UAE End of Service Gratuity Calculator
Calculate your end-of-service gratuity under UAE Labour Law using your basic salary and years of service.
What this calculator does
Calculates your end-of-service gratuity lump sum under UAE Labour Law, based on your basic monthly salary and total years of continuous service.
Who this is for
Expatriate private-sector employees in the UAE planning a resignation or nearing the end of a contract, or anyone estimating their gratuity entitlement as part of broader financial planning.
How this calculator works
The UAE has no personal income tax — instead, the country's main mandatory end-of-employment financial calculation is gratuity, a lump-sum payment private-sector employers owe expatriate employees under Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. Employees who complete at least one year of continuous service earn 21 days of basic salary for each of their first five years, then 30 days of basic salary for each year beyond five. Since the 2022 law reform, the calculation is identical whether you resign or are terminated, as long as you've completed one full year.
Worked example
AED 10,000 basic monthly salary, 7 years of service: daily rate = 10,000 ÷ 30 = AED 333.33. First 5 years at 21 days/year: 105 days × 333.33 = AED 35,000. Remaining 2 years at 30 days/year: 60 days × 333.33 = AED 20,000. Total gratuity = 35,000 + 20,000 = AED 55,000.
A second example shows when the two-year cap actually matters: the same AED 10,000 basic salary over 30 years of service would calculate to AED 285,000 by the formula alone, but the two-year salary cap (24 × 10,000 = AED 240,000) limits the actual payout to AED 240,000 — AED 45,000 less than the uncapped formula would suggest. At this salary level, the cap only starts binding somewhere around 26 years of continuous service; for most careers under that length, the formula result and the actual payout are identical.
DIFC and ADGM Use a Completely Different System: DEWS
This calculator models the standard UAE mainland gratuity formula. But if you work inside the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) or Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 doesn't apply to you at all — since February 2020, DIFC replaced traditional gratuity entirely with DEWS (DIFC Employee Workplace Savings), a mandatory funded savings scheme. Instead of your employer holding an unfunded liability and paying a lump sum only when you leave, your employer makes monthly contributions — 5.83% of basic salary for your first 5 years, 8.33% after — into a ring-fenced trust account (managed by Zurich International Life as of 2026) that's invested and belongs to you even if your employer goes bankrupt.
Those contribution percentages were deliberately designed to roughly match the traditional 21-day/30-day gratuity formula in value, but the underlying mechanism is fundamentally different: DEWS grows (or shrinks) with investment performance and is portable between jobs within the DIFC, while standard gratuity is a fixed formula paid once at exit with no growth potential. If you're comparing a DIFC or ADGM job offer against a mainland UAE one, don't assume this calculator's output applies — check your specific scheme's contribution statement instead.
Gratuity growth by year of service
Run the calculator above to see how your gratuity accrues year by year.
Common mistakes
- Using gross salary instead of basic salary. This is the single most common and costly gratuity mistake — only your basic salary counts, not housing or transport allowances.
- Forgetting the one-year minimum. No gratuity at all is payable if you leave before completing one full year of continuous service, with no partial exception.
- Missing the two-year salary cap. No matter how long you've worked, total gratuity cannot exceed two years' worth of basic salary.
- Assuming free zone employees follow the same rules. DIFC and ADGM operate separate end-of-service schemes (DIFC uses the DEWS savings plan) rather than the standard Federal Labour Law gratuity calculation — check your specific employment jurisdiction.
- Using this calculator for a DIFC or ADGM job. DEWS is a monthly-funded investment scheme, not a lump-sum formula — its payout depends on contribution history and investment performance, not years of service alone, so this calculator's formula doesn't apply.
- Assuming the two-year cap applies to typical career lengths. At most salary levels, the cap only binds after roughly 25+ years of continuous service — for the majority of tenures, the uncapped formula result is the actual payout.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do DIFC or free zone employees use this same calculation?
No — DIFC uses its own DEWS (DIFC Employee Workplace Savings) scheme, and other free zones may have separate arrangements. This calculator applies to standard UAE Federal Labour Law gratuity, which covers most mainland private-sector employees.
Do I get gratuity if I resign?
Yes. Since the 2022 UAE Labour Law reform, gratuity entitlement is the same whether you resign or are terminated, provided you have completed at least one year of continuous service.
Is gratuity based on basic salary or total salary?
Basic salary only. Housing, transport, and other allowances, plus bonuses and commissions, are excluded from the calculation.
Is there a maximum gratuity amount?
Yes, total gratuity cannot exceed two years' worth of basic salary, regardless of how many years you worked.
What is DEWS and how is it different from gratuity?
DEWS (DIFC Employee Workplace Savings) is a mandatory funded savings scheme that replaced traditional gratuity for DIFC employees since February 2020. Instead of a lump-sum formula, your employer makes monthly contributions (5.83% of basic salary for the first 5 years, 8.33% after) into an investment account that belongs to you and grows over time.
Does this calculator work for DIFC or ADGM employees?
No. DIFC and ADGM use DEWS or an equivalent funded savings scheme instead of the standard Federal Labour Law gratuity formula this calculator models — check your DEWS contribution statement instead for an accurate figure.