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When Amy Pickles and her two children flew back to Dubai from the UK at the end of August, everyone was in perfect health.
The family had spent their summer holiday in rural Scotland, and Mrs Pickles tested negative for Covid-19 before boarding the flight from Glasgow back to the emirate.
The children went back to school for the autumn term, and the family settled back into life in Dubai. A few days later, Mrs Pickles, 43 took her son, Roddy, for a playdate.
"We didn't know at the time, but the little girl had Covid-19, which we presume she caught in London, because her family had just got back from the UK. She only had a headache, but later tested positive, so we tested Roddy."
It ripped through the house like wildfire. It is so contagious
Amy Pickles
Roddy, nine, had no symptoms, but his PCR test came back positive.
"At first I presumed it was a mistake because he was fine, and it was just annoying that we had to isolate and start home-schooling. But one day later he started to get ill, feeling grumpy with a temperature and he lost his taste and smell," said Mrs Pickles, who is from the UK.
"Then two days later, I woke up feeling dreadful and it started getting worse and worse and worse."
UAE's vaccination drive - in pictures
The youngest in the house, Flossy, aged five, started to feel unwell around the same time, and then a day later the family's nanny came down with a temperature, and then the nanny's daughter.
Eventually they all tested positive for Covid-19.
"It ripped through the house like wildfire. It is so contagious. Some people suggested I should have isolated Roddy, but he's only nine. I'm not going to shut him in his room," said Mrs Pickles.
"Also I presumed that because the adults in the house were vaccinated, we would only get mild symptoms, if at all."
Mrs Pickles has had four vaccine doses in total – two Sinopharm shots in January and two Pfizer doses in June. Her nanny had two Sinopharm injections in February and March.
Nevertheless, both were struck down by the virus, with high temperatures, bad headaches and loss of appetite.
If she had not been vaccinated, her symptoms could have been far worse.
"I felt exhausted for four days. If I could have stayed in bed I would, but I had the two children to look after. Our nanny stayed in bed for three days. No cough, but it felt like a proper bout of the flu," said Mrs Pickles.
The children were worse off, with high temperatures, sore joints and a chicken pox-style rash all over their bodies.
Roddy lost his sense of smell, and Flossy had an eye infection, probably caused by the blistery spots forming on the inside of her eyelids.
"We did a Zoom call with the doctor, and he said a rash for children with Covid-19 is not uncommon. It was horrible. Flossy was tearful and hot, and covered with these horrible spots. She looked like a plague victim."
It took the children a week to recover, and the whole family are now certified all-clear, but Mrs Pickles has been left in no doubt of how badly the coronavirus can affect even vaccinated adults.
"I don't want to overstate how sick we were, but it was grislier for the children than I expected, and even after double doses of both vaccines, I was properly wiped out," she said.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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'Ashkal'
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
UAE squad
Men's draw: Victor Scvortov and Khalifa Al Hosani, (both 73 kilograms), Sergiu Toma and Mihail Marchitan (90kg), Ivan Remarenco (100kg), Ahmed Al Naqbi (60kg), Musabah Al Shamsi and Ahmed Al Hosani (66kg)
Women’s draw: Maitha Al Neyadi (57kg)
Company%20Profile
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
