The service lines that decide UAE gratuity when you leave

At a monthly basic salary of AED 4,500, the difference between eleven months and one qualifying year is AED 3,150 in Tabbio's UAE gratuity calculation. After that first year, fractions of a year count. Passing five years changes the rate for the service that follows.

These examples describe qualifying foreign workers in full-time private-sector employment under the statutory UAE rule. They assume continuous qualifying service and use the same basic salary throughout. Different employment regimes or alternative savings schemes need their own calculation.

Start with the service period

Take the employment start and end dates from your records. Then check whether any unpaid leave needs to come out of the service period. A date on the calendar and a qualifying year aren't always the same thing. Don't round a period below one year up to one just to get a figure.

The examples below use stated service lengths, rather than inventing employment dates. They also keep basic pay separate from allowances. AED 4,500 divided by 30 gives a daily basic wage of AED 150. Every amount in the table follows from that daily figure.

Eleven months versus one year

Below one complete qualifying year, the statutory gratuity shown here is nil. Eleven months therefore doesn't earn eleven-twelfths of the first-year amount. At one year, the full 21-day accrual applies: 21 × AED 150 = AED 3,150.

This is an eligibility threshold, not a suggestion about when to leave a job. Notice periods and the rest of your settlement are separate questions. If your dates are disputed, confirm the service record before treating a calculator result as money owed.

After the first year, part years count

Three and a half years stay entirely inside the first band. Multiply 3.5 by 21 to get 73.5 days of basic pay. Then multiply by AED 150 to get AED 11,025. The half-year earns half of a year's accrual because the initial qualifying year is already complete.

What changes after five years

At 4.5 years, the working is 4.5 × 21 × AED 150 = AED 14,175. At 5.5 years, split the service into two parts. The first five years earn 105 days. The next half-year earns 15 days, using the later rate of 30 days per year.

That gives 120 days, or AED 18,000. The higher rate applies only to service beyond five years. It doesn't turn the earlier 105 days into 150 days. Counting all 5.5 years at the later rate would overstate this example by AED 6,750.

Leaving a job and the final settlement

Keep the gratuity calculation separate from the reason employment ended. Tabbio's stored rule notes that dismissal for cause doesn't itself remove the entitlement under the 2021 law. That doesn't settle an individual dispute or rule out lawful deductions. Ask for the employer's calculation and the basis of any deduction in writing.

Unused leave and notice pay aren't included in these figures. Nor do they describe the rules of every free zone or savings arrangement. A contract may also contain terms that need a separate review. This guide explains the arithmetic of the stated statutory rule, not every part of leaving a job.

Use the same inputs in your own check

Open Tabbio's end-of-service calculator for the UAE with your monthly basic salary and qualifying service length. Include total monthly remuneration when you know it, because the cap uses that figure. Keep the dates and pay records beside the result so you can explain each input.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. The first year decides eligibility. After that, count the service you actually completed.