Resignation

Resignation is the employee's voluntary termination of a UAE employment contract, normally by serving the agreed written notice of thirty to ninety days. Under the current Labour Law, resignation no longer forfeits end-of-service gratuity — a major change from the old regime where early resignation could slash the entitlement — so a properly resigning employee keeps gratuity, accrued leave pay, and other dues. The law also recognises resignation without notice in defined cases, such as employer breach (unpaid wages, assault, unsafe conditions), preserving full entitlements. Practical friction points: employers pressuring staff to sign 'resignation' letters to disguise dismissals (which can defeat unemployment-insurance claims and weaken compensation arguments), notice buyouts, leave set-off against notice, and visa cancellation timing, since the residence visa linked to the job moves onto a grace-period clock after cancellation.