The DIFC DEWS contribution calculator
DIFC employers do not accrue an end-of-service lump sum. Since 1 January 2020 they pay a monthly contribution into DEWS — the DIFC Employee Workplace Savings scheme — or another approved Qualifying Scheme, calculated on each employee's basic salary. This works out what that costs you per employee, per month and per year, across your team.
This is an employer tool: the contribution is the employer's, not a deduction from the employee.
If any of your team are UAE or GCC nationals, the amendment in force since March 2024 adds a second obligation — a comparison against GPSSA, not a DEWS contribution. This page shows you both.
Your monthly DEWS cost
Your expatriate staff
Your UAE and GCC national staff
Since March 2024 you must compare what DEWS would have paid against your GPSSA contributions and top up the difference. Most employers aren't running that comparison.
We cannot compute your top-up. It is the shortfall against the GPSSA contributions actually paid for each employee, and only your own payroll records hold those — so this page will not guess at a number.
Both groups are costed on the single monthly basic salary entered above. Run them separately if the two groups' basic salaries differ materially.
Separately: an employee who is a sanctioned person, and therefore cannot be enrolled in DEWS, accrues traditional end-of-service gratuity instead.
Running payroll for a team?
We calculate end-of-service, WPS files and payroll for every employee, to your country's labour law — and we set it up for you. Your trial starts with your staff, contracts and policies already in it.
Statutory rules current as of August 2026. An indicative calculation for employers, not legal advice — and not a substitute for the GPSSA comparison your UAE and GCC national employees require. Everything is computed on your device; no salary is sent or stored.
How the DIFC contribution works
- Enter the monthly basic salary. Allowances do not count toward the contribution.
- Split your headcount: non-GCC expatriates are contributed for into DEWS, and UAE and GCC nationals are the group that needs the GPSSA comparison.
- Pick the service band — 5.83% of basic salary for the first five years, 8.33% from year six.
- Read the monthly and annual cost for the team, then check your national employees against what GPSSA has actually been paid.
What the regime requires
- Contributions are calculated on basic salary, not on total remuneration.
- They are monthly — not an annual accrual settled when someone leaves.
- Contributions are generally not required during probation.
- An alternative to DEWS must be an approved Qualifying Scheme providing at least the DEWS core benefit.
- For UAE and GCC nationals the employer compares the core benefit that would have been payable under DEWS against the GPSSA contributions actually paid, and pays any shortfall into a Qualifying Scheme — DIFC Amendment Law No. 1 of 2024, in force 1 March 2024.
- Failing to register employees, or missing monthly payments, carries penalties under the regime.
Worked example
Per employee: AED 583.00 a month — 5.83% of monthly basic salary — or AED 6,996.00 a year. AED 5,830.00 per month in DEWS contributions, across 10 employees. That is AED 69,960.00 per year.
Monthly basic salary, per employee: AED 10,000.00
Frequently asked questions
How much is the DEWS employer contribution?
5.83% of monthly basic salary for an employee's first five years of service, and 8.33% from year six. Those are the federal 21-day and 30-day accrual rates restated monthly — 21 ÷ 360 and 30 ÷ 360.
Do UAE and GCC nationals go into DEWS?
Not in the same way. Since DIFC Amendment Law No. 1 of 2024 came into force on 1 March 2024, the employer compares the core benefit that would have been payable under DEWS with the GPSSA pension contributions actually paid for that employee, and pays any shortfall into a Qualifying Scheme. The amount depends on your own GPSSA contributions, so no calculator can produce it for you.
Do DIFC employees still get an end-of-service gratuity?
No. Since 1 January 2020 the DIFC has replaced the end-of-service lump sum with monthly contributions into DEWS or another Qualifying Scheme. An employee who is a sanctioned person and cannot be enrolled accrues traditional gratuity instead.
Can we use a scheme other than DEWS?
Yes, provided it is an approved Qualifying Scheme providing at least the DEWS core benefit. Either way, failing to register employees or missing monthly payments carries penalties.
Is my salary stored when I use this calculator?
No. The calculation is arithmetic on a published contribution rate and runs entirely in your browser — your salary and your headcount are never transmitted or stored.
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