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Free tool · United Arab Emirates

UAE gratuity calculator

End-of-service gratuity is 21 days of basic salary for each of your first five years and 30 days for every year after, paid pro rata for part years once you pass one year. Enter your basic salary and dates for the amount under the UAE labour law, or under DIFC or ADGM rules.

By Dominic Roworth · Rules checked 28 October 2026 against Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the DIFC Employment Law and the ADGM Employment Regulations 2024

The basic figure in your contract or payslip, without housing, transport or other allowances.

More details (optional)

Used in DIFC and ADGM, where the basic salary for gratuity can't be less than half of total pay, and for DIFC's cap of two years' total pay.

Days off without pay don't count as service under the federal law (Article 51(4)).

For foreign employees working full time. UAE and GCC nationals are covered by pension schemes instead (see below).

Your gratuity

AED 65,000

AED 333.33 a day x 195 days (21 x 5 years + 30 x 3 years)

When: within 14 days of your contract ending, with your other dues (Article 53).

This is the legal minimum before any amounts your employer can lawfully deduct. Your contract can give you more.

How gratuity is calculated in the UAE

Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the labour law in force since 2 February 2022, gives a foreign employee working full time an end-of-service gratuity once they have completed one year of continuous service. It is calculated on the last basic salary:

Gratuity = daily basic salary x (21 days x each of the first 5 years + 30 days x each year after), part years pro rata, no more than two years' wage

The daily basic salary is normally the monthly basic ÷ 30, because the law counts a month as 30 days and a year as 365 (Article 67). Gratuity therefore grows by 0.7 months of basic salary a year for the first five years and by a full month a year after that:

Years of serviceDays of basic payMonths of basic payOn AED 10,000 a month
1 21 0.7 AED 7,000
3 63 2.1 AED 21,000
5 105 3.5 AED 35,000
6 135 4.5 AED 45,000
10 255 8.5 AED 85,000
15 405 13.5 AED 135,000
20 555 18.5 AED 185,000
25 705 23.5 AED 235,000
30 855 24 (cap) AED 240,000

Part years count in proportion: leaving after 3 years and 6 months pays 3.5 years' worth. Days of unpaid absence are taken out of your service, and leaving before one year pays nothing. The UAE Government portal sets out the same rules in English.

Basic salary only

The law defines basic wage as the pay in your contract without any allowances or benefits in kind, so housing, transport, utilities and other allowances don't count, as the government portal spells out. That is why two people on the same total package can get very different gratuities: on a package of AED 20,000 a month, a basic of AED 12,000 gives AED 42,000 after five years, while a basic of AED 8,000 gives AED 28,000. Check the basic figure in your contract.

Resigning, dismissal and the old rules

The 2021 law pays the full gratuity however the job ends. Article 51 has no cut for resignation, dismissal as a disciplinary penalty keeps your right to gratuity (Article 39), and Article 44, on dismissal without notice, says nothing that takes it away. The cuts for resigning early that many people remember came from the old 1980 labour law, which the 2021 law repealed (Article 73).

One exception: if you were on an old unlimited contract made before February 2022, Article 68 lets your employer calculate gratuity for that service under the old law's rules. And your employer can deduct amounts you lawfully owe from the gratuity, such as a loan or overpaid wages, a debt under a court ruling, or the cost of damage you caused (Article 51(7) and Article 29 of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022). Unpaid fines for ILOE job loss insurance can be taken from it too.

The two-year cap

Gratuity under the federal law can't be more than two years' wage. The calculator applies 24 months of basic salary, the reading used by the government portal and most employers. At 21 and 30 days a year, the cap only bites after about 25 and a half years of service. The Arabic text says "two years' wage" without saying basic, and the law's general definition of wage includes allowances, so a longer serving employee with large allowances may have a case for a higher cap.

DIFC and ADGM have their own rules

The two financial free zones have their own employment laws, so the federal formula doesn't apply there:

  • DIFC: gratuity is only paid for service before 1 February 2020 (DIFC Employment Law, Article 66). From that date your employer pays at least 5.83% of your monthly basic salary into a qualifying savings scheme such as DEWS during your first five years of service, and 8.33% after. For older service, gratuity uses 21 and 30 days of basic salary at a daily rate of yearly basic ÷ 365, your basic and total pay on your last day, a basic salary of at least half of total pay, and a cap of two years' total pay.
  • ADGM: the Employment Regulations 2024 (section 61) pay 21 and 30 days of basic salary, at yearly basic ÷ 365, with a basic of at least half of your total pay, part years pro rata, whatever the reason the job ends, and no cap. ADGM's own example: a yearly basic of AED 100,000 for 3 years gives AED 273.97 x 21 x 3 = AED 17,260 (EAO FAQs). An employer can offer a pension or savings scheme in writing instead; if you choose it, gratuity isn't due unless the employer agrees.

Who isn't covered

  • UAE nationals get end-of-service benefits under the pension and social security law (Article 51(1)), not gratuity. GCC nationals are in their home country's social security scheme.
  • Federal government expatriates come under the federal human resources law instead: 21 days' basic salary for each of the first five years and 30 days for each year after, once they have served a full year (Federal Decree-Law No. 49 of 2022, Article 41). Service from before that law came into force is still counted under the entity's old rules (Article 42).
  • Workers in the savings scheme. Since Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023, a private-sector employer can enrol staff in a savings scheme instead, paying 5.83% of monthly basic salary (8.33% after five years) into an approved fund. Gratuity stops building up from enrolment; what you had earned until then is paid at the end, on your basic salary at the date you joined.
  • Part-time and job-share workers get gratuity in proportion to their hours: contract hours a year ÷ full-time hours a year, applied to the full-time gratuity (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 30). Temporary work lasting under a year gets none. The calculator is for full-time workers.
  • Domestic workers have a separate law.

When it's paid, and if it isn't

On the mainland and in most free zones, your employer must pay your wages and all other dues, gratuity included, within 14 days of the contract ending (Article 53). DIFC also gives 14 days, with a penalty of a day's wage for each day late (Article 19); ADGM gives 21 days. If your employer doesn't pay, file a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), or the free zone's own authority. Don't wait: claims under the labour law can't be heard more than two years after the job ends (Article 54(9)). If you lost your job, ILOE insurance can pay 60% of your basic salary for up to three months on top.

Limits

The calculator gives the legal minimum for a foreign employee working full time on a monthly salary. It doesn't handle piece-rate pay, part-time contracts, old unlimited contracts or service before joining a savings scheme. The federal law's official English text and the Ministry's own calculator couldn't be read on 28 October 2026, so the federal rules come from the Arabic original and the government portal's English summary; the ÷ 30 daily rate and the basic-salary cap are the usual readings, not words in the law. This is general information, not legal advice.

Questions

How is gratuity calculated in the UAE?

For a full-time foreign worker on the mainland or in most free zones: 21 days of basic salary for each of the first five years of service and 30 days for each year after that, with part years paid pro rata. A day's basic salary is usually taken as the monthly basic ÷ 30. On a basic salary of AED 10,000 a month, three years gives 10,000 ÷ 30 x 21 x 3 = AED 21,000, and eight years gives AED 65,000. The total can't be more than two years' wage.

Do I get gratuity if I resign in the UAE?

Yes. Under the labour law in force since 2 February 2022 (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), resigning doesn't reduce your gratuity: you get the full amount once you have at least one year of continuous service. The old cuts for resigning came from the 1980 law. If you were on an old unlimited contract, your employer may still apply the old rules to that earlier service (Article 68).

Is UAE gratuity based on basic or total salary?

Basic salary only. The law calculates gratuity on the last basic wage, which leaves out housing, transport and other allowances. In DIFC and ADGM, though, the basic salary used can't be less than half of your total pay, so a very low basic is topped up.

Do I get gratuity if I worked less than one year?

No. All three systems (mainland, DIFC and ADGM) require at least one year of continuous service. After that, part years count pro rata, so 1 year and 6 months is paid as 1.5 years.

Is the daily rate basic ÷ 30 or basic x 12 ÷ 365?

In DIFC and ADGM the law says ÷ 365 of the yearly basic. For the mainland, the law doesn't spell it out for gratuity, but it defines a month as 30 days (Article 67), and monthly basic ÷ 30 is the usual reading. Some employers use yearly basic ÷ 365, which gives about 1.4% less; the calculator shows both.

When must my employer pay gratuity?

On the mainland, within 14 days of the contract ending, with your other dues (Article 53); in ADGM, within 21 days. If it isn't paid, you can file a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). Claims under the labour law can't be heard more than two years after the job ends (Article 54(9)).

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