Gratuity is one line on a final settlement
People arrive here having checked the gratuity figure and stopped. It is usually the largest line, but it is rarely the only one you are owed — and the others are where a settlement quietly comes up short.
Everything owed to you — gratuity, wages, leave, notice — must be paid within 14 days of the employment ending. Not on the next payroll run, not when the clearance form comes back. Fourteen days.
What a settlement should contain
Work down this list against whatever you were given. Each line is a separate entitlement with its own basis, and an employer who has quietly omitted one is far more common than one who has miscalculated the gratuity.
| Line | Calculated on | Commonly wrong because |
|---|---|---|
| Outstanding wages | Full wage to the last working day | Stopped at the resignation date rather than the last day worked |
| Unused annual leave | Basic wage for untaken days | Leave balance disputed, or carry-over ignored |
| End-of-service gratuity | Basic wage, Article 51 | Total package used instead of basic, or the repealed resignation scale applied |
| Notice pay | Full wage for notice not worked | Only arises where notice was not served — and runs both ways |
| Overtime and commission | As contracted | Final-period commission dropped on the way out |
| Repatriation air fare | Contract terms | Depends on your contract wording, not on Article 51 |
Note the two directions. Notice pay is owed to you if the employer ended things without serving notice; it is owed by you if you left without serving yours. Either way it is a separate line, arrived at separately — not something netted off the gratuity before you see it.
Ask for the calculation in writing
This is the single most useful thing on this page. Not the figure — the workings. A request like:
Please provide a breakdown of the final settlement showing, for each component, the basis of calculation: the wage figure used, the service period applied, and the number of days.
An employer who has calculated correctly can produce that in a few minutes. One who cannot, or will not, has told you something. It also converts a disagreement about a total into a disagreement about a specific line, which is far easier to resolve and much better evidence if it goes further.
Keep your contract, your payslips, your resignation or termination letter, and any written calculation you are given. Screenshots of a WhatsApp exchange count for more than a recollection.
Before you sign anything “full and final”
Settlement documents routinely include a waiver of further claims. Signing one while a line is disputed is how a shortfall becomes permanent. If a figure looks wrong, resolve it before signing rather than after — and if the amounts are significant, take advice on the wording first. A settlement not yet accepted is a negotiation; one accepted and receipted is a much harder thing to reopen.
If you cannot agree
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation handles labour complaints for employees under the federal law. A complaint is free to file and MOHRE attempts settlement between the parties before the matter goes any further; where it cannot be resolved, it is referred onward to the courts. Bring the documents listed above and the specific line you say is wrong, with your own calculation of what it should be.
Two practical points. Do not let a dispute over one line delay the parts nobody disagrees about — the undisputed amounts are still due within the fourteen days. And be realistic about proportion: a claim worth a few hundred dirhams may cost more in time than it returns, whereas a gratuity calculated on the wrong basis is usually worth thousands and worth pursuing.
We cannot tell you what you are owed, whether your employer is in the wrong, or what to do about it. The calculator does arithmetic on figures you typed in; it has never seen your contract. For anything contested, a UAE-qualified lawyer or MOHRE is the right place, and getting there early is cheaper than getting there late.
Questions
My employer is withholding the settlement until I complete clearance.
Handover and clearance are ordinary processes, but they do not extend the fourteen-day deadline indefinitely, and payment is not conditional on signing a waiver. If clearance is being used to delay payment rather than to complete a handover, say so in writing and keep the reply.
Can gratuity be offset against money I owe the company?
Deductions from amounts owed to an employee are constrained, and a genuine debt should appear as its own line with its own basis rather than as an unexplained reduction in the gratuity. Ask what the deduction is for and under what provision. An amount you cannot identify is an amount to query before signing.
I was on the voluntary savings scheme instead of gratuity.
Then the exit calculation on this site does not describe your position. Employers who have joined the alternative end-of-service savings scheme contribute monthly to a fund rather than paying a lump sum computed on exit, and your entitlement is what the fund holds. Check which arrangement your employer operates before relying on any figure here.
How long does a MOHRE complaint take?
It depends on the complexity and on whether the parties settle at the conciliation stage; many do. We are not going to invent a timeline, because the honest answer is that it varies and anyone quoting you a confident number has not seen your file.
Related
- Check the gratuity lineThe calculator, with the full working shown
- What counts as basic salaryThe most common reason a gratuity figure is too low
- Is your calculator out of date?Three of five we surveyed still apply the repealed scale
Reviewed 2026-09-19 against Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. General guidance, not legal advice — see the disclaimer.