Under current UAE labour legislation, all employees are legally eligible to obtain end-of-service benefits, commonly referred to as gratuity, provided they have completed a minimum of one year of continuous employment. When determining the total duration of service for these calculations, any periods of leave taken without pay are strictly excluded from the count. Furthermore, employers maintain the right to deduct any outstanding financial debts or liabilities owed by the worker from the final gratuity disbursement.
The standard formula for determining UAE gratuity is structured around the employee’s wage. For the initial five years of employment, workers are entitled to a payment equivalent to 21 days of wages for every completed year of service. Should the employment duration exceed five years, the calculation shifts to 30 days of wages for each subsequent year of service beyond that initial five-year period.
