What goes into a final settlement
When your employment ends, your employer must pay all your dues within 14 days (Article 53 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021). They usually include:
- Unpaid salary for days worked up to your last day, at your full salary.
- Cash for unused annual leave, at basic salary ÷ 30 per day — see the leave salary calculator.
- End-of-service gratuity if you have worked at least a year: 21 days of basic salary per year for five years, then 30 days — see the gratuity calculator.
- Notice pay if your employer ended the contract without letting you work your notice.
- Anything else in your contract, such as a return air ticket, commission or unpaid overtime.
Your employer may deduct only what the law allows: debts such as an outstanding loan or salary advance, amounts ordered by a court, and pay for notice you failed to work.
Notice periods
Your contract sets a notice period of at least 30 and at most 90 days, the same for both sides (Article 43). During notice you are paid your full salary. If either side ends the contract without notice, or cuts it short, that side must pay the other the wage for the days not worked — even if no harm was caused. Notice pay is based on your last total wage, including allowances.
If your employer gives you notice, you may take one unpaid day a week to look for a new job, with three days' warning. During probation, different notice rules apply: at least 14 days if the employer ends it, and one month if you leave for another UAE employer.
Worked example 1: employer ends the contract without notice
Basic salary AED 10,000, total salary AED 16,000, worked from 1 January 2023 to 30 April 2026. The final month has not been paid, 12 days of leave are unused, and the employer pays the 30-day notice period instead of letting it be worked.
- Gratuity for 3 years and 120 days: AED 23,301.37
- Unpaid salary, 30 days of AED 16,000: AED 16,000.00
- Unused leave, 12 days at 10,000 ÷ 30: AED 4,000.00
- Notice pay, 30 days of AED 16,000: AED 16,000.00
- Total: AED 59,301.37
Worked example 2: leaving before the notice period ends
Same salary and dates, but the employee has a 60-day notice period and leaves after working 45 days of it, with an AED 2,000 salary advance still outstanding. Salary and leave are already settled.
- Gratuity: AED 23,301.37 — resigning does not reduce it.
- 15 days of notice not worked, at AED 16,000 ÷ 30: −AED 8,000.00
- Salary advance repaid: −AED 2,000.00
- Total: AED 13,301.37
If the settlement is wrong or late
Ask your employer for a written breakdown and compare it with the calculator. If you cannot agree, you can file a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). MOHRE decides claims of up to AED 50,000 itself; larger claims go to the labour courts. You must claim within 2 years of the end of your employment.
This calculator applies the federal Labour Law and, for gratuity, ADGM's rules. DIFC employees have a savings scheme instead of gratuity. Your contract can give you more than the law. See our disclaimer.