Do You Get Gratuity If You Resign in the UAE?

Yes. A foreign full-time worker with at least one year of continuous service gets gratuity on resignation, with the same formula as any other way the job ends.

What the law says

Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 gives foreign full-time workers gratuity “upon the end of his service”. It treats resignation, termination and the end of a fixed-term contract the same, and does not reduce the amount for resignation. The formula:

• 21 days of basic wage for each of the first five years
• 30 days of basic wage for each year after that
• parts of a year counted in proportion
• a cap of two years’ wage

See how UAE gratuity is calculated for worked examples.

What about being dismissed?

Article 39 lists dismissal as a disciplinary sanction and describes it as “dismissal from service while preserving the Worker’s right to end-of-service gratuity”. So under the law’s text, even dismissal for misconduct keeps your gratuity.

Dismissal without notice is allowed only in the cases in Article 44, and the employer must follow the required procedure. If you think a dismissal was handled wrongly, see unpaid gratuity.

Resigning and your notice period

To resign you give written notice of 30 to 90 days, as agreed in your contract (Article 43). You stay employed and paid during it, and your service for gratuity counts until it ends. If you do not serve the notice, you may owe a notice allowance equal to your wage for the unserved days (Article 43). The Executive Regulations do not list it among the deductions allowed from gratuity (Article 29), so your employer may need to claim it rather than deduct it. The notice period calculator shows the amount.

What your employer can deduct

Only amounts due under the law or a court judgment (Article 51, clause 7). The Executive Regulations (Article 29) list them: unpaid loans or overpayments, pension and insurance contributions you owe, penalties under the approved penalty list, court debts, and damage you caused through your own mistake.

When it must be paid

Within 14 days of the end of the contract, along with your wages and other entitlements (Article 53).

Check your number

Use the gratuity calculator with your dates and basic salary. Keep the result to compare with your settlement.

Official text: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 · Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022

Checked against the official text on 1 October 2026.