What Happens to Your Gratuity If You Resign Before 1 Year in the UAE?
The short answer: no gratuity. Here's the exact rule, and what you ARE still entitled to even under one year.
The rule
Under UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, end-of-service gratuity requires at least one year of continuous service. If your employment ends — whether you resign or are terminated — before you complete that first year, you are not entitled to any gratuity payment. This threshold applies equally regardless of the reason your employment ended.
It doesn't matter whether you resigned or were let go
A common misconception is that resigning before one year is worse than being terminated before one year. It isn't — both give zero gratuity under the one-year minimum. The distinction between resignation and termination only starts to matter for the multiplier applied to your service (and even then, since the 2021 law, it doesn't reduce UAE gratuity at all once you're past one year).
What you ARE still owed under one year
No gratuity does not mean no final payment. Even employees who leave — or are let go — before completing a year are still entitled to:
- Pending salary for any days already worked but not yet paid.
- Unused annual leave encashment for any leave days accrued but not taken (leave typically starts accruing from day one, pro-rated).
- Notice-period pay if the employer ends the contract without serving the required notice.
Our UAE Final Settlement Calculator handles all of these together — gratuity will correctly show as zero under one year, while leave, pending salary and notice pay are calculated independently.
Worked example
An employee on AED 7,000 basic / AED 11,000 gross leaves after 8 months, with 6 unused leave days and 5 pending unpaid days:
- Gratuity: AED 0 (under 1 year — does not qualify)
- Leave encashment: (7,000÷30) × 6 = AED 1,400
- Pending salary: (11,000÷30) × 5 = AED 1,833
So even with zero gratuity, this employee is still owed roughly AED 3,233 in leave and pending salary.
What counts toward the one year?
The one-year threshold is based on continuous service under the same employer. Unpaid leave periods and breaks in continuous employment can affect how service is counted — if your situation involves a gap in employment, confirm the exact calculation with MOHRE.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get any gratuity if I resign after 8 months in the UAE?
No. UAE gratuity requires at least one full year of continuous service. Under one year, gratuity is zero regardless of whether you resigned or were terminated.
Am I owed anything at all if I leave before one year?
Yes — pending salary for days worked, unused annual leave encashment, and notice-period pay if applicable. Only the gratuity component requires one year of service.
Does it matter if I resigned versus was terminated, for the one-year rule?
No. The one-year minimum applies the same way regardless of the reason your employment ended.
What if I'm just a few days short of one year?
The law sets the threshold at one full year of continuous service; falling short — even by a small margin — means the gratuity component does not apply. Confirm your exact start and end dates with your employer or MOHRE if it's close.