Gratuity Calculator Dubai
Employment details
Housing, transport, overtime, bonuses and commission are excluded by law. Use the basic figure on your MOHRE contract.
Contract type, unpaid leave and other adjustments
JAFZA, DMCC and DAFZA use this federal formula. DIFC uses the DEWS savings scheme instead, so pick DIFC above if that is your employer.
Unpaid leave does not count towards your length of service, so it reduces the gratuity.
Everything else you are owed
Notice pay and unpaid salary use your full salary. Leave encashment and gratuity use basic salary only.
An employer may only deduct amounts allowed by law or a court judgment (Articles 25 and 51(7) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021).
Where your service sits on the scale
What a later leaving date is worth
Move the slider to push your last working day forward and see exactly what each extra month adds before you hand in your notice.
How your gratuity builds up over time
Assumes unbroken service at your current basic salary.
Year by year
How this is worked out
The formula
- Daily wage is your basic monthly salary divided by 30.
- Each of your first five years earns 21 days of that daily wage.
- Every year after the fifth earns 30 days.
- Part years are paid pro rata once you pass one full year.
- The total can never exceed two years' wage, applied here to basic salary.
Since February 2022, resignation and termination are treated the same way. The old rule that cut resignation payouts to a third or two thirds sat in Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, which has been repealed. Any tool still applying it is out of date.
Why calculators disagree
Run the same numbers through three tools and you can get three answers. Almost always it comes down to one of these:
- Basic versus gross. Gratuity uses basic pay only. Entering your full package inflates the result badly.
- Day count. Some tools divide service by 365, others by 360 or by calendar months, which shifts part years.
- Old law logic. Tools built before 2022 still apply the repealed resignation reductions.
- Unpaid leave. Most tools ignore it entirely, so they overstate long absences.
This calculator counts whole calendar years first and pro-rates the part year by whole months, then days. Your last working day counts as a day worked, so 1 January to 31 December is exactly one year. It applies current 2026 rules and shows every line so you can check the arithmetic against your own payslip.
General information only, not legal advice. Your contract, free zone rules and any MOHRE ruling take precedence. For a disputed settlement, contact MOHRE or a qualified UAE employment lawyer before signing anything, including a waiver letter.
If you work in Dubai, your gratuity follows the same federal formula as the rest of the UAE: 21 days’ basic salary per year for your first five years, then 30 days’ per year after that, capped at two years’ total salary. The main exception is DIFC, which uses a different system entirely.
CheckGratuityUAE’s calculator above gives you an estimate based on your salary and service dates.
Dubai Free Zones: JAFZA, DMCC and DIFC Gratuity Rules
Dubai hosts many free zones, and that matters for gratuity. JAFZA, DMCC, and DAFZA all sit inside Dubai and follow the same standard federal formula as any mainland Dubai company. DIFC, also in Dubai, is the odd one out: it runs DEWS, a monthly savings scheme, instead of paying a lump-sum gratuity at all. If you’re not sure which category your employer falls into, check your offer letter for which free zone authority issued your work permit, since that determines which rules actually apply to you.
Companies licensed by the Dubai Development Authority (DDA), which covers areas like Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City, are a separate case to check. DDA publishes its own gratuity calculator, so if your employer is DDA-licensed, compare its result with ours and confirm the rules in your contract.
JAFZA
Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) was established in 1985 next to Jebel Ali Port. Employees of JAFZA-registered companies follow the same UAE gratuity formula as mainland Dubai: 21 days’ basic pay per year for the first five years and 30 days after that, capped at two years’ basic pay. JAFZA’s own guidance tells licensed companies to comply with UAE end of service rules, and its service arm, Dubai Trade, publishes an end of service calculator. JAFZA is not DIFC or ADGM, which have separate employment frameworks. Your employer should pay within 14 days of your last working day.
Dubai Salary Structure: Basic Pay vs. Allowances
Dubai employment packages split pay into a smaller basic salary plus a larger housing allowance, which is a common way to structure pay in Dubai. That matters directly for your gratuity, since only the basic salary line counts toward the calculation.
If your Dubai offer letter shows AED 15,000 total monthly pay but only AED 7,000 of that is listed as basic salary, your gratuity is built on the 7,000, not the 15,000. This is completely legal and standard practice, but it’s the single most common reason people are surprised by their final number when they leave a Dubai employer. Before you calculate anything, check your contract’s salary breakdown specifically, not just your total monthly pay.
Dubai Gratuity Calculation Example
Say you’re on a mainland Dubai contract earning AED 9,000 basic salary, and you’re leaving after 4 years and 6 months.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Daily wage | 9,000 ÷ 30 | AED 300 |
| Full years (4) | 300 × 21 × 4 | AED 25,200 |
| Remaining 6 months | 300 × 21 × 0.5 | AED 3,150 |
Since this is under five years of service, the whole period uses the 21-day rate. Once you pass five years, only the years beyond that point switch to the 30-day rate, as explained in full on our main gratuity calculator page.
Getting Help in Dubai If Your Gratuity Isn’t Paid
If your employer misses the 14-day payment deadline, Dubai has its own practical path for sorting it out. Most routine MOHRE transactions, including initial complaint filing, can be done through a Tasheel service centre or the MOHRE app.
Bringing your employment contract, salary certificate, and your own gratuity calculation to any of these channels makes the process faster, since it gives MOHRE something concrete to work from rather than a verbal disagreement over numbers. Most disputes get resolved through this conciliation stage before ever reaching a courtroom. For the full step-by-step process, including what to do if conciliation doesn’t resolve it, see our guide on what to do if your employer won’t pay your gratuity.
Check the current MOHRE contact details on mohre.gov.ae.
FAQs
JAFZA follows the standard federal formula, the same as any mainland Dubai employer. DIFC is different: it uses DEWS, a monthly savings contribution, instead of a lump-sum gratuity payment. Check our DIFC and ADGM guide for the full comparison.
That depends on your contract and whether you’re returning home or joining a new employer in the UAE, and it’s separate from your gratuity calculation itself. It’s typically part of your broader final settlement, not the gratuity formula.
Start with a Tasheel service centre or the MOHRE app for a formal complaint.
Yes, but only for a few of them. Most Dubai free zones, including JAFZA, DMCC, and DAFZA, use the standard federal formula. DIFC is the main exception, since it uses a savings scheme instead of a lump-sum payout.
This page explains general gratuity rules for Dubai-based employees and is meant as guidance, not legal advice. For a specific dispute, check directly with MOHRE or a licensed UAE labour lawyer. CheckGratuityUAE (checkgratuityuae.com) reviews this page against current UAE labour law, but it does not replace professional legal advice.