The UAE free-zone end-of-service calculator

The DIFC

The DIFC does not accrue an end-of-service gratuity at all, so there is no lump sum to calculate here. Since 1 January 2020, DIFC employers instead make monthly contributions into DEWS or another approved Qualifying Scheme. The number you need is that monthly contribution.

Open the DIFC DEWS calculator →

Your estimated end-of-service benefit

The statutory cap applies to this amount.

Are you a UAE or other GCC national? Article 51 gives a UAE national's end-of-service benefit under the pension law, not this formula — it comes from GPSSA (or the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund for an Abu Dhabi employer), which your employer pays into every month. A citizen of another GCC state is registered with GPSSA under the GCC insurance extension and receives their home country's pension benefits instead; the employer owes this gratuity only for any service before that cover began. So the figure above is not owed on top of the pension. This estimate assumes an expatriate employee.

This assumes classic Article 51 gratuity. Since Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023, an employer may instead enrol staff in the federal Alternative (Savings) Scheme — 5.83% of basic salary contributed monthly for the first five years, 8.33% after, into an approved investment fund. Enrolment stops Article 51 accrual: pre-enrolment service keeps this calculation, but service afterward does not. This estimate assumes you are not enrolled — ask HR which scheme applies to you.

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Two regimes, not one

The federal free zones

DMCC, JAFZA, DAFZA, RAKEZ, SHAMS, Masdar City, KEZAD and the great majority of UAE free zones follow Federal Decree-Law 33/2021: 21 days' basic wage per year of service for the first five years, 30 days per year after that, a one-year minimum, no reduction for resignation, capped at two years' basic wage. Jafza states this on its own site.

• Requires at least 1 year of continuous service
• First 5 years: 21 days' wage per year
• After 5 years: 30 days' wage per year
• Partial years are calculated proportionally
• Full gratuity on both resignation and termination
• Maximum cap: 2 years' basic wage

The DIFC

Since 1 January 2020 DIFC employers do not accrue an end-of-service lump sum. They make mandatory monthly contributions on basic salary into DEWS or another approved Qualifying Scheme — 5.83% for an employee's first five years of service, 8.33% from year six. Since March 2024, UAE and GCC nationals also require a comparison against GPSSA contributions, with any shortfall topped up.

Calculate your DIFC DEWS contributions

The ADGM

ADGM has its own Employment Regulations, not the federal formula: 21 days' basic wage per year for the first five years and 30 days per year after, a one-year minimum, the daily rate worked out as annual basic wage ÷ 365, no two-year cap under the 2024 Regulations, and no reduction for resignation. Basic wage must be at least 50% of total salary; if yours is lower, the gratuity is worked out on half of total salary, which this calculator does not do. UAE and GCC nationals are enrolled in the UAE pension instead and receive no gratuity unless the pension authority has approved an opt-out. An employer may offer an approved pension or savings scheme instead, which the employee must accept in writing.

The law: UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021)

Read the United Arab Emirates labour-law quick guide

Worked example

For an employee with 10 years of service on a AED 1,000.00/month salary, terminated by the employer, the end-of-service benefit is AED 8,500.00 — computed from the same statutory engine that powers the product.

Frequently asked questions