How to Resign in the UAE: Notice, Gratuity and Final Pay

To resign in the UAE, give your employer written notice and work through the notice period set in your contract, which is between 30 and 90 days (Decree-Law 33/2021, Art. 43). Resigning does not reduce your end of service gratuity: after one year of service a full-time foreign worker is paid it in full (Art. 51). Your employer must pay your final dues within 14 days of the contract end date (Art. 53).

This page covers mainland private-sector jobs. DIFC and ADGM have their own employment rules, so check with your free zone if you work there.

Ready to write it? Use the resignation letter generator, or see how the six Gulf countries compare.

Put everything in writing. If you and your employer agree a shorter notice period or an exemption from notice, the law allows it as long as your rights for the notice period are kept (Art. 43(2)), so get that agreement in writing too.

Either side may end the contract for a legitimate reason by notifying the other in writing, and the notice period agreed in the contract must be at least 30 days and at most 90 days (Art. 43(1)).

• You work the period. You keep your full wage, based on your last wage, while you serve it (Art. 43(2)).
• Both sides serve the same period unless a different arrangement favours the worker (Art. 43(2)).
• No approval step is described. Articles 42 and 43 do not set out a step where your employer must approve your resignation. The notice still has to be given and served.

If you do not serve the notice, you owe your employer pay in lieu: compensation equal to your wage for the whole notice period or the part you did not serve, even if your employer suffered no loss (Art. 43(3)). It is worked out on the last wage you received (Art. 43(4)). The same rule applies the other way if your employer ends the contract without notice.

Job-search day. If your employer ends the contract, you may take one working day a week off without pay during the notice period to look for work, telling your employer at least 3 days before (Art. 43(5)). This does not apply when you resign.

Probation can last up to 6 months, it can be used only once with an employer, and it counts towards your length of service (Art. 9). The notice you owe depends on where you are going:

If either side ends probation without following these rules, it pays the other the wages for the notice period or what is left of it (Art. 9(5)). A foreign worker who leaves the UAE without following the probation rules cannot get a new work permit in the UAE for one year from the date of leaving (Art. 9(6)).

Nothing is taken off for resigning. A full-time foreign worker with a year or more of continuous service is paid gratuity on the basic wage: 21 days' basic wage for each of the first five years and 30 days for each year after that, capped at two years' wage (Art. 51). With under one year of service there is no gratuity.

Example at AED 10,000 a month basic, whole years of service:

After 6 years the gratuity is AED 45,000 whether you resign or not. Your own figure depends on your basic salary and exact dates: use the UAE gratuity calculator. Your employer may deduct money you owe under the law or a court judgment (Art. 51(7)).

You can quit without notice and keep your rights in four cases (Art. 45):

• Your employer breached its obligations. You must tell the Ministry 14 working days before you quit, and the employer must not have fixed the problem.
• Your employer assaulted you or committed violence or harassment. You must inform the competent authorities and the Ministry within 5 working days.
• There is a grave danger at the workplace.
• You are given work that is fundamentally different from what was agreed, without your written consent.

The conditions matter. Read Article 45 or ask MoHRE before you rely on it. In any other case, leaving without notice means paying pay in lieu (Art. 43(3)). A foreign worker who leaves work for an illegitimate reason before the end of the contract term cannot get a new work permit in the UAE for one year from the date of the absence (Art. 50(1)).

Your employer must pay your wages and all other entitlements within 14 days of the end date of the contract (Art. 53). Ask for a written breakdown and check it against the calculator and the final payslip guide.

• Complain to MoHRE. Disputes go to the Ministry first, to settle them amicably (Art. 54). MoHRE can decide claims up to AED 50,000 itself, and either side can challenge that decision in court within 15 working days. Larger claims that are not settled are sent to court.
• Mind the deadline. Claims are not heard after two years from the end of the employment relationship (Art. 54).
• File online. Use the MoHRE website or app (UAE citizens also by phone on 600590000). For advice, the Labour Claims and Advisory Center is on 80084.

More: how to file a complaint in the UAE and how to claim your gratuity.

A short letter is enough. Include your name and job title, the date, one clear sentence that you are resigning, and your last working day worked out from your notice period. Sign it.

The UAE resignation letter generator fills in the notice rule for you. Keep a signed copy and the email you sent it with.

• A written breakdown. Ask for your wages, leave balance and gratuity on paper, and check them with the settlement checker.
• Visa and paperwork. The UAE leaving checklist covers the steps, and the visa grace tool shows how long you can stay after your visa is cancelled.
• Your letters. See clearance and experience letters.