LEGAL GUIDE

How Notice Periods Work Under the UAE Labour Law

Under the UAE Labour Law, an employer or an employee may end an employment contract for a legitimate reason by giving the other side written notice of the period agreed in the contract, which must be at least 30 and no more than 90 days; during probation, Article 9 sets separate minimum notice periods of 14 days or one month.

If your employer is registered in the DIFC or ADGM, first check which UAE employment law applies to you; if you were dismissed and believe the dismissal itself was unlawful, see what to do if you were fired without a real reason.

The rule is in Article 43 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations, as amended. Either party may end the contract for a legitimate reason if it tells the other side in writing and the notice period agreed in the contract, between 30 and 90 days, is worked. During that period the contract stays in force and the employee is paid in full, and whichever side does not respect the notice owes the other a notice period allowance equal to the wage for the period, or the part of it not served. Probation has its own notice periods in Article 9, and Articles 44 and 45 list the cases in which an employer may dismiss, or an employee may leave, without notice. This guide sets out each rule in the law’s own terms for private-sector employment under the federal law. It is general information, not legal advice.

LAST REVIEWED 1 OCTOBER 2026

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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

Employees who are about to resign or have just been given notice, people still on probation who want to change jobs or leave the UAE, and employers or HR teams preparing a termination letter. It is for anyone who needs to know how many days of notice are due, whether the notice can be shortened or skipped, what has to be paid if it is not respected, and by when the final payment is due.

What does the UAE Labour Law say about notice periods?

Article 43(1) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 lets either party to an employment contract end it ‘for any legitimate reason’, on two conditions: the other party must be notified in writing, and the notice period agreed in the contract must be worked. That period may not be less than 30 days or more than 90 days. Article 42(3) says the same thing from the other direction: a contract ends at the request of one party only if the Decree-Law’s rules on termination and the notice period agreed in the contract are respected.

The number of days is therefore set by your own contract, within that range. Article 1 defines the period as the notice period specified in the employment contract, which both parties must abide by if either of them wishes to end it, and the Executive Regulation (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 10(1)) lists the notice period, the probation period if there is one, and the procedures for terminating the contract among the details an employment contract includes. The first document to read is therefore the contract itself.

A note on words. The English translation on the UAE Legislation portal calls the notice period the ‘warning period’ and the payment owed for not respecting it the ‘warning allowance’. The UAE Government portal, u.ae, uses ‘notice period’ and ‘notice period allowance’, and this guide does the same. The legislation portal also states that the Arabic text prevails over any English version.

For counting, Article 67 says that periods under the Decree-Law follow the Gregorian calendar, and that a year is treated as 365 days and a month as 30 days.

Which jobs do these notice rules cover?

The Decree-Law applies to establishments, employers and workers in the private sector in the UAE (Article 3(1)). It does not apply to employees of federal and local government bodies, to members of the armed forces, police and security, or to domestic workers (Article 3(2)).

Two financial free zones have employment laws of their own. The DIFC Courts’ published FAQs state that the DIFC Employment Law (DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019, as amended) applies to people employed under an employment contract who are based within, or ordinarily work in or from, the Dubai International Financial Centre, or whose contract says it is subject to that law. ADGM states that its Employment Regulations 2024 apply to ADGM-registered entities and their employees. This guide does not cover the notice rules of either centre; the guide on which UAE employment law applies to you explains how to tell which regime governs your job.

Older contracts have a transitional rule. Article 65(6) lets either party end, for a legitimate reason, an indefinite-term contract concluded before the Decree-Law came into force on 2 February 2022, with written notice of at least 30 days where service is under five years, at least 60 days where it is over five years, and at least 90 days where it is over ten years. Article 68(2) required employers to convert indefinite-term contracts into fixed-term contracts within one year of the law coming into force, a period the Minister may extend, and under Article 8(3) every contract is now concluded for a definite period that can be renewed by agreement.

What happens while the notice period runs?

The contract stays in force for the whole notice period and ends when that period expires. Throughout it the employee is entitled to the full wage, based on the last wage received, and must work during the period if the employer asks (Article 43(2)). Notice does not end the employment on the day it is given; it starts a countdown to the end date.

Where the employer is the one ending the contract, the employee may be absent for one unpaid working day each week of the notice period in order to look for another job. The employee chooses the day, but must tell the employer at least three days before it (Article 43(5)). The Decree-Law gives this right only where the employer terminates; it is not part of the rules for an employee who resigns.

‘Garden leave’ is not a term used in the Decree-Law or its Executive Regulation. What the law does say is narrower: the employee remains employed and on full wage until the notice period ends, and the duty to work during that period applies if the employer asks for it. If you are told not to come in during your notice, the wage for the notice period is still governed by Article 43(2); an agreement to shorten or waive the notice is a different thing, covered in the next section.

Can the notice period be shortened, waived or paid out?

It can be shortened or waived by agreement. Article 43(2) allows the parties to agree to waive the notice requirement or to reduce its length, while preserving all of the worker’s rights for the notice period agreed in the employment contract. The UAE Government portal summarises this as a reduction or exemption by mutual agreement, with no infringement of either party’s rights. Before you sign an agreement to leave early, read what it says about pay for the notice period you are giving up.

The notice period must be the same for both parties, unless a difference is in the worker’s interest (Article 43(2)).

Neither ‘pay in lieu of notice’ nor ‘garden leave’ is a phrase the Decree-Law uses, although both ideas appear, for example, in the DIFC Courts’ FAQs on the separate DIFC Employment Law. Under the federal law, money connected with notice arises in two ways: the full wage the employee earns while the notice period runs (Article 43(2)), and the notice period allowance owed by a party that does not respect the notice (Article 43(3)). So the useful questions are whether the notice was waived or reduced by agreement and, if it was not, whether each side respected it.

What if one side does not give or serve the notice?

Article 43(3) says that the party who does not abide by the notice period must pay the other party a compensation called the notice period allowance, even if the missing notice caused the other party no harm. The allowance equals the worker’s wage for the entire notice period, or for the part of it that was not served.

The rule works in both directions. An employer that ends the contract without giving the agreed notice owes the allowance to the employee, and an employee who stops working before the notice period ends owes it to the employer, unless the notice was waived or reduced by agreement or one of the no-notice cases described below applies.

Article 43(4) sets the basis of calculation: the last wage received, for workers paid by the month, week, day or hour, and the average daily wage for workers paid by piece.

Note the word used. Article 43 measures the allowance by the worker’s ‘wage’, while Article 51 calculates the end-of-service gratuity on the ‘basic wage’. Article 1 defines the basic wage as the wage specified in the contract, excluding other allowances and benefits in kind, and the wage as the basic wage plus the cash allowances and benefits in kind decided for the worker under the contract or the Decree-Law. Which items of your own package count depends on your contract, so it is worth confirming if the amount is disputed.

If a dismissal is found unlawful under Article 47, the compensation awarded for it does not affect the worker’s right to the notice period allowance and the end-of-service gratuity (Article 47(3)).

How does notice work during probation?

Article 9 sets its own notice periods for probation, separate from the 30-to-90-day range in Article 43. An employer may appoint a worker on probation for up to six months from the date work starts, and may end the worker’s service during that time after notifying the worker in writing at least 14 days before the termination date (Article 9(1)).

An employee who wants to move, during probation, to another employer in the UAE must notify the original employer in writing at least one month in advance, and the new employer must compensate the original employer for the costs of recruiting or contracting the worker, unless agreed otherwise (Article 9(3)). A foreign employee who wants to end the contract during probation in order to leave the UAE must give at least 14 days’ written notice. If that employee comes back and obtains a new work permit within three months of leaving, the new employer pays the same compensation, unless the worker and the original employer agreed otherwise (Article 9(4)). The UAE Government portal describes the same three notice periods.

If either side ends the contract during probation without following Article 9, it must pay the other compensation equal to the worker’s wage for the notice period, or for the part of it that was not served (Article 9(5)).

A worker may be put on probation only once with the same employer. If the worker passes probation and keeps working, the contract continues on the agreed terms and the probation counts as part of the period of service (Article 9(2)). The Executive Regulation also exempts the worker from a non-compete clause if the contract is terminated during probation (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 12(5)).

Can leaving during probation affect a new work permit?

It can. Under Article 9(6), a foreign worker who leaves the UAE without complying with the probation rules in Article 9 will not be granted a work permit for one year from the date of leaving the country.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation may exempt some job categories, skill levels or workers from that bar (Article 9(7)). The Executive Regulation lists the groups: workers with skills, professional or knowledge levels the State needs, workers sponsored by their parents, golden residence holders, and professional categories named in a ministerial resolution (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 11).

The UAE Government portal puts the rule in slightly different words when it summarises Article 8 of Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022: a worker may not obtain a work permit for one year from departure if the worker ended the employment relationship during probation and the employer was not in breach of its contractual obligations, or if a work-abandonment report against the worker was proven. Because the texts are worded differently, check your position with the Ministry or a lawyer before you leave the UAE during probation.

A separate one-year bar applies to unlawful absence. A foreign worker who is absent from work without a legitimate reason before the contract ends is not granted another work permit for one year from the date of absence (Article 50(1)). The Ministry may exempt some categories (Article 50(2)); the Executive Regulation lists workers sponsored by their parents, a worker applying for a new permit with the same establishment, workers with skills the State needs, golden residency holders and categories named by ministerial resolution (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 28(2)). The same article sets the threshold for the employer’s report to the Ministry at more than seven consecutive days of absence without the employer knowing where the worker is or how to reach them (Article 28(1)).

When can an employer dismiss without notice?

In the cases listed in Article 44, and only by following its procedure: a written investigation with the worker, then a dismissal decision that is in writing, gives its reasons and is handed to the worker by the employer or the employer’s representative.

The listed cases are: impersonating another person or submitting false certificates or documents; a mistake causing a grave material loss to the employer, or deliberate damage to the employer’s property that the worker acknowledges, which the employer must report to the Ministry within seven business days of learning of it; breaching written safety instructions that are displayed in a visible place and that the worker was told about; continuing to fail in basic duties despite a written investigation and two warnings of dismissal; disclosing work secrets relating to industrial or intellectual property, causing the employer a loss or a lost opportunity or bringing the worker a personal benefit; being drunk or under the influence of a narcotic or psychotropic substance during working hours, or an act contrary to public morals at the workplace; a verbal, physical or other punishable assault at work on the employer, a manager, a superior or a colleague; absence without a legitimate reason or acceptable excuse for more than 20 non-consecutive days (the UAE Government portal adds ‘in a year’ and the Ministry’s English text ‘during one year’; the Arabic text prevails) or more than seven consecutive days; illegally exploiting the job for personal gain; and working for another establishment without following the applicable rules.

Dismissal is also one of the disciplinary sanctions listed in Article 39, which describes it as dismissal from service while preserving the worker’s right to the end-of-service gratuity. Under the Executive Regulation, no Article 39 sanction may be imposed unless the worker was told in writing what is alleged and was heard, with the statements recorded; a worker may not be accused of a violation discovered more than 30 days earlier, and no sanction may be imposed more than 60 days after the investigation was completed (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 24).

Outside these cases, outside probation (where Article 9 applies) and apart from the other ways a contract ends under Article 42, an employer that wants to end the contract at its own request follows Article 43: written notice of the agreed period, or the notice period allowance if the notice is not respected.

When can an employee leave without notice?

Article 45 lets a worker leave without notice, while keeping the rights due at the end of service, in four cases.

First, where the employer breaches its obligations to the worker under the contract, the Decree-Law or its implementing resolutions, provided the worker notifies the Ministry 14 business days before leaving and the employer has not removed the effects of the breach despite being notified by the Ministry. Second, where it is proven that the employer or its legal representative assaulted the worker or subjected the worker to violence or harassment during work, provided the worker informs the concerned authorities and the Ministry within five business days of being able to report it. Third, where there is a grave danger at the workplace that threatens the worker’s safety or health, which the employer knew about and took no measures to remove. Fourth, where the employer assigns work fundamentally different from the work agreed in the contract without the worker’s written consent, except in the cases of necessity allowed by Article 12.

The Executive Regulation lists the grave-danger circumstances: a possible source of ignition; exposure to electrical wires connected to a power source that may cause electric shock or death; hazardous chemicals that may cause disease; unusual temperatures that may cause burns; loud noise that may cause permanent hearing impairment; radiation that may cause cancer or blindness; and biological threats that may cause illness (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 26).

Outside these four cases, and outside probation (where Article 9 sets its own notice), an employee who resigns gives the notice agreed in the contract, and one who leaves before it ends may owe the employer the notice period allowance under Article 43(3).

When is notice delayed or ruled out?

Notice given during leave. If either party wants to end the contract while the worker is on leave, the agreed notice period starts only on the day after the worker’s scheduled return from leave, unless both parties agree otherwise (Article 35).

Pregnancy and maternity leave. An employer may not terminate a female worker’s service, or give her notice, because of pregnancy, because she has taken maternity leave, or because she is absent from work under the maternity-leave article (Article 30(8)).

Medical unfitness. An employer may not end a worker’s service for lack of health fitness before the worker has used the leave legally due, and an agreement to the contrary is void (Article 46).

Other ways a contract ends. Article 42 lists several ways an employment contract ends besides termination at one party’s request, including a written agreement between the parties to end it (Article 42(1)) and the expiry of the period set in the contract, unless it is extended or renewed (Article 42(2)). The notice rule in Article 43 is written for termination at one party’s request. If both parties simply carry on working under the contract after its term expires, without an express agreement, Article 8(5) treats the original contract as impliedly extended on the same terms.

What is owed when the notice period ends, and by when?

Within 14 days of the date the contract ends, the employer must pay the worker’s wages and all other entitlements due under the Decree-Law and its implementing resolutions, the contract or the establishment’s own regulations (Article 53). Any notice period allowance the employer owes forms part of those entitlements.

If the employer ended the contract because the worker filed a serious complaint with the Ministry, or a case against the employer that was proven to be true, the termination is unlawful under Article 47. The competent court then sets fair compensation, taking into account the kind of work, the damage to the worker and the length of service, capped at three months’ wage on the last wage received, and this is in addition to the notice period allowance and the end-of-service gratuity.

A dispute over notice pay starts with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, which tries to settle it amicably and decides the dispute itself where the claim is worth no more than AED 50,000 (Article 54(1) and (2)). No case for a right under the Decree-Law is heard after two years from the end of the work relationship (Article 54(9)).

Once a contract has ended in line with the Decree-Law, the worker may move to another employer (Article 49). The Executive Regulation sets out the cases, and its English text on the UAE Legislation portal lists two: the agreed term expired without renewal, or the contract was ended during its term under Article 42 or Article 45 (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 27(1)). The Ministry’s English text of the Regulation and the UAE Government portal add a third: the employer ends the contract without a reason attributable to the worker. The Arabic text prevails.

Sources & legal basis

FAQ

Overview & Eligibility

The number of days agreed in your employment contract, which Article 43(1) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 requires to be at least 30 and no more than 90, given in writing. During probation, Article 9 sets its own periods: at least 14 days from the employer, and from the employee at least one month to move to another UAE employer or at least 14 days to leave the UAE.

As a rule, yes. Article 43(2) says the notice period must be the same for both parties unless a difference is in the worker’s interest. A contract that requires longer notice from the employee than from the employer does not meet that rule.

The contract stays in force until the notice period ends, you are entitled to your full wage for it, and you must work during it if your employer asks (Article 43(2)). You and your employer can agree to waive or shorten the notice. If you simply stop working before it ends without such an agreement, and none of the Article 45 cases applies, you may owe your employer the notice period allowance for the days not served (Article 43(3)).

Only in the cases listed in Article 44, such as forged documents, assault at work or unexcused absence beyond the stated limits, and only after a written investigation and a written, reasoned decision handed to you. Otherwise, outside probation (where Article 9(1) requires at least 14 days’ written notice), the employer must give the notice agreed in your contract unless you both agree in writing to end it (Article 42(1)); an employer that does not respect the notice owes you the notice period allowance (Article 43(3)).

Article 9(1) requires the employer to notify you in writing at least 14 days before the date your service ends. An employer that does not follow Article 9 must pay you compensation equal to your wage for the notice period, or for the part of it not given (Article 9(5)).

On the day after your scheduled return from leave, unless you and your employer agree otherwise. Article 35 applies the same rule whichever party wants to end the contract during the worker’s leave.

No. Article 43(5) allows one unpaid working day of absence per week during the notice period, and only where the employer ended the contract. You choose the day and must tell your employer at least three days before it.

Article 43 measures it by the worker’s ‘wage’, on the last wage received (Article 43(4)), while the end-of-service gratuity uses the ‘basic wage’ (Article 51). Article 1 defines the wage as the basic wage plus the cash allowances and benefits in kind decided under the contract or the Decree-Law. Whether a particular allowance in your package falls within that definition depends on your contract.

No. Article 30(8) forbids terminating a female worker’s service, or giving her notice, because of pregnancy, because she has taken maternity leave, or because she is absent from work under the maternity-leave article.

The Decree-Law does not put it that way. Article 9(6) applies the one-year bar to a foreign worker who leaves the UAE without complying with Article 9, and Article 9(7) with Article 11 of the Executive Regulation allows exemptions, for example for golden residence holders. The UAE Government portal’s summary of Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022 refers to ending the relationship during probation where the employer was not in breach. Check your position before you leave.

Article 43(1) requires the agreed period to be not less than 30 and not more than 90 days, and Article 65(3) treats a condition that violates the Decree-Law as null unless it is more beneficial to the worker. How those two rules apply to a particular clause depends on its wording and on which side it favours. For an indefinite-term contract signed before 2 February 2022, Article 65(6) sets a separate scale of at least 30, 60 or 90 days’ written notice by length of service.

Fees & Timelines

Not under that name. The Decree-Law provides instead that the employee is paid in full while the notice period runs (Article 43(2)), that the parties may agree to waive or reduce the notice while preserving the worker’s rights for the agreed period (Article 43(2)), and that a party that does not respect the notice pays the other a notice period allowance equal to the wage for the whole period or the unserved part (Article 43(3)).

At least one month’s written notice to your current employer (Article 9(3)). The new employer then compensates your current employer for the costs of recruiting or contracting you, unless agreed otherwise. If you leave without following Article 9, you owe your employer compensation equal to your wage for the notice period or its unserved part (Article 9(5)).

Article 53 requires the employer to pay the worker’s wages and all other entitlements within 14 days of the date the contract ends. If it does not, the claim goes first to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Article 54(1)), and no case is heard after two years from the end of the work relationship (Article 54(9)).

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