UAE end-of-service gratuity
Estimate the end-of-service gratuity of a private-sector employee in the United Arab Emirates from the basic wage and the years of service.
United Arab Emirates — Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 regulating labour relations, article 51 (end-of-service gratuity). Rules in force on 10/24/2026.
Estimate for guidance only: check the official sources or a licensed professional before relying on it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is the gratuity calculated on the basic or the total salary?
On the last basic wage only. Allowances such as housing, transport or phone are not part of the calculation unless the contract defines them as basic wage.
Do I lose part of the gratuity if I resign?
No. Since Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021 came into force on 2 February 2022, resignation no longer reduces the gratuity, as long as you completed one year of continuous service.
How are partial years and unpaid leave treated?
After the first full year, fractions of a year are paid in proportion to the time worked. Days of unpaid absence are not counted as service.
Is there a maximum gratuity?
Yes. The total gratuity cannot exceed two years of wage. Article 1 of the Decree-Law defines the wage as the basic wage plus allowances, so the calculator applies the cap to the total monthly wage when you enter it (24 × total wage), and otherwise to the basic wage (24 × basic wage, reached after about 25 and a half years of service).
How the UAE end-of-service gratuity is calculated
This calculator is for expatriate employees, HR teams and payroll staff in the private sector of the United Arab Emirates who want to estimate the end-of-service gratuity before a contract ends. Enter the last basic monthly wage, the first and last day of work and any days of unpaid absence or unpaid leave. The page counts the service period, applies the legal rates and shows the gross gratuity in dirhams (AED), together with the daily wage, the days of wage earned and the maximum allowed. Allowances are not part of the base, and no tax is deducted from the result.
The method follows article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on labour relations, in force since 2 February 2022. The daily wage is the basic monthly wage divided by 30, the usual practice, since the law sets no conversion. The gratuity is 21 days of basic wage for each of the first five years of service and 30 days for each year after that, and it requires at least one year of continuous service. Incomplete years are paid in proportion, counting each month as 1/12 of a year and each remaining day as 1/365. Days of unpaid absence are not counted as service. The total can never exceed two years of wage: because article 1 defines the wage as the basic wage plus allowances, the cap is 24 times the total monthly wage when you enter it, and 24 basic wages otherwise.
Example: an employee with a basic wage of AED 9,000 has a daily wage of AED 300. Working from 1 January 2022 to 30 April 2025 gives 3 years and 4 months, or 3.3333 years. Multiplied by 21 days, that is 70 days of wage, so the gratuity is AED 21,000.00, far below the cap of AED 216,000.00. The result is a gross estimate. Free-zone regimes such as DIFC and ADGM, approved savings schemes in place of the gratuity, and contract terms more favourable to the employee can lead to different amounts.