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In the UAE, end-of-service gratuity is calculated on your basic wage only, not your total or gross salary. The UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), enforced by MOHRE, ties the benefit to basic salary and excludes allowances such as housing, transport, utilities, and other supplements. This is the single most common reason people are surprised by a lower-than-expected gratuity: if your basic wage is a small slice of a large package, your gratuity is calculated only on that slice. Check your employment contract and salary breakdown to find your basic wage figure, then apply the formula — 21 days' basic wage per year for the first five years and 30 days' per year thereafter, with a one-year minimum and a two-year-wage cap. If your contract does not clearly separate basic from allowances, or you suspect your basic wage was deliberately set low to shrink benefits, that can be challenged. You can raise it with MOHRE or compare verified UAE employment lawyers on LEXAI to review your salary structure.

After five years of continuous service in the UAE private sector, the gratuity accrual rate increases. Under the UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), administered by MOHRE, you earn 21 days' basic wage for each of the first five years, then 30 days' basic wage for every year beyond five. So for someone with eight years of service, the first five years accrue at 21 days each and the remaining three years at 30 days each, all calculated on basic wage and added together. The total is still capped at two years' total wages, which mainly affects very long-serving, higher-tenure staff. Only your basic salary feeds the formula — allowances are excluded — and unpaid leave days are not counted in the service period. The change from 21 to 30 days applies only to years served after the five-year point, not retroactively to the earlier years. MOHRE's official calculator applies the two-band split automatically. If your employer applies the lower 21-day rate to your post-five-year service, you can challenge it with MOHRE or compare verified UAE employment lawyers on LEXAI.

Yes. Under the UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), administered by MOHRE, periods of unpaid leave are not counted as part of your service when calculating end-of-service gratuity. Gratuity is based on your actual completed, paid service, so if you took unpaid leave during the year, those days are subtracted from the service period that feeds the formula. Paid annual leave, by contrast, counts normally as service. The practical effect is usually small unless you took a lengthy unpaid break, but it can matter near the one-year eligibility threshold or when calculating a partial year. The rest of the formula is unchanged: 21 days' basic wage per year for the first five years, 30 days per year thereafter, on basic salary only, capped at two years' wages. Because the exact day count affects the result, MOHRE's official online calculator — which lets you account for service days — is the most reliable tool. If your employer over-deducts for leave or miscounts your service, you can raise it with MOHRE or compare verified UAE employment lawyers on LEXAI.

Generally, no — completing at least one year of service entitles you to end-of-service gratuity under the current UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), administered by MOHRE, and the reason for termination does not automatically strip it. This is different from the older law, which allowed gratuity to be forfeited in certain summary-dismissal situations. Under the present framework, once you have served a qualifying year you are normally entitled to gratuity calculated on the standard formula (21 days' basic wage per year for the first five years, 30 days thereafter, capped at two years' wages), whether you resigned or were dismissed. An employer may still terminate for serious cause and may pursue separate claims for genuine losses you caused, but that is distinct from cancelling the gratuity itself. Because dismissal-for-misconduct cases can be contested and fact-specific, it is wise to confirm your position. If your employer withholds gratuity on misconduct grounds, you can challenge it through MOHRE or compare verified UAE employment lawyers on LEXAI to assess your case.

DIFC employees are treated differently from mainland UAE workers. Since 2020, the DIFC replaced the traditional lump-sum end-of-service gratuity with the DIFC Employee Workplace Savings (DEWS) plan, a funded scheme governed by DIFC Employment Law. Instead of accruing a gratuity paid at the end, your employer makes regular monthly contributions into the DEWS plan (or a qualifying alternative scheme) based on your basic salary, and those contributions are invested and paid to you when you leave. The contribution rate is set by the DIFC framework and rises with length of service, so confirm your applicable rate and any service that pre-dates the scheme — service accrued before DEWS began may still carry a legacy gratuity entitlement up to that point. Because DEWS is contribution-based, your final benefit reflects what was paid in plus investment performance, not the mainland 21/30-day formula. Check your DIFC employment contract and DEWS statements for your balance. For disputes over contributions or pre-DEWS service, you can review the DIFC rules or compare verified UAE employment lawyers on LEXAI.

Yes, domestic workers in the UAE are entitled to end-of-service benefits, but they are covered by a separate law rather than the main private-sector Labour Law. Domestic workers — such as housemaids, drivers, nannies, cooks, and gardeners — fall under the UAE's dedicated domestic workers law (Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022), administered by MOHRE. That law provides for an end-of-service gratuity for eligible domestic workers who complete the required period of continuous service, calculated by reference to their wage. Because the domestic-workers regime sits outside the general Labour Law, you should confirm the exact qualifying period and accrual basis from MOHRE or the domestic workers law itself rather than assuming the standard 21/30-day private-sector formula applies in identical form. Domestic workers are also entitled to other protections such as paid leave and timely wage payment. If a domestic worker's end-of-service benefit is withheld, the matter can be raised with MOHRE, which oversees domestic-worker complaints. For a disputed entitlement, you can compare verified UAE employment lawyers on LEXAI.

Yes. If your employer terminates you without you being at fault, you remain entitled to your full end-of-service gratuity in the UAE, provided you have completed at least one continuous year of service. Under the UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), administered by MOHRE, gratuity is calculated the same way regardless of who ended the contract: 21 days' basic wage per year for the first five years and 30 days per year thereafter, on basic salary, capped at two years' wages. Beyond gratuity, a termination without a valid lawful reason can also give rise to additional entitlements — for example, notice-period pay and, where a dismissal is found to be arbitrary or unlawful, possible compensation, which MOHRE and the labour courts can assess. Your final settlement should also include unpaid wages and accrued annual leave. If your employer refuses to pay gratuity or other dues on termination, you can file a complaint with MOHRE. To assess whether you may have an arbitrary-dismissal claim on top of gratuity, you can compare verified UAE employment lawyers on LEXAI.

Generally yes — once you are confirmed in your role, your probation period counts toward your continuous service for end-of-service gratuity in the UAE. Under the UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), administered by MOHRE, your service is treated as continuous from your start date, so the probation months are included when you later cross the one-year qualifying threshold and when your total service is calculated. The clock does not restart after probation ends. However, if you leave or are let go during probation before completing one full year of service, no gratuity is payable for that incomplete period, because the one-year minimum eligibility rule still applies. The gratuity formula remains the same: 21 days' basic wage per year for the first five years and 30 days thereafter, on basic salary, capped at two years' wages. There are also specific notice and procedural rules that apply during probation itself. If your employer excludes your probation from the service count after you completed a year, you can challenge it with MOHRE or compare verified UAE employment lawyers on LEXAI.

Yes. Any annual leave you have accrued but not taken is paid to you in cash as part of your final settlement. This applies however your employment ends — resignation, termination by the employer, or expiry of your contract. Under the UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), administered by MOHRE, you are entitled to payment for your untaken leave balance. How the amount is worked out: the leave-encashment component is generally calculated on the basic wage for those leave days. So take your daily basic wage and multiply it by the number of accrued leave days still owed to you at your departure date. The law sets out the wage definition used for end-of-service purposes, so confirm the exact basis that applies to your contract with your employer or with MOHRE. Leave pay is not the same as gratuity. Gratuity rewards your length of service; leave encashment compensates you for holiday you earned but did not use. They are separate entitlements and should appear as separate lines. A complete final settlement should cover any unpaid salary, your accrued leave payment, and your gratuity if you completed at least one year of service. Check the figure before you sign anything. You should receive a clear breakdown showing how the amount was reached. Employers sometimes miscount the leave balance, or apply the wrong wage figure to it, so check both the number of days and the rate used against your own records. If the leave payment is missing or looks wrong, ask your employer for a written explanation first. If that does not resolve it, you can file a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). You can also compare verified UAE employment lawyers on LEXAI to review your settlement before you accept it.

Yes — for gratuity purposes, your service is generally tied to a single employer, so moving to a new UAE company starts a fresh service period. Under the UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), administered by MOHRE, your end-of-service gratuity is calculated based on continuous service with the same employer; when you resign and join a different company, your previous employer settles the gratuity earned during your time with them, and your tenure with the new employer begins from zero. That means each job builds its own gratuity, and the one-year minimum eligibility applies separately to each. There are limited situations — such as a genuine transfer of the business or undertaking to a new owner where employment continues — in which service may be preserved rather than reset; whether that applies depends on the specific arrangement. When you leave the first employer, make sure they pay the gratuity you accrued there as part of your final settlement. If a former employer fails to pay out your earned gratuity on departure, you can raise it with MOHRE or compare verified UAE employment lawyers on LEXAI.