UAE Gratuity Calculator with Unpaid Leave and Partial Years
- UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51: end-of-service benefits
- Read against the statuteSeptember 2026
UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51: end-of-service benefits
Next step
To check this, or for anything official:
Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisationmohre.gov.ae
See how much unpaid leave takes off your service, and off your gratuity.
Calculate your UAE end-of-service gratuity when your service includes incomplete months or unpaid leave, under Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.
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- Nothing leaves your device
- Cites the article
How does unpaid leave affect the gratuity?
- 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
How much does 60 unpaid days cost?
An employee whose last basic salary is 10,000 AED is terminated by the employer after 7 years, during which he took a total of 60 days of unpaid leave.
- Deduct the unpaid leave: 7 years − 60 days (two months) = 6 years and 10 months
- First five years: 5 × 21 × 333.33 = 35,000.00 AED (daily wage 10,000 ÷ 30)
- Remaining 1 year and 10 months: (22 ÷ 12) × 30 = 55 days × 333.33 = 18,333.33 AED
- Total gratuity: 35,000.00 + 18,333.33 = 53,333.33 AED
Without the unpaid leave the gratuity for a full 7 years would be 55,000.00 AED. Had the service been only 3 years and 6 months with no unpaid absence, the employee would receive 3.5 × 21 × 333.33 = 24,500.00 AED.
What counts towards service, and what is excluded?
Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 entitles the worker to a gratuity for fractions of a year in proportion to the time worked, provided one year of continuous service has been completed. A worker with 3 years and 6 months of service receives a gratuity for 3.5 years, while a worker who has not completed the first year receives nothing.
Paragraph 3 of the same article provides that days of absence from work without pay are not counted in the service period, so unpaid leave is deducted from the period before the formula is applied, whereas paid annual leave, public holidays and the notice period remain part of the service.
The gratuity is calculated on the last basic wage: 21 days' wage for each of the first five years and 30 days for each year after that, with a daily wage equal to basic ÷ 30, the convention in common use and the one MOHRE-aligned calculators follow. Enter the number of unpaid leave days in the dedicated field and the calculator deducts them from the service period automatically.
- Fractions of a year after the first year: months ÷ 12 and days ÷ 365
- Unpaid leave days are deducted from the service period before the calculation (Article 51(3))
- Daily wage: basic salary ÷ 30
- No gratuity before one year of continuous service, and the total cannot exceed two years' wage
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 | Gratuity and part years, 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 about unpaid leave and service
Is unpaid leave deducted from the end-of-service gratuity?
Yes. Article 51(3) provides that days of absence from work without pay are not counted in the service period, so those days are subtracted from the period before the gratuity is calculated. Paid annual leave and public holidays remain part of the service period.
How are incomplete months and days calculated?
Once the first year is complete, fractions of a year are paid in proportion to the time worked: months are divided by 12 and days by 365, and the result is multiplied by 21 or 30 days' wage depending on which year it falls in. Six months therefore count as 0.5 of a year.
I served only 11 months. Am I owed a partial gratuity?
No. Article 51 requires one year of continuous service before any gratuity is due, and fractions only count once that year is complete. A worker with 1 year and 1 month receives a gratuity for 13 months; a worker with 11 months receives nothing.
Is sick leave deducted from the service period?
The paid days count as continuous service and are not deducted. The unpaid part of sick leave falls within absence without pay under the wording of Article 51, so if that is your situation, check it with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
Does the notice period count as service?
Yes. The contract remains in force during the notice period under Article 43 and the worker receives the full wage, so the notice period counts as service up to the last working day.
Why does this calculator differ from other websites?
The difference is usually the daily wage: we divide the monthly basic by 30, the common convention, while some employers annualise it instead (basic × 12 ÷ 365) and come out about 1.4% lower. Differences can also come from ignoring unpaid leave or rounding months to whole years.
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)