After one year of full-time work with the same employer, you earn 21 days of basic salary for each of your first five years and 30 days for each year after that. Allowances are not counted. Your employer must pay it, with your other dues, within 14 days of your last day.
Go to: The formula · Worked examples · Deductions · The savings scheme · DIFC, ADGM and UAE nationals · If it is not paid
The formula in the law
Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 sets the gratuity for a full-time foreign worker in the private sector:
- Who qualifies: a worker who has completed at least one year of continuous service. Below one year, there is no gratuity.
- How much: 21 days of basic wage for each of the first five years, then 30 days for each year after that.
- Part of a year: once you pass one year, a part year counts in proportion.
- Which salary: your last basic wage. The law defines basic wage as the wage in your contract without "any other allowances or benefits in-kind", so housing, transport and other allowances are left out.
- Unpaid absence: days of unpaid absence are not counted as service.
- The ceiling: the total cannot exceed two years' wage.
- A day's wage: the law counts a month as 30 days (Article 67), so a day of basic wage is your monthly basic salary divided by 30.
Article 51 sets one formula. It does not reduce the amount when you resign. Part-time and job-sharing workers get the same gratuity in proportion to their contracted hours, and temporary work of less than one year earns none, under Article 30 of the law's implementing regulation (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, in the same document).
Because the gratuity follows basic salary, the split between basic pay and allowances in your offer matters. See what to check before you accept a UAE job offer.
Worked examples
| Monthly basic salary | Service | Calculation | Gratuity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AED 4,000 | 11 months | Less than one year | AED 0 |
| AED 6,000 | 3 years and 4 months | 6,000 ÷ 30 = 200 a day; 200 × 21 × 3⅓ years | AED 14,000 |
| AED 10,000 | 7 years | 10,000 ÷ 30 = 333.33 a day; first 5 years: 333.33 × 21 × 5 = 35,000; next 2 years: 333.33 × 30 × 2 = 20,000 | AED 55,000 |
These assume no unpaid absence and no deductions. For your own figure, use your exact start and end dates and your last basic salary.
What your employer may deduct
The law lets an employer deduct only amounts due under the law or a court judgment. Article 29 of the implementing regulation lists them:
- Loan repayments you owe, or money paid to you above your entitlement.
- Pension and insurance contributions required by UAE law.
- Penalties under the company's penalty rules approved by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE).
- Debts under a court ruling against you.
- The cost of repairing damage you caused by your own fault or by breaking the employer's instructions.
For penalties and damage, the employer must have followed the legal procedure, and no more than three months may have passed since the amount was due, unless you agreed otherwise. Ask for a written breakdown of any deduction.
Losing your job as a disciplinary penalty does not take the gratuity away: the law lists that penalty as "termination of service while preserving the worker's right of end of service benefits".
If your employer uses the savings scheme
Under Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023, an employer can choose to pay end-of-service benefits into an approved investment fund each month instead of a lump sum at the end. It is voluntary for employers, and the gratuity you earned before joining stays yours under the labour law. According to a MoHRE-published fund guide:
- The employer pays monthly: 5.83% of your basic salary until you complete five years of service, then 8.33%.
- You can add savings: voluntary contributions deducted from your salary, up to 25% of your total annual salary.
- When you leave: you receive the employer's contributions and their returns within 14 days, or you can keep the money invested.
MoHRE's page lists the approved funds. If your employer offers the scheme, ask which fund holds your money and how to see your balance.
DIFC, ADGM and UAE nationals
- DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre): employers pay into a qualifying savings scheme such as DEWS each month instead of building up a gratuity. Under the DIFC Employment Law, the minimum is 5.83% of monthly basic wage for the first five years and 8.33% for each year after.
- ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market): its own Employment Regulations 2024 apply. The rates are also 21 and 30 days, paid "regardless of the reason for termination", but a day's wage is the annual basic wage divided by 365. ADGM's own example: AED 100,000 a year for three years gives AED 17,260. An employer can instead offer you, in writing, a pension or savings scheme.
- UAE nationals: Article 51 says a national worker's end-of-service benefits follow the pensions and social security law, not this formula.
If your gratuity is not paid
- Wait the 14 days. Article 53 gives the employer 14 days from the end of the contract to pay your wages and all other dues.
- Complain to MoHRE within 30 days. MoHRE asks workers to complain within 30 days of the employer's breach, through the MoHRE app, its website or the call centre on 600590000. For advice first, call the Labour Claims and Advisory Center on 80084. Keep your contract, your last payslip and your cancellation date ready.
- What happens next: under Article 54, MoHRE first tries to settle the dispute. It can decide claims of up to AED 50,000 itself, and either side can ask the Court of Appeal to review that decision within 15 working days. Larger claims that do not settle go to court.
- The outer limit: claims under the labour law are not considered after two years from the end of the job, but do not wait that long.
If you are moving on, see open roles on TalenDir.
Official sources checked on 29 October 2026. Cover generated with AI for illustration.
