Leaving a UAE job in your first year – or being let go during probation – raises the same anxious question: do I get anything? Here is the straight answer on gratuity, and what you are still owed even when gratuity is zero.
The one-year rule
Article 51 of the labour law is unambiguous: end of service gratuity requires at least one year of continuous service. Eleven months and three weeks pays zero gratuity. One year and one day pays the full 21 days of basic salary, and pro-rata accrual begins from there – the maths from that point is in our gratuity calculator.
Probation: what applies
Probation can last up to six months. During it, either side can end the contract with shorter notice – the employer must give 14 days, while an employee leaving for another UAE job gives one month (and the new employer may owe recruitment cost compensation to the old one). Since probation always falls inside the first year, no gratuity is due for a probation exit. There is no such thing as “probation gratuity”.
What you ARE owed in the first year
Zero gratuity does not mean zero money. You are still entitled to: salary for every day worked, encashment of accrued annual leave (2 days per month after your sixth month – the leave salary calculator covers it), any contractual benefits like a repatriation ticket, and your salary during the notice period. Run the final settlement calculator with zero years to see the non-gratuity components.
Edge cases people ask about
Terminated at 11 months by the employer? Still no gratuity – the law has no exception for employer-initiated exits under one year, though your notice and other dues stand. Multiple stints with the same employer? Continuity generally resets unless service was legally continuous. Moved between entities of the same group? If your MOHRE contract was transferred without a break, service usually carries over – get that confirmed in writing when you transfer.
Information only, not legal advice. Disputes: MOHRE 80060.