UAE end-of-service gratuity, for foreign full-time workers.
A foreign full-time worker on the UAE mainland earns 21 days' basic wage per year of service for the first 5 years, then 30 days' wage per year beyond that, capped at 2 years' total wage — payable within 14 days of contract termination. UAE nationals are not covered by this formula; they're covered by GPSSA or the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund instead.
Last verified 26 October 2026. research/uae/gratuity.md (u.ae; Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 51/53).
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | Minimum 1 year of continuous service (unpaid-absence days excluded) |
| Rate, years 1–5 | 21 days' wage per year of service |
| Rate, beyond year 5 | 30 days' wage per year of service beyond the first 5 |
| Cap | Total gratuity may not exceed 2 years' wage |
| Wage base | Last basic salary only — housing, transport, utilities and similar allowances are excluded |
| Payment timing | Within 14 days of contract termination (Art. 53) |
| Who it covers | Foreign full-time workers on the mainland — not UAE nationals |
Worth knowing
- UAE nationals are routed to GPSSA (or the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund in Abu Dhabi) instead of this gratuity formula — see the GPSSA page.
- Pro-rata gratuity for partial-year service (Art. 51(3)), permitted deductions (Art. 51(7)) and Cabinet alternative schemes like DIFC's DEWS (Art. 51(8)) are real parts of the law not yet reviewed in Comriq's research — treat anything beyond the core formula above as CA-to-confirm for now.
UAE end-of-service gratuity, for foreign full-time workers
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Does this apply to DIFC or ADGM employers?
DIFC replaced statutory gratuity with its own defined-contribution DEWS scheme in 2020; ADGM has its own rules too. Both are out of scope for this page — check with your own free zone authority.
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Dated rules, read in words on every payslip, with a CA flag where something isn't confirmed yet.