How to File a MoHRE Complaint for Unpaid Gratuity in the UAE

If you have left a private-sector job in the UAE and your end-of-service gratuity has not landed, the first thing to know is that the law puts a hard clock on your employer. Under Article 53 of the UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), an employer must pay all wages and other entitlements due to you within 14 days of the date your employment contract ends. This deadline is reinforced by the Implementing Regulation, Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022.

That 14-day window covers your end-of-service gratuity, any outstanding salary, payment for accrued-but-unused annual leave, and any other amount owed under your contract or the company by-laws. It applies the same way whether you resigned, your fixed-term contract expired, or your employer terminated you — the clock starts on the last day of the contract either way.

So if it has been more than 14 days since your last working day and you have not received your full settlement, your employer is already outside the legal deadline, and you are entitled to act. Before you do, it is worth knowing exactly what you are owed: run your figures through our UAE EOSB Calculator, which applies the Article 51 gratuity formula (21 days of basic pay per year for the first five years, 30 days per year thereafter, capped at two years' wage), and use our Settlement Checker to compare that against what — if anything — the employer has offered.

Knowing your number matters, because a complaint is far stronger when you can state precisely what was owed, what was paid, and what is still outstanding.

A MoHRE complaint moves faster and lands harder when it is backed by documents. Spend an hour assembling the following before you file:

• Your employment contract — the MoHRE-registered offer letter or contract showing your salary, job title, and start date.
• Emirates ID and your work permit / labour card number — you will need these to authenticate and to identify the employment relationship on the system.
• Proof of salary — bank statements or WPS (Wage Protection System) records showing your actual monthly pay, which is what your gratuity is built on.
• Proof of your last working day — a resignation acceptance, termination letter, or final attendance record that fixes the date the 14-day clock started.
• Any settlement document the employer gave you — a final-settlement statement, a partial payment slip, or written promises to pay. If they paid you some of what was owed, that document helps prove the shortfall.
• Your own gratuity calculation — a clear figure for what the law says you are owed. This is where our UAE EOSB Calculator and Settlement Checker do the heavy lifting.

It also helps to put your case in writing to the employer first — a short, dated email or formal letter stating what you are owed and asking for payment. Often this alone resolves it, and if it does not, it becomes evidence that you tried to settle directly. Our Letter Generator produces a clean, professional demand letter you can send before escalating.

Labour complaints in the UAE private sector are handled by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE). Filing is free, and you do not need a lawyer to start. There are several official channels:

1. MoHRE call centre / WhatsApp — call or message 600590000, available around the clock. An agent records your details and can register the complaint or direct you to the right e-service.
2. MoHRE website — the official services portal at mohre.gov.ae, under the labour-complaints service.
3. MoHRE smart app — file and track the complaint from your phone.
4. Tasheel service centres — in-person, if you would rather be walked through it.

Whichever channel you use, the information requested is the same: your name and Emirates ID, your employer's name and establishment details, your work permit number, and a clear description of the dispute — in your case, unpaid end-of-service gratuity (and any other unpaid dues). Attach the evidence you gathered above.

What to Say in the Complaint

Be specific and unemotional. State: your last working day, the amount of gratuity you calculate you are owed, what was actually paid (if anything), and the outstanding balance. Reference that the 14-day deadline under Article 53 has passed. A complaint that names a precise figure is far easier for MoHRE to act on than one that says only "they didn't pay me properly."

Once submitted, you will receive a complaint reference number. Keep it — you use it to track the status online, through the app, or via the call centre.

The UAE system is built to resolve most disputes without going to court. After you file, MoHRE first tries to settle the matter amicably — this is the mediation stage, and it is free.

A MoHRE officer reviews your complaint and the employer's response and attempts to broker a settlement, typically aiming to do so within a short window of around 14 days. Both you and the employer may be asked to provide further documents or to attend calls or meetings. The great majority of complaints are resolved at this stage — MoHRE has reported settling the large bulk of labour complaints amicably without court referral.

Two outcomes are possible here:

• The employer agrees to pay. A settlement is recorded and the gratuity is paid. This is the most common result and usually the fastest route to your money.
• No settlement is reached. The dispute then moves to a decision or to the labour court, depending on the amount in dispute (see the next section).

During mediation, hold your line on the figure you can evidence. If your documented calculation shows a specific amount owed, do not let an under-the-deadline-pressure offer talk you below what the law provides. Your Settlement Checker result is your anchor for what a fair settlement looks like.

If mediation does not settle the dispute, what happens next depends on how much is at stake.

For disputes up to a set monetary threshold (currently reported as AED 50,000), MoHRE itself can issue a binding final decision — the matter does not have to go to court at all. This reform made enforcement of smaller claims, which is where most unpaid-gratuity disputes sit, considerably faster.

For disputes above that threshold, or where MoHRE cannot resolve the matter, MoHRE issues a referral letter (a formal memo summarising the dispute and the documents) that allows you to take the case to the UAE Labour Court. Key points to know about the court stage:

• You file the case with the court within the deadline stated on the referral.
• Labour cases brought by a worker are generally exempt from court fees for claims up to a defined ceiling, so cost should not stop you escalating.
• You can represent yourself, but for larger or contested claims it is worth getting legal advice.

The practical takeaway: most unpaid-gratuity claims never reach a courtroom. File the MoHRE complaint, engage the free mediation in good faith with a clear, evidenced figure, and in the majority of cases the matter is resolved there. The court is the backstop, not the default.

When you file, make sure your complaint captures everything you are actually owed — not just the headline gratuity. A full end-of-service claim can include:

• End-of-service gratuity under Article 51 — 21 days of basic pay for each of the first five years of service, 30 days per year thereafter, calculated on your basic salary and capped at two years' total wage.
• Unpaid salary for any period worked but not paid.
• Payment for accrued, unused annual leave — paid as a cash allowance on your basic salary when service ends.
• Any contractual amounts explicitly promised in your contract or the company by-laws.
• A repatriation air ticket, where your contract or the law provides for one and you have not been given it.

Note that the standard gratuity is calculated on basic salary only, not your total package — a point worth getting right so your claim figure is accurate and credible. (Employees enrolled in the UAE's voluntary alternative savings scheme are treated differently, as accrual is handled through that scheme rather than a lump-sum gratuity.)

Before you file, settle on a single, defensible number. Use our UAE EOSB Calculator to compute the gratuity, our Settlement Checker to identify the exact shortfall against what you were paid, and our Letter Generator to put the demand in writing. For the full picture of how the gratuity itself is worked out and the rules behind it, see our guide on how to claim your EOSB in the UAE.