Correction, 7 October 2026: This guide has been revised to remove unsupported salary-band calculations, automatic old/new-law splits and assumptions that DIFC and ADGM share the same benefits system.
The quickest check is to compare the wage basis, qualifying service and each adjustment with your documents. A neat-looking total is not enough.
Check these records first
Read the contract and latest agreed wage amendment, then compare the employer’s service dates with your joining and contract-ending records. Ask for unpaid-absence exclusions and leave balances. Keep basic wage and total wage in separate columns because different settlement components use different bases.
Look for specific discrepancies
Question historical salary-band calculations, missed fractions of a year, unexplained service resets, double-counted notice and unsupported deductions. Ordinary resignation does not introduce the old reduced gratuity fractions under the current Article 51 formula.
If the estimate differs
Request a written explanation before treating the difference as underpayment. Better contractual benefits, a savings scheme, another employment jurisdiction or disputed facts can explain why a simple estimate differs. Use the dispute guide for a document-based next step.
The standard federal calculation
For a foreign full-time employee under federal private-sector law, Article 51 uses the last basic wage: 21 days for each of the first five qualifying years, then 30 days for each additional year. After one year of continuous service, fractions of a year are counted proportionately. Unpaid absence is excluded from the gratuity service calculation. Housing and transport allowances are not part of the basic-wage calculation. The statutory ceiling is two years’ wage; keep the distinction between basic wage and total contractual wage clear.
Check which rules apply before using a calculator
DIFC’s DEWS or another qualifying scheme, ADGM employment regulations and the federal alternative Savings Scheme have distinct rules. Part-time work needs its contractual hours ratio; domestic, government and pension-covered employment are outside this standard calculation. Use the free-zone comparison to identify your arrangement.
Worked example: six qualifying years
With a last monthly basic wage of AED 10,000, the first five years produce AED 35,000 and the sixth year AED 10,000: AED 45,000 before lawful deductions. The calculation keeps the daily rate unrounded until the final amount. This illustration assumes standard federal full-time employment, no savings scheme and no disputed service or salary facts.
Compare an itemised breakdown
Use the Final Settlement Checker for a standard federal monthly-paid case. Ask HR for the wage basis, qualifying service, unused leave, notice position, earned pay and each proposed deduction. A calculator estimate is a starting point for questions, not a decision on your legal entitlement.
Reviewed 7 October 2026. General information, not personalised legal advice. If the contract, service continuity, salary change or deduction is disputed, confirm the facts with the relevant authority or a qualified employment adviser.