UAE Gratuity Calculator 2026

One of the most common questions UAE employees ask is whether resigning from a job reduces their end-of-service gratuity compared to being terminated by the employer. Under the old labour law, the answer was yes. That changed with Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, which reshaped how gratuity is calculated across the UAE. This guide walks through your exact payout under the current law, whichever way your employment ends. The Old Rule (Before 2022) Previously, employees on unlimited contracts who resigned voluntarily received a reduced gratuity if they left before completing five years of service. Someone who resigned after just two years, for example, might only receive one-third of their full entitlement. This penalty pushed many employees to stay in jobs longer than they wanted, purely to avoid losing gratuity. What Changed Under the New Law The UAE Labour Law reform replaced unlimited contracts with fixed-term contracts, which can be renewed by agreement. More importantly f...

Until early 2022, resigning early from a UAE job could cost you a big chunk of your end-of-service gratuity. That penalty is gone now, but plenty of people, and even some HR departments, are still working off the old rules. This article explains what changed, why it changed, and what the law says today, so you know which version of the rules genuinely applies to you. The Old Rule (No Longer in Effect) Previously, employees on unlimited contracts who resigned voluntarily before completing five years of service received a reduced gratuity, sometimes as little as one-third of the full entitlement if they left within the first three years. This penalty encouraged people to stay in jobs longer than they wanted, purely to protect their end-of-service benefits. What the Law Says Now The reform, Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, replaced unlimited contracts with fixed-term contracts, which can be renewed by agreement. Its provision on end-of-service benefits grants gratuity to a full-...