UAE Notice Pay & Unlawful Dismissal Calculator

Under Article 43 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, either party ending a private-sector employment relationship must give written notice. The notice period is set by the contract and must be a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 90 days, equal for both the employer and the worker unless a longer period is more favourable to the worker. Whichever party fails to give the agreed notice owes the other party pay in lieu of notice.

Pay-in-lieu of notice is calculated as the daily wage multiplied by the number of notice days. The daily wage is the last monthly wage divided by 30, so a worker on AED 12,000 a month has a daily wage of AED 400; a 30-day notice period therefore equals AED 12,000. The figure is always based on the LAST wage, not an average. During the notice period, when the employer is the terminating party, the worker is entitled to one unpaid day per week to search for new work.

Article 47 deals with unlawful termination. A labour court may award compensation of up to three months' gross wage (based on the last wage), assessed on the type of work, the damage caused to the worker, and the length of service. The previous concept of "arbitrary dismissal" was narrowed to "unlawful termination" under the 2021 law — it now mainly covers dismissal in retaliation for filing a valid complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) or a lawsuit. This compensation is separate from, and additional to, notice-period pay, end-of-service gratuity, and accrued leave.

Probation rules differ. To terminate during probation, the employer must give 14 days' notice; a worker moving to another UAE employer gives 30 days' notice, while a worker leaving the country gives 14 days' notice (leaving without it can trigger a one-year work ban). Disputes start with MOHRE mediation: MOHRE issues binding decisions for amounts under AED 50,000, and larger claims proceed to the Labour Court. This tool gives an indicative estimate — your contract terms and the court's assessment govern the final amounts.