Unpaid leave and your gratuity
Days of unpaid leave don’t count as service, so they’re taken off before your gratuity is worked out. They can also push back the date you reach one year.
What the law says
The gratuity article says: “The days of absence from work without pay shall not be included in the calculation of the duration of service” (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51(4)).
The article on leave without pay says the same. You can take it “upon the approval of the Employer” (Article 33(1)), and it “shall not be included in the Worker’s period of service with the Employer” (Article 33(2)).
How it changes the sum
Count the days from your first day to your last day of employment, counting both. Take off the unpaid days. What’s left is your service. The law counts a year as 365 days (Article 67), so divide by 365 to get years.
Here’s an example. Someone worked from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2025 on a basic salary of AED 15,000 and took 40 days of unpaid leave.
- Days employed 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2025: 2,922 days
- Unpaid leave − 40 days
- Service counted 2,882 ÷ 365 = 7.8959 years
- Daily basic wage 15,000.00 ÷ 30 500.00
- First 5 years 21 days × 5 years = 105 days 52,500.00
- After 5 years 30 days × 2.8959 years = 86.8767 days 43,438.36
- Estimated gratuity 95,938.36
Without the leave, the total would be AED 97,582.19, so the 40 days cost AED 1,643.83. They come off the years after the fifth, which are worth 30 days’ wage each.
If you’re close to one year
You need at least one year of continuous service before any gratuity is due (Article 51(2)), and unpaid days don’t count towards it.
For example, someone who started on 1 March 2023, left on 15 March 2024 and took 20 days of unpaid leave has 361 days of service. That’s short of a year. They would have reached one year on 19 March 2024.
Does a long break reset your service?
The law asks for “continuous service”. We haven’t confirmed whether a long period of unpaid leave breaks continuity, rather than just being taken off. Our calculator only takes the days off, and says so.
Still being checked
- Whether a long period of unpaid leave breaks “continuous service”, rather than just being taken off.
- That MOHRE counts days the same way: every day from first to last, divided by 365.
Work out your gratuity
Enter your days of unpaid leave in the calculator. It takes them off and shows the effect line by line.
Calculate your gratuitySources
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations Official English text. The Arabic text prevails.
- UAE Government portal: end-of-service benefits in the private sector Official guidance, updated 15 October 2026.
Rules last checked: 12 November 2026
This is general information, not legal advice. If your employer’s figure is different, ask them to show how they worked it out. You can also contact the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE).