Free zone staff: DIFC, ADGM and the mainland gratuity rule
The gratuity rule on this site is the one in Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, which applies to "all establishments, employers and workers in the UAE private sector" (Article 3(1)). Some places inside the UAE run their own employment law. This guide explains where the calculator stops being the right tool, using only what could be read.
What the Decree-Law covers
Article 3(2) leaves out employees of federal and local government entities, the armed forces, police and security, and domestic workers. Article 3(3) lets the Cabinet exclude other categories from all or some of the provisions. Article 51(1) sends UAE nationals to the pension legislation, so even on the mainland the 21 and 30 day scale is for foreign workers. The Decree-Law text read does not itself list free zones, so whether it applies to a given free zone employer depends on that zone's own rules and the contract.
DIFC: savings in place of gratuity
The Dubai International Financial Centre has its own employment law. On its website DIFC describes the Employee Workplace Savings plan (DEWS) as a funded, professionally managed defined contribution plan that replaces the end-of-service arrangement, based on current salary rather than final salary, with an optional voluntary savings feature. A defined contribution plan pays what has been contributed plus returns, so there is no days-of-wage formula to apply. The DIFC page read gives no start date, no contribution rates and no rule for gratuity earned before the plan, and this site shows none. For the figures use the DEWS guide that DIFC links and your own statement from the plan.
ADGM
Abu Dhabi Global Market has its own Employment Regulations 2024 with their own end-of-service provisions. The ADGM rulebook page could not be opened in this check, so no ADGM figure is given on this site and the mainland result should not be read across to it.
Alternative schemes on the mainland
Article 51(8) of the Decree-Law lets the Cabinet, on the Minister's proposal, approve other alternative schemes for the end-of-service benefit and set the conditions, rules and mechanism of contribution. Benefits under such a scheme follow the scheme's own rules. This check did not look for the Cabinet resolutions that set up any scheme, so none is described here. If your payslip shows a contribution to a savings or investment plan, read the terms of that plan before using the gratuity calculator.
The regimes side by side
| Where you work | End-of-service benefit | Covered by the calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland private sector, foreign worker | Gratuity of 21 days a year for 5 years and 30 days after, capped at 2 years of wage (Article 51) | Yes |
| Mainland private sector, UAE national | Pension legislation (Article 51(1)) | No |
| DIFC | DEWS, a funded defined contribution plan, in place of the gratuity | No |
| ADGM | Its own Employment Regulations 2024; not read in this check | No |
| Other free zones | Not looked at in this check | No |
Other free zones
Other free zones were not looked at. If your employer is licensed in a free zone, find out from your contract and the zone authority which employment law it names, before using any calculator.
When the mainland calculator is the right one
Use the gratuity calculator when your employer is a mainland private sector establishment and you are a full-time foreign worker. For orientation only, here is what the mainland scale gives on a basic wage of AED 10,000:
| Service | Mainland gratuity |
|---|---|
| 3 years | AED 21,000 |
| 5 years | AED 35,000 |
| 10 years | AED 85,000 |
These are not DIFC or ADGM figures. A DEWS balance depends on the contributions made and the returns earned, so it can be higher or lower than the line above.
Questions to ask
- Which employment law does my contract name, and which authority registered my employer?
- Is my end-of-service benefit a gratuity or a savings plan?
- Was I moved from the old gratuity to a savings plan, and what happened to the service earned before?
- Who pays out, and within what time?
Where the Decree-Law applies, Article 53 requires payment within 14 days of the end of the contract. Rules for free zones can differ on this too.
Mainland gratuity calculatorSources
- UAE Government portal: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (English text, Articles 3 and 51)
- DIFC: Employee Workplace Savings (DEWS)
- ADGM Rulebook: End-of-service gratuity (page could not be opened in this check)
- Every rule used, with its source and check date: Sources and rates
This calculator is general information only. It follows Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 as listed on the Sources page, and your contract, payroll and personal situation may differ. Rules as at 2 November 2026.