DEWS in the DIFC: How the Employee Workplace Savings Plan Works

Direct answer. DEWS, the DIFC Employee Workplace Savings Plan, replaced the lump-sum end-of-service gratuity for most people who work in the Dubai International Financial Centre. Since 1 February 2020, a DIFC employer must pay every month into DEWS or another certified Qualifying Scheme. The minimum is 5.83% of your monthly basic wage for your first five years of service and 8.33% for each later year, under Article 66(7) of the DIFC Employment Law, DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019. Nothing comes out of your salary; the money is invested in your name, and when you leave you can withdraw all or part of it, or stay invested. UAE and GCC nationals are registered for a state pension through the GPSSA instead, and since 2024 some are also owed a top-up into a Qualifying Scheme.

What DEWS is, and what it replaced

Before 2020, the gratuity was a lump sum the employer paid at the end of the job, and the law did not require it to be funded in advance.

The DIFC Employment Law, DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019, in force since 28 August 2019 (DIFC enactment notice), changed that. Its current text is Consolidated Version No. 5 (July 2025), which the DIFC Employment Law page links as a PDF. Part 10 makes employers fund end-of-service benefits every month into a "Qualifying Scheme". DEWS is the DIFC's own scheme, launched in February 2020. The DIFC qualifying schemes page names Equiom as master trustee, Zurich Middle East as administrator, Mercer as investment adviser and Smart Pension as technology provider. The DIFC's DEWS employer guide, also linked from that page, adds that a DEWS Supervisory Board oversees the plan. The guide sets plan rules, not law, and they can change. You can see your balance and contributions on the Zurich Workplace Solutions portal.

Three features matter most:

• Your employer pays. The DEWS guide says contributions "are not deducted from salary."
• You get the account value. You receive what was paid in, plus or minus investment returns, less fees.
• The investment risk is yours. Article 66(15) puts that risk on the employee. DEWS offers conventional funds, Sharia-compliant funds and a capital protection bank account option.

An employer may instead use another Qualifying Scheme that holds a Certificate of Compliance (Article 66(9) and (10)); the DIFC qualifying schemes page also lists GO SAVER as one. The criteria are in the DIFC Employment Regulations; ask your employer which scheme it uses. While that certificate is valid, you cannot sue the employer over its choice (Article 66(16)).

If you run payroll for a DIFC employer, the two dates to diarise are registration within two months of each employee's Qualifying Scheme Commencement Date (Article 66(11)) and each month's contribution by the 21st day of the following month (Article 66(17)).

Who is enrolled, and who is not

The law covers employees based in, or ordinarily working in or from, the DIFC, and those whose contract applies it (Article 4(1)).

Registration and probation

Your employer must register you within two months of your Qualifying Scheme Commencement Date, which is your first day of work if you were hired on or after 1 February 2020 (Article 66(11)). Contributions for that gap are owed back to that date and paid together in the month you are registered, with no make-up for missed investment growth (Article 66(11)(c)).

During probation, the employer may defer contributions (Article 66(12)). If it defers and you are confirmed, your Qualifying Scheme Commencement Date becomes your confirmation date, so the two-month window runs from then, but contributions are still owed back to your first day (Article 66(12)(a)). If you are not confirmed, nothing is due. If the employer did not defer, anything already paid is yours to keep.

UAE and GCC nationals are not simply exempt

Under Article 65(1), the employer must register a UAE or GCC national with the GPSSA and pay pension contributions under federal law, and that employee gets no DIFC gratuity (Article 65(2)). UAE nationals fall under Federal Decree-Law No. 57 of 2023, or stay under Federal Law No. 7 of 1999 if insured before it. GCC nationals are registered through the GPSSA with their home country's civil pension authority.

The DIFC Laws Amendment Law, DIFC Law No. 1 of 2024, enacted in March 2024, added Article 65(3). Under Article 65(3) as it now reads, if the employer's GPSSA contribution for a UAE or GCC national is lower than the Core Benefits a non-national would receive, the employee is owed a top-up of the difference into a Qualifying Scheme, but only if it comes to AED 1,000 a month or more. The comparison against the employer's GPSSA contribution for that employee, not the employee's own, comes from the DIFC Laws Amendment Law, DIFC Law No. 1 of 2025 (Articles 65(3) and 66(7)(c)). The top-up runs from the first day of the month after the 2024 amendment was enacted (Schedule 1).

Whether you qualify depends on GPSSA contribution rates and salary caps, which the GPSSA sets and can change; confirm the current values with the GPSSA or a licensed UAE lawyer. See the UAE pension contribution salary cap guide.

How much your employer must pay in

Article 66(7) sets a monthly minimum, called Core Benefits. Your employer must pay at least:

• 5.83% of your monthly basic wage for your first five years of service, counting service with the same employer before 1 February 2020;
• 8.33% of your monthly basic wage for each additional year.

In the month you reach five years, the two rates are split pro rata (Article 66(8)(c)). An employer may pay more.

What counts as basic wage. Monthly basic wage is annual basic wage divided by 12. Basic wage excludes allowances, bonuses and other discretionary, one-off or profit-linked payments. See basic salary.

The 50% floor. Under Article 66(8)(b), the monthly basic wage used for DEWS cannot be less than 50% of your total monthly wage. A contract that calls most of your pay "allowances" cannot push contributions below that floor.

Three more rules protect the number:

• Contributions follow your contractual basic wage even in months with permitted deductions, reduced sick or maternity pay, or unpaid leave (Article 66(8)(a)).
• Each month's contribution is due by the 21st day of the following month (Article 66(17)).
• Any deal to skip contributions, pay less than Core Benefits, or dress regular pay up as discretionary to cut your basic wage is void, and you cannot waive these rights (Article 66(13)).

Illustrations:

Voluntary top-ups

Under Article 66(14), you can ask your employer in writing to deduct an agreed extra amount from your pay for the scheme. The DEWS guide gives the current plan rules: no minimum, a maximum of 100% of basic salary per pay period, and up to two withdrawals a year from your voluntary pot, each up to 30% of its value. These are plan rules, not law, and can change.

The gratuity you earned before February 2020

Service before 1 February 2020 still earns a gratuity under the old rules if you are not registered with the GPSSA and complete at least one year of continuous employment with that employer, before or after that date (Article 66(1)).

The formula, under Article 66(2) to (4):

• 21 days' basic wage for each year of pre-DEWS service, for the first five years;
• 30 days' basic wage for each further year;
• part years pro rata, capped at two times your annual wage.

The basic wage used cannot be less than 50% of annual wage, the daily rate is basic wage divided by 365, and the wage is taken at your termination date (Article 66(3)). The employer may deduct amounts you owe it (Article 66(5)).

The transfer choice. Article 66(6) lets your employer move that gratuity into a Qualifying Scheme. With your prior written consent, the employer is released from paying it at termination and from covering any shortfall.

Neither option is always better. A long stay with pay rises favours keeping the gratuity. Doubts about the employer's finances favour the transfer. For the mainland formula, see how UAE end-of-service gratuity is calculated under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.

Getting your money out

While you are employed, employer contributions and any transferred pre-2020 gratuity stay locked. The only in-service access is to your voluntary pot.

When you leave, the guide says you can withdraw fully or partly, or stay invested, through your account on the Zurich Workplace Solutions portal. The guide adds:

• Withdrawals are paid in US dollars by default; you can ask for AED or another currency at the rate on the day of transfer. Bank charges vary.
• Fees are deducted through fund pricing and can change. Check the current fund factsheets.
• You can nominate beneficiaries in line with Sharia or by naming specific people.

Your final part-month is counted pro rata and may be paid to you directly with your final dues (Article 66(7) and Article 19(1)(d)). Your other final dues, such as leave pay and notice, follow DIFC rules that differ from the onshore law; the DIFC vs onshore comparison sets out the differences.

When contributions are missing or late

Check your DEWS account after the 21st of each month. If a contribution is missing, raise it with your employer in writing (Article 66(7) and (17)).

After you leave:

1. A 14-day deadline. Contributions still not paid into the scheme become payable to you directly within 14 days of your termination date (Article 19(1)(d)).
2. A late-payment penalty. The Court can then award one daily wage (annual wage divided by 260, for a five-day week) for each day in arrears (Article 19(2)), if the unpaid amount exceeds your weekly wage, which is annual wage divided by 52 (Article 19(3)). It is waived while a dispute is pending before the Court, or if your own unreasonable conduct caused the delay (Article 19(4)). See what happens when a DIFC employer pays final settlement late.
3. A court claim. Article 66(20) preserves your right to sue for unpaid Core Benefits. The DIFC Small Claims Tribunal hears claims up to AED 500,000, and employment claims of any value if all parties agree in writing (RDC Part 53). The SCT first holds a consultation before an SCT judge so the parties can try to settle (RDC 53.21 and 53.22). Filing fees are set by the DIFC Courts fee schedule; check difccourts.ae for the current figure.

Watch the deadline. Under Article 10, you must claim during employment or within six months of your termination date, or the Court will not hear it.

In Neda v Natalie [2024] DIFC SCT 062, the employee was not enrolled at the start and then had a gap in contributions. The SCT ordered AED 2,649.90 in lieu of the missed contributions, plus an Article 19 penalty of AED 13,942.71 because final pay was late (read the judgment).

The DIFC Authority can fine an employer up to USD 2,000 per contravention for each employee (Schedule 2), but that money goes to the Authority, not to you. A settlement can waive rights only if you had the chance of independent legal advice or the parties used Court mediation (Article 11(2)(b)), and a deal for less than Core Benefits is void anyway (Article 66(13)). For the filing steps, see how to file an employment claim at the DIFC Courts.

Mistakes that cost DIFC employees money

• Not checking the 50% floor when your basic is a small share of your pay.
• Assuming UAE or GCC nationals get nothing; the Article 65(3) top-up may apply.
• Signing a gratuity-transfer consent without comparing it to your final-wage figure.
• Missing the six-month limit. Diarise it on your last working day.
• Going to the wrong forum. DIFC employment claims go to the DIFC Courts (Articles 10 and 66(20)), not the onshore system, and ADGM has its own rules. See how DIFC and ADGM employment law differ and how the DIFC Courts are structured.

Your next step

Gather your contract (basic and total wage), your monthly scheme statements, your start date and probation confirmation, any gratuity-transfer consent, and, for UAE and GCC nationals, your GPSSA registration details. If the numbers do not match the rules above, raise it in writing. If that fails and the six-month clock is running, find a UAE employment lawyer in the LEXAI directory. For the wider picture, read the DIFC employment law vs onshore comparison.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Confirm current procedure with the relevant authority or a licensed UAE lawyer.