UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51: end-of-service benefits
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To check this, or for anything official:
Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisationmohre.gov.ae
Know your award in AED under Article 51: on the basic wage, capped at two years' wage.
Enter your last basic wage and your length of service. Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021 gives 21 days' wage for each of the first five years and 30 days for each year after, capped at two years' wage. It runs on the basic wage alone with no allowances, and a day's wage is the basic over 30.
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How is end-of-service gratuity calculated?
- Monthly wage = basic only
- first 5 years: 21 days of wage per year · after 5 years: 30 days of wage per year
- Gratuity = the bands added, × the entitlement fraction
Symbols
- wage
- The basic wage alone, without allowances
- years
- Service including fractions of a year, not whole years only
- entitlement fraction
- Full on termination or contract expiry, and possibly reduced on resignation depending on the country
What is the gratuity on 10,000 and 7 years of service?
An employee whose last basic salary is 10,000 AED is terminated by the employer after 7 years of continuous service.
- Daily wage: 10,000 ÷ 30 = 333.33 AED (the calculator keeps the unrounded value)
- First five years: 5 × 21 × 333.33 = 35,000.00 AED
- Next two years: 2 × 30 × 333.33 = 20,000.00 AED
- Total gratuity: 35,000.00 + 20,000.00 = 55,000.00 AED
The same amount would be due had the employee resigned, because the 2021 law no longer reduces the gratuity for resignation. An employer who annualises the wage instead (basic × 12 ÷ 365) would arrive at 54,246.58 AED, which is the difference you sometimes see between calculators.
What counts towards the calculation, and what does not?
Under Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the regulation of employment relations, a full-time foreign worker who has completed one year or more of continuous service is owed an end-of-service gratuity calculated on the last basic wage: 21 days' wage for each of the first five years and 30 days' wage for each year after that, with the total capped at two years' wage.
Only the basic wage counts; housing, transport and other allowances are excluded. This calculator works out the daily wage by dividing the monthly basic wage by 30, the convention in common use and the one MOHRE-aligned calculators follow, so the figure here matches what you will be quoted elsewhere. Some employers annualise instead (basic × 12 ÷ 365), which comes out about 1.4% lower.
Under the 2021 law the way the contract ended does not change the amount: resignation, termination by the employer and expiry of the contract all give the same gratuity once the first year is complete. Fractions of a year after the first year are paid pro rata, and days of absence without pay are not counted as service.
- Daily wage: basic salary ÷ 30
- First five years: 21 days × daily wage × number of years
- After the fifth year: 30 days × daily wage × number of years
- Minimum one year of continuous service, cap of two years' wage, and unpaid absence days excluded (Article 51)
The same calculation in other Gulf countries
| Country | Wage basis | Rate | On resignation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Saudi ArabiaSaudi Labor Law, Article 84: end-of-service award | Basic plus fixed allowances | half a month's wage for the first 5 years, then a month's wage | Reduced by length of service | End-of-service gratuity, Saudi Arabia |
 UAEUAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51: end-of-service benefits | Basic wage only | 21 days of wage for the first 5 years, then 30 days of wage, capped at 24 months of wage, from 1 year of service | No reduction | This page |
 QatarQatar Labour Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 54: end-of-service gratuity | Basic wage only | 21 days of wage for every year, from 1 year of service | No reduction | End-of-service gratuity, Qatar |
 KuwaitKuwait Labour Law No. 6 of 2010, Article 51: end-of-service indemnity | Basic plus fixed allowances | half a month's wage for the first 5 years, then a month's wage, capped at 18 months of wage | Reduced by length of service | End-of-service indemnity, Kuwait |
 OmanOman Labour Law, Article 61: end-of-service gratuity | Basic wage only | a month's wage for every year, the rule in force now | No reduction | End-of-service gratuity, Oman |
 BahrainBahrain Labour Law, Article 116: leaving indemnity | Basic wage only | half a month's wage for the first 3 years, then a month's wage | No reduction | Leaving indemnity, Bahrain |
Questions people in your position ask
Do allowances count towards the UAE gratuity?
No. Article 51 bases the gratuity on the last basic wage only, so housing, transport and other allowances are left out, unlike Saudi Arabia, where the actual wage including fixed allowances is used.
What if I resign? Is the gratuity reduced?
No. Decree-Law 33/2021 removed the resignation reduction that Article 137 of the old Law 8/1980 imposed, so the full gratuity is calculated under Article 51 once you have completed one year of continuous service, provided you serve your notice period under Article 43.
How is the daily wage calculated: divide by 30 or by 365?
This calculator divides the monthly basic wage by 30, so a 10,000 AED salary gives a daily wage of 333.33 AED. Article 51 says “21 days of basic wage” and never says how to derive a day's wage from a monthly one, so dividing by 30 is a convention rather than a rule, but it is the common one, and what MOHRE-aligned calculators follow. Some employers annualise the wage instead (basic × 12 ÷ 365), which gives 328.77 AED and a result about 1.4% lower.
Am I owed a gratuity if I have not completed a year?
No. Article 51 requires at least one year of continuous service. Once that year is complete, fractions of a year are paid pro rata, and days of absence without pay are not counted as service.
Do I lose the gratuity if I am dismissed under Article 44?
The 2021 law does not tie forfeiture of the gratuity to disciplinary dismissal the way the old law did, so the gratuity remains due under Article 51 for the period served. Because these cases vary in practice, check your situation with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
When must the employer pay the gratuity?
Under Article 53 the employer must pay the worker's wages and all other entitlements, including the end-of-service gratuity, within 14 days of the contract end date.
Sources
Read against the statuteReviewed September 2026- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relations, UAE Legislation portal
- Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE): official website
Statutory articles this calculator applies
- UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51: end-of-service benefits
UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (in force 2022-02-02) and Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 (Executive Regulations)