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.
A school calendar does not replace your employment contract. Check the employer, governing law, contract dates and whether summer is paid leave, unpaid absence or a genuine break between employments.
Does summer count?
Paid leave during continuing employment is not the same as a gap in employment. Federal Article 51 excludes unpaid absence from the gratuity service calculation. Do not assume every ten-month teaching contract earns twelve months of qualifying service, or exclude paid summer merely because lessons stop.
Changing schools or renewing a contract
Successive renewals with continuing service are different from leaving one employer and joining another. Ask each school to confirm its recognised service and any prior settlement. A transfer within a group does not automatically prove that the same legal employer or continuity applies.
Teacher example
A teacher with six agreed qualifying years and a last basic wage of AED 11,500 has an illustrative standard federal gratuity of AED 51,750 before lawful deductions. Earlier salary bands do not replace the last basic wage. Government, pension and financial-free-zone arrangements need separate review.
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.
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.