Dismissed or Made Redundant in the UAE: What You Are Owed

If your UAE mainland employer ends your job, you are owed your notice period or pay instead of it, your end-of-service gratuity and all your other dues within 14 days. The Decree-Law has no separate redundancy payment, so being made redundant gives you the same items as any dismissal.

Extra compensation is due only if you were dismissed because you filed a serious complaint with MoHRE or a lawsuit against your employer whose validity is proven. A court sets that amount, up to 3 months of your last wage, on top of notice and gratuity (Art. 47).

• Notice. Either side may end the contract for a legitimate reason with written notice of the period in the contract, at least 30 days and at most 90 (Art. 43(1)). You get your full wage while you work it (Art. 43(2)).
• Notice pay. If your employer does not let you work the notice, it pays a notice period allowance equal to your wage for the full period or the part left, based on your last wage (Art. 43(3) and (4)).
• A day a week to job hunt. When the employer ends the contract, you may take one working day a week off without pay during the notice, if you tell the employer at least 3 days before (Art. 43(5)).
• Gratuity. After at least one year: 21 days' basic wage for each of the first five years and 30 days for each year after, capped at two years' wage in total (Art. 51(2) and (6)). There is no cut because the employer ended the job.
• Payment date. Wages and all other entitlements within 14 days of the end of the contract (Art. 53).

Check your own figure with the UAE gratuity calculator, then compare it with what you were paid using the settlement checker.

The Decree-Law lists the permanent closure of the business, and the employer's bankruptcy, insolvency or economic or exceptional reasons that stop the project continuing, among the ways a contract ends (Art. 42(7) and (8)). It has no clause for a redundancy payment.

If your job is cut while the business carries on, your employer ends the contract like any other termination: notice or notice pay, gratuity and your final dues. If the business closes or fails, gratuity and dues are still owed at the end of your service (Arts. 51 and 53). The Implementing Regulation sets the conditions for ending a contract for economic reasons, so ask MoHRE how they apply to your case, including notice. If the business has failed, read what happens to your EOSB if your employer goes bankrupt.

The law calls a dismissal unlawful when it is because you filed a serious complaint with the Ministry or a lawsuit against the employer, and the complaint or lawsuit is proven valid (Art. 47(1)).

• The employer then pays fair compensation set by the competent court (Art. 47(2)).
• The award can be up to your wage for 3 months, based on the last wage you received (Art. 47(2)).
• It is on top of your notice period allowance and end-of-service benefits (Art. 47(3)).

Any other dismissal with proper notice gives you the notice, gratuity and dues above.

Art. 44 lists the cases where an employer may dismiss without notice. It must first hold a written investigation with you, and the dismissal decision must be in writing and give reasons. Art. 44 removes the notice; the Decree-Law has no clause that takes away your gratuity for it. The employer may deduct from the gratuity only amounts owed under the law or a judgment (Art. 51(7)).

More detail: EOSB after a misconduct dismissal.

• Unemployment insurance (ILOE). Among its conditions: at least 12 consecutive months of subscription, and a job that did not end by resignation or a disciplinary dismissal. Claim within 30 days of the job ending (Cabinet Resolution 97/2022, Art. 9). The reason on the work permit cancellation decides what you get, so check it before you sign it (Ministerial Resolution 604/2022, Art. 7). See the unemployment insurance check.
• Unpaid dues. Complain to MoHRE. It can decide claims up to AED 50,000 itself, and refers larger ones to court (Art. 54). Claims are not considered after two years from the end of employment (Art. 54(9)). Labour claims are exempt from court fees up to AED 100,000 (Art. 55). Steps: how to file a MoHRE complaint.
• Plan your dates with the leaving plan.

The DIFC Employment Law has no general unfair dismissal award and no redundancy pay. The DIFC Court can award compensation for breaches of the discrimination and victimisation rules, up to one year's wage, or up to twice that if the employer ignores a recommendation, and the claim has a 6-month time limit (Art. 61). Notice is 7 days in the first 3 months, 30 days up to 5 years and 90 days after 5 years (Art. 62(2)).

DIFC employers pay into a savings scheme instead of a gratuity for service from 1 February 2020: see the UAE savings scheme and DEWS.