UAE end of service benefits: what you are owed when you leave
When you leave a job in the UAE, your employer owes you more than a final salary. Your final settlement has four parts: gratuity, notice pay, cash for unused leave, and any salary still unpaid. The law says it must reach you within 14 days of your last working day. This guide explains UAE end of service benefits in plain English. It also explains end of service gratuity in the UAE, notice pay, and leave pay, so you can use a UAE gratuity calculator to check the numbers yourself.
The four parts of your end of service
Most people think of end of service as one lump sum. It is easier to check when you split it into four parts. Each part has its own rule.
PART ONEAdd the four together and you have your final settlement. Our final settlement calculator brings them into one figure.
Who is entitled to end of service benefits
Gratuity is for anyone who has completed at least one full year of continuous service. It does not matter whether you resigned or your employer ended the contract. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, resigning no longer cuts your gratuity, which used to happen under the older 1980 law. Notice pay, unused leave and unpaid salary are owed no matter how long you worked.
If you work in a free zone such as the DIFC or ADGM, the same principles apply, but the exact rules can differ. Check your contract and your zone before you rely on a single figure.
Notice period and pay in lieu
Your contract sets your notice period, usually somewhere between 30 and 90 days. If you work the notice, you are paid as normal. If either side ends the contract without working the full notice, the party that cut it short owes pay in lieu for the days not served. This works both ways: if you leave early, you may owe your employer, and if they let you go early, they owe you.
See where you stand in the notice period calculator.
Unpaid salary
This is any pay you have already earned but not yet received, for the days you worked up to your last day. It is settled with the rest of your final settlement, in full, within 14 days of your last working day. If part of your pay has been held back, it is still owed. The final settlement calculator brings it together with your gratuity, notice pay and leave into one figure.
Unused annual leave
You build up annual leave as you work, typically 30 calendar days a year once you have passed your first year. Any leave you earned but did not take is paid out when you leave. That payout is worked on your basic salary, using the same daily rate of basic divided by 30.
Work out what you are owed in the leave salary calculator.
How your gratuity is worked out
Gratuity is based on your basic salary, not your total package. Allowances for housing, transport and the like are left out. For each of your first five years you earn 21 days of basic pay. For every year after five years you earn 30 days. The total is capped at two years of basic salary, however long you stay. The daily rate is your basic monthly salary divided by 30.
Run your own numbers in the gratuity calculator.
When you should be paid
The law is clear on timing. All of it, gratuity, notice pay, unused leave and unpaid salary, must be paid within 14 days of your last working day. An employer cannot hold back your gratuity because they are unhappy with your performance, because you resigned, or because a dispute exists. If the money does not arrive, or the figure is short, you can raise a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, known as MOHRE.
What employers get wrong
A few mistakes come up again and again. Some work gratuity on a lower basic salary than your contract states. Some forget the jump from 21 to 30 days after five years. Some still treat resignation as a reason to pay less, which the current law does not allow. Before you accept a settlement, work the number yourself. If your figure and theirs do not match, you are in a far stronger position to ask why.
Questions people ask
How is end of service calculated in the UAE?
Add four figures: your gratuity, any notice pay owed, the cash value of unused annual leave, and any unpaid salary. Gratuity and leave are worked on your basic salary. The total is your final settlement, due within 14 days of your last working day.
Do I get gratuity if I resign?
Yes. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, resigning does not reduce your gratuity, as long as you have completed at least one year of service. The old rule that penalised resignation no longer applies.
Is gratuity based on basic or total salary?
Only your basic salary. Allowances such as housing and transport are not counted. If your contract splits your pay into basic plus allowances, gratuity is worked on the basic figure alone.
How long does an employer have to pay my final settlement?
Within 14 days of your last working day. This covers everything owed to you, including gratuity, notice pay, unused leave and unpaid salary.
What can I do if my employer does not pay?
Raise a complaint with MOHRE. An employer cannot withhold your gratuity over a performance dispute or because you resigned. MOHRE will usually attempt an amicable settlement before the matter goes further.
Every figure on this page has a calculator behind it, so you never have to take a number on trust.
Every figure here is checked against Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and the guidance published by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. The guide is reviewed and updated as the rules change. This is general information, not a substitute for individual legal advice.