Termination of Employment

Termination of employment is the ending of a UAE employment contract by either party or by operation of law. The Labour Law lists lawful routes: mutual agreement, expiry of the fixed term, either party terminating with notice for a legitimate reason, summary dismissal for the gravest misconduct (with due process steps), employer closure or insolvency, and the employee's death or permanent incapacity. Each route triggers the same settlement mechanics — final wages, payment for untaken leave, end-of-service gratuity, repatriation ticket where applicable — but on different terms, and an unlawful termination adds court-assessed compensation. The post-termination sequence matters as much as the dismissal itself: work permit and visa cancellation, the residence grace period, ILOE claims, and any non-compete all start running. Most labour litigation is, at bottom, a fight over which termination route actually occurred and what it owed.