End-of-Service Gratuity Calculator (UAE Labour Law)
This end-of-service gratuity calculator estimates the statutory minimum gratuity owed to a foreign worker under the UAE Labour Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, by applying Article 51, and for part-time contracts Article 30 of its Executive Regulation, to the last basic wage and the length of service.
If the employer will not pay what is due, My Employer Is Refusing to Pay My Gratuity sets out how to pursue it; if the employer is in the DIFC or ADGM, the guide to the three UAE employment regimes explains why a different law may govern the contract.
The calculator on this page, after the explanatory sections, takes five facts — the last monthly basic wage, the first and the last day of service, any days of unpaid leave, and whether the contract is full-time or part-time — and applies the formula in Article 51 of the UAE Labour Law and Article 30 of its Executive Regulation, showing every intermediate figure. The sections explain each input, the arithmetic, the cap, who is outside the formula, the deductions an employer may make and when the money is due, with each rule tied to the article it comes from. It is general information checked against the law’s own text on the federal legislation portal, not legal advice, and a real figure can depend on facts the calculator cannot see.
LAST REVIEWED 1 OCTOBER 2026
Researched and maintained by the LEXNOVA Content & Research Team · Editorial policy
Reviewed for legal accuracy by LEXNOVA's team of lawyers. General information only — not legal advice. LEXNOVA is not a law firm.
WHO THIS GUIDE IS FOR
Anyone employed in the UAE private sector under the federal Labour Law who wants to check a gratuity figure before a contract ends, after a resignation or a dismissal, or when the employer’s final settlement arrives; and employers or HR staff who want to see how the statutory minimum is built up. UAE nationals, employees within the DIFC and ADGM employment regimes, piece-rate workers and workers enrolled in the alternative savings scheme are outside the calculator’s scope, and the guide explains why.
What the Calculator Estimates, and for Whom
Article 51(2) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 entitles a foreign full-time worker who has completed one or more years of continuous service to an end-of-service gratuity calculated on the basic wage. Article 52 leaves the gratuity for other types of work to the Executive Regulation, and Article 30 of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 sets it for part-time and job-sharing contracts. The calculator covers both groups.
Everything the calculator shows is a statutory minimum. Article 65(1) makes the rights in the Decree-Law the minimum rights of workers and preserves any more beneficial right granted by other legislation, an agreement or the employment contract, and Article 65(4) lets an employer apply internal regulations that are more beneficial to the worker. A final settlement can therefore lawfully be higher than the estimate; a figure below it calls for an explanation, such as a deduction the law allows.
Some groups sit outside the formula altogether, from UAE nationals to employees within the DIFC and ADGM regimes. The section on who the calculator does not cover lists them, with the provision or the official statement that places each one outside it.
The Inputs, One by One
Last monthly basic wage. Article 1 defines the basic wage as the wage specified in the employment contract that is paid for the work, not including any allowances or benefits in kind; the wider term “wage” adds the cash allowances and benefits in kind. Article 51(2) calculates the gratuity on the basic wage and Article 51(5) uses the last basic wage the worker received, so enter that figure, not the total package and not an earlier basic wage. The calculator asks for a monthly figure; Article 51(5) applies the same rule to workers paid by the week or the day, and a different one, the average daily wage, to workers paid by the piece.
First and last day of service. The calculator counts both days, so a contract that began on 1 February 2019 and ended on 31 January 2026 has 2,557 days of service. Article 1 defines continuous service as uninterrupted service with the same employer or its legal successor from the date work began, and Article 8(4) adds a renewed or extended contract to the original period when continuous service is calculated, so enter the first day of the first contract with that employer, not the start of the latest renewal.
Unpaid leave days. Article 51(4) leaves days of absence from work without pay out of the duration of service, and Article 33(2) says the same of leave without pay taken with the employer’s approval. Article 30(2) of the Decree-Law also leaves out of the service that counts for the gratuity up to 45 days of unpaid absence after maternity leave, where an illness of the mother or the child resulting from pregnancy or childbirth, proven by a medical certificate, prevents her return to work. Enter the total of such days across the whole employment; the calculator subtracts them before it converts days into years. Days for which a wage was paid are not excluded by these provisions.
Contract type and weekly hours. Article 7 lists the types of work — full-time, part-time, temporary and flexible — and Article 5 of the Executive Regulation adds remote work and job sharing, with job sharing treated under the controls for part-time work. For a part-time or job-sharing contract, enter the weekly hours in the contract; the calculator compares them with a 48-hour week, the maximum normal working hours in Article 17(1), and applies the percentage that Article 30 of the Executive Regulation requires.
The Formula in Plain Language
Step one turns days into years. Article 67 provides that, in applying the Decree-Law, a calendar year is deemed to be 365 days and a month 30 days, so the calculator divides the counted days of service by 365. A period of 2,557 days is therefore 7.0055 years rather than exactly seven, because two leap days fall inside it.
Step two converts years into days of wage. Article 51(2)(a) awards the wage of 21 days for each of the first five years of service, and Article 51(2)(b) the wage of 30 days for each year after that. Article 51(3) adds a proportionate amount for part of a year once one year of continuous service is complete, so 3.5 years earns 3.5 × 21 = 73.5 days of wage, and 7 years earns 5 × 21 + 2 × 30 = 165 days.
Step three prices a day of wage. Because Article 67 deems a month to be 30 days, the calculator takes one day of basic wage as the monthly basic wage divided by 30: AED 10,000 a month is AED 333.33 a day. The days of wage from step two are multiplied by that daily figure.
Step four applies the cap. Article 51(6) provides that the total gratuity must not exceed two years’ wage. The calculator applies the cap as 24 times the monthly basic wage entered, because the basic wage is the only wage figure it asks for; the section on the cap explains what that choice means.
Step five, for part-time and job-sharing contracts only, multiplies the full-time result by the percentage in Article 30(1) of the Executive Regulation: the annual working hours in the contract divided by the annual working hours under a full-time contract, multiplied by 100. A 24-hour week against a 48-hour week is 50 per cent, so the estimate is half the full-time figure. The calculator works that full-time figure out on the basic wage entered, which is an assumption the section on part-time work explains.
Worked Examples
The calculator reproduces each example below. Figures in the middle of an example are rounded for reading; the calculator keeps every decimal and rounds only what it shows.
One year at AED 10,000 basic. 365 days ÷ 365 = 1 year; 1 × 21 = 21 days of wage; 21 × 10,000 ÷ 30 = AED 7,000.00. Eleven months, or 330 days at 30 days a month, would be 0.90 years, and nothing would be due yet under Article 51(2) and 51(3).
Three and a half years at AED 10,000 basic. 1,278 days ÷ 365 = 3.5014 years, all within the first five; 3.5014 × 21 = 73.53 days of wage; at AED 333.33 a day the estimate is AED 24,509.59. The part year counts because the first year is complete (Article 51(3)).
Seven years at AED 10,000 basic. 2,555 days ÷ 365 = 7 years; 5 × 21 = 105 days for the first five years and 2 × 30 = 60 days for the sixth and seventh; 165 × 10,000 ÷ 30 = AED 55,000.00, well inside the cap of 24 × 10,000 = AED 240,000.00. The same service with 100 days of unpaid leave has 2,455 counted days, or 6.7260 years; 105 + 1.7260 × 30 = 156.78 days of wage, and the estimate falls to AED 52,260.27 (Article 51(4)).
Thirty years at AED 5,000 basic. 10,950 days ÷ 365 = 30 years; 105 days for the first five years plus 25 × 30 = 750 days for the rest is 855 days of wage; 855 × 5,000 ÷ 30 = AED 142,500.00 before the cap. Two years’ wage, measured as 24 × 5,000, is AED 120,000.00, so Article 51(6) limits the estimate to AED 120,000.00.
Seven years part-time at 24 hours a week, with AED 10,000 entered as the basic wage. Worked out on that wage, the full-time figure is AED 55,000.00; 24 ÷ 48 = 50 per cent; the estimate is AED 27,500.00 under Article 30 of the Executive Regulation, on the calculator’s assumption about the wage explained in the section on part-time work.
The calculator opens with 1 February 2019 to 31 January 2026 at AED 10,000 basic: 2,557 days, or 7.0055 years; 105 + 2.0055 × 30 = 165.16 days of wage; an estimate of AED 55,054.79.
The Cap of Two Years’ Wage
Article 51(6) is the only limit on the total: however long the service, the gratuity may not exceed two years’ wage. With 21 days a year for five years and 30 days a year after that, the days of wage reach 720, which is twenty-four months of 30 days, after 25.5 years of service; on the calculator’s measure, the cap starts to apply during the twenty-sixth year.
The article says two years’ wage, and Article 1 defines wage more widely than basic wage: it adds the cash allowances and benefits in kind. The calculator has no allowance figure, so it measures the cap on the basic wage. If the cap were measured on a wage that includes allowances, it would sit higher than the calculator shows, which matters only after very long service; how the cap applies to a particular package is a question for a lawyer, not for this page.
Part-Time, Job Sharing and Temporary Work
Article 52 of the Decree-Law delegates the gratuity for types of work other than full-time to the Executive Regulation. Article 30(1) of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 then sets one rule for part-time and job-sharing contracts: the annual working hours in the employment contract, divided by the annual working hours under a full-time contract and multiplied by 100, gives the percentage of the full-time gratuity that is due.
The Executive Regulation does not itself state the annual hours of a full-time contract. The calculator uses 48 hours a week, the maximum normal working hours in Article 17(1) of the Decree-Law, as the full-time comparator; if the full-time contract used for comparison has fewer hours, the percentage is higher than the calculator shows. Comparing weekly hours gives the same ratio as comparing annual totals when both contracts run for the same weeks of the year.
Article 30(1) applies the percentage to the value of the end-of-service pay under a full-time contract and does not say which wage that value is worked out on. The calculator works it out on the basic wage entered. If that wage is already reduced for part-time hours, the statutory figure may be higher than the estimate, and a part-time worker in that position should confirm the figure with a lawyer.
Article 30(2) of the Executive Regulation states that the end-of-service pay does not apply under a temporary work model or where the duration is less than a year, so the calculator offers no temporary option and shows nothing for service under a year.
Resignation, Dismissal and Death
Article 51 sets the gratuity by length of service and basic wage; it does not make the entitlement depend on which party ended the contract or why. The UAE Government portal describes it in the same terms: a worker who has completed at least one year of continuous service is entitled to gratuity upon termination. The calculator therefore asks nothing about the reason for leaving.
Two provisions say so expressly for dismissal. Article 39(1)(g) lists dismissal from service as a disciplinary sanction that preserves the worker’s right to the end-of-service gratuity, and Article 47(3) keeps the notice allowance and the gratuity alongside any compensation for an unlawful dismissal.
If a worker dies, Article 15(1) requires the employer to hand the worker’s family any wages and financial entitlements together with the end-of-service gratuity, within ten days of the death or of the employer learning of it, and Article 15(2) lets a worker name a family member in writing to receive them.
One transitional rule can change the method. Article 68(3) allows an employer to calculate the gratuity under the provisions on indefinite-term contracts in the former Labour Law, Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, subject to Article 68(2), which required indefinite-term contracts made under that law to be converted into fixed-term contracts. The calculator applies only Article 51 of the current Decree-Law.
Who the Calculator Does Not Cover
UAE nationals. Article 51(1) sends a national worker’s end-of-service entitlement to the legislation regulating pensions and social security, not to the formula in Article 51(2), and the UAE Government portal says the same for Emiratis working in the private sector.
Employees within the DIFC regime. The DIFC Courts’ published answers on the DIFC Employment Law say that DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019 applies to employees based within, or ordinarily working in or from, the DIFC, or whose contract is stated to be subject to it, and that since 1 February 2020 employers enrol eligible employees in the DEWS plan or a qualifying alternative scheme, which replaced the statutory end-of-service gratuity.
Employees of ADGM-registered entities. ADGM’s Employment Affairs Office states that ADGM is a financial free zone exempt from the UAE Federal Labour Law and that the ADGM Employment Regulations 2024 apply to ADGM-registered entities and their employees. The guide to the three UAE employment regimes, linked at the top of this page, compares the three systems.
Workers in the alternative savings scheme. Article 51(8) allows the Cabinet to approve alternative systems to the end-of-service gratuity. The UAE Government portal describes the voluntary Savings Scheme, links Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023 Regarding an Alternative End of Service Benefits System, and states that once employees are enrolled the employer must stop applying the traditional gratuity system to them and must calculate and settle any gratuity accrued before enrolment. For an enrolled worker, the calculator is relevant only to the period before enrolment.
Piece-rate workers, domestic workers and government employees. Article 51(5) calculates the gratuity of a worker paid by the piece on the average daily wage, not on a monthly basic wage. Article 3(2) places domestic workers and employees of federal and local government bodies outside the Decree-Law altogether.
Deductions the Employer May Make
Article 51(7) lets the employer deduct from the gratuity any amounts due by law or by a judgment, on the conditions and procedures in the Executive Regulation. Article 29(1) of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 lists them: amounts the worker owes to repay loans or sums paid above what was due; repayment of amounts deducted for pension and insurance contributions under the applicable legislation; amounts deducted for violations under the establishment’s list of penalties approved by the Ministry; debts owed under a court judgment against the worker; and amounts to repair damage the worker caused by a mistake or by breaching the employer’s instructions, resulting in damage to or loss of the employer’s tools, machines, products or materials.
Article 29(2) adds a condition for two of them: where the amount arises from a violation or from damage attributed to the worker’s mistake, the employer must follow the procedures in the Decree-Law and the Regulation, and three months must not have passed since the amount fell due, unless otherwise agreed. The calculator does not model deductions, because they are facts of the individual case; compare the estimate with the settlement statement and ask for the legal basis of any difference.
When the Gratuity Must Be Paid
Article 53 requires the employer to pay the worker, within 14 days of the date the contract ends, the wages and all other entitlements due under the Decree-Law and its implementing resolutions, the contract or the establishment’s articles of association. The gratuity is one of those entitlements, and the UAE Government portal names it expressly among the payments due within 14 days of the termination of the contract.
If it is not paid, Article 54 sets the route. The worker applies to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, which examines the application and tries to settle the dispute amicably. Where the claim does not exceed AED 50,000, the Ministry decides the dispute itself by a resolution that has the force of an executive instrument, and either party may take the matter to the Court of First Instance within 15 working days of being notified; larger claims that cannot be settled are referred to the competent court. Under Article 54(9), a claim for rights under the Decree-Law is not heard once two years have passed from the end of the employment relationship. The legal-help page linked at the top of this guide covers that process for a gratuity an employer refuses to pay.
Why the Estimate Can Differ From the Final Figure
Rounding. The calculator carries full precision through the arithmetic and rounds only what it displays: money and days of wage to two decimal places, years to four. For a part-time contract it applies the percentage to the full-time figure as displayed. A payroll system that rounds the daily wage or the years of service first can arrive at a figure a few dirhams away.
Leap days and the 365-day year. Article 67 deems a year to be 365 days, so seven calendar years that contain two 29 Februaries are 7.0055 years of counted service, and a statement that counts whole calendar years will be slightly lower.
The wage used. Article 51(5) uses the last basic wage received, so a statement built on an earlier or an average basic wage will differ from the estimate.
The other usual reasons are the measure used for the cap on a package with allowances, deductions under Article 29 of the Executive Regulation, a more beneficial contract term or internal scheme under Article 65, a period in the alternative savings scheme, and service under a former indefinite-term contract to which Article 68(3) applies. The estimate is a starting point for a conversation with the employer or a lawyer, not the end of one.
Gratuity Calculator
ESTIMATED GRATUITY
AED 55,054.79
- Days from the first to the last day of service, both included
- 2,557
- Unpaid leave days left out (Art. 51(4))
- 0
- Counted days of service
- 2,557
- Years of service (days ÷ 365, Art. 67)
- 7.0055
- Years within the first 5 (21 days' wage each, Art. 51(2)(a))
- 5.0000
- Years after the first 5 (30 days' wage each, Art. 51(2)(b))
- 2.0055
- Days of wage for the first five years
- 105.00
- Days of wage for the later years
- 60.16
- Days of basic wage in total
- 165.16
- Daily basic wage (monthly ÷ 30, Art. 67)
- AED 333.33
- Full-time amount before the cap
- AED 55,054.79
- Cap: 24 months of the basic wage entered (Art. 51(6))
- AED 240,000.00
- Cap applied
- No
- Estimated gratuity
- AED 55,054.79
HOW THE FIGURE WAS REACHED
2,557 days of service less 0 unpaid days is 2,557 counted days, and 2,557 ÷ 365 = 7.0055 years (Article 67).
The first 5 years (1,825 counted days) earn 5 × 21 = 105 days of basic wage (Article 51(2)(a)). The other 732 counted days, 2.0055 years, earn 732 × 30 ÷ 365 = 60.16 days (Article 51(2)(b) and 51(3)), so the total is 165.16 days of basic wage.
A day of basic wage is AED 10,000.00 ÷ 30 = AED 333.33 (Article 67). Without rounding along the way, AED 10,000.00 × (105 + 732 × 30 ÷ 365) ÷ 30 = AED 55,054.79, within the cap of 24 × AED 10,000.00 = AED 240,000.00 (Article 51(6)).
Estimate only — not legal advice. Based on Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (Art. 51 and 67) and Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 (Art. 30); DIFC and ADGM have their own rules.
The estimate does not deduct amounts the employer may take off by law or under a court judgment (Art. 51(7); Executive Regulation Art. 29), and a contract or company scheme may grant more than this statutory minimum (Art. 65). If the employer is in the DIFC or ADGM, read which UAE employment law applies to you first.
Sources & legal basis
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations ↗
- Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on the Executive Regulation of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 ↗
- UAE Government portal: End of service benefits for workers in the private sector ↗
- DIFC Courts: FAQs on the DIFC Employment Law (PDF) ↗
- ADGM Employment Affairs Office ↗
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