contact before departure.
Can I send the worker to help a friend during our holiday?
Treat work for another household as a separate employment or beneficiary arrangement. Discuss the proposed change with the provider and follow the applicable official route before assigning work.
Should the worker supervise repairs while we are away?
Do not assume maintenance supervision is part of routine household help. Name a family representative for contractor decisions and include only the specific, suitable tasks agreed in the worker’s scope.