What goes into a final settlement

What the law says

“The Employer shall pay the Worker, within fourteen (14) days as of the date of the end of the contract, his wages and all other entitlements stipulated in this Decree by law and the resolutions issued in implementation thereof, the contract or the Establishment’s Articles of Association” (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 53).

So the settlement draws on three places: the law and its regulations, your employment contract, and your employer’s own rules.

Your gratuity

If you’ve completed at least one year of continuous service, gratuity is part of your settlement: 21 days’ basic wage for each of your first five years and 30 days for each year after that (Article 51(2)). Use the gratuity calculator to see your amount, step by step.

Other money you may be owed

A settlement can include more than gratuity. Unpaid salary, pay for annual leave you haven’t taken, and notice pay are the usual examples. We haven’t yet checked the law’s rules on each of these, so we don’t describe them here. A final-settlement calculator will follow once we have.

Deductions

Your employer “may deduct from the end-of-service gratuity any amounts that are due by law or by a judgment” (Article 51(7)).

The executive regulations list what that can include: repaying a loan or money you were overpaid, pension and insurance contributions, penalties under the employer’s Ministry-approved list, debts under a court judgment, and damage you caused to the employer’s property through your own mistake (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 29).

If your contract gives you more

The law’s rights are the minimum (Article 65(1)). If your contract or your employer’s rules promise more, you’re owed what they say.

Checking your settlement

Ask your employer for a written breakdown and compare each line with your contract. If the gratuity looks different from ours, ask how they worked it out. You can also contact the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE).