UAE gratuity is refreshingly simple once you know the two numbers that drive it: 21 and 30. The 2021 Federal Decree-Law unified the old contract system and set a clear day-based formula that applies to most private-sector employees.
Here is how those days translate into dirhams, and the cap that limits the total.
For each of your first five years you earn 21 days of basic pay. The daily wage is your monthly basic divided by 30, so on AED 10,000 a day is worth about AED 333, and a year earns roughly AED 7,000.
From the sixth year onward the rate rises to 30 days of basic pay per year — effectively a full month. Longer service is rewarded with a higher annual accrual.
However long you stay, total gratuity is capped at two years’ pay. You must also complete at least one year of service before any gratuity is due. Partial years beyond the first are paid pro-rata.