Dubai, December 31th, 2025: Employees in the UAE jobs will always wonder whether the request period or end-of-service benefits varies according to the reason why the employment is terminated. The regulations that relate to termination, notice time and gratuity have a clear stipulation under UAE labour law and are uniform in most instances.
Concerns Of One Of The Employees
An employee who lost his position in a job in UAE on performance issues, rather than misconduct, sought clarification on two things:
- Is there any applicable notice period?
- Calculation of end-of-service gratuity?
UAE Jobs Rules Of Notice Period
Under the UAE law, an employer or the employee can end an employment contract on a valid reason, although a written notice should be made.
According to Article 43(1) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relationships, the following will be applicable:
- Unless otherwise agreed, the notice period has to be served and worked.
- The days of notice should be a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 90 days.
- The terms of employment contract control the period of time within which the notice was given.
- The cause of the termination, like the performance problems, makes no difference in the period of the notice, provided that it has nothing to do with misconduct.
It implies that, in the case of UAE jobs, the industry still has to observe the standard contractual notice period despite the termination based on performance.
Legal Provision On Dismissal
The law states:
One party to the employment contract can also terminate the contract without giving any reason as long as he is writing to the other party and work shall be done within the period laid down in the contract agreement bearing in mind that the contract period must not be short of (30) thirty days or excess of (90) ninety days.
Tips At The End Of Service In The UAE Jobs
Article 51(2) of the Employment Law regulates end-of-service benefits also referred to as gratuity.
Key UAE Jobs rules include:
- Only on passing one year of continuous service the gratuity is payable.
- When the employee leaves or resigns within a year, they do not qualify to be paid any gratuity.
- The amount of gratuity is calculated on the basis of the minimum wage as opposed to the entire salary.
It is calculated in the following way:
- Basic wages of 21 days annually at the completion of the first five years service.
- Basic wage given per annum of service of five years.
Final Settlement Timeline
Article 53 of the Employment Law requires the employers to settle all dues immediately upon termination of a UAE job.
This includes:
- Outstanding wages
- Final gratuity (when necessary)
- Any other contractual or policy based entitlements.
All the payments should be made within 14 days of ending of the employment contract.
The law states:
The employer will compensate the worker, within (14) fourteen days of the termination of the contract, his wages and all other rights as they are herein stipulated and as resolutions are passed to implement them, the contract or the establishment by-laws.
What The Employees In UAE Jobs Need To Know ?
- The period of notice remains the same whether or not termination is on grounds of performance.
- The period of notice before which the employment contract is applied is 30 to 90 days.
- Gratuity is only implemented after one year of uninterrupted service.
- The dues should be paid within 14 days of termination.
Otherwise, the employees can bring the case to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) in case of the failure to pay them in time.
Knowledge on these provisions is important to employees in UAE jobs to defend against legal claims and transparency in the termination and final settlement procedures.
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