Most disputes between UAE employees and employers are not about bad faith. They are about people not knowing what the law actually says — and one detail in particular that runs through all of it.
Everything is calculated on basic salary
Overtime, sick pay and the payout of untaken leave are all worked out on your basic salary — never on your total package.
If your AED 15,000 salary is AED 7,000 basic plus AED 8,000 in allowances, every one of those entitlements is calculated on the 7,000. This is where most disputes begin.
There is one exception worth knowing, and it is a strange one. Leave you actually take is paid on your full wage, including allowances. Leave you do not take, and cash out on exit, is paid on basic only. Two different rules for the same entitlement — and it is exactly why final settlements disappoint.
Work out what you are owed
The UAE Labour Law Calculator covers annual leave, sick pay, overtime and notice — all on the correct basic-salary basis.
Annual leave
- One year or more: 30 calendar days per year
- Six to twelve months: 2 calendar days per month worked
- Under six months: no statutory entitlement
Note these are calendar days, not working days — weekends falling inside your leave count towards it.
Sick pay comes in three tiers
You get up to 90 days of sick leave a year, after probation, paid as:
- First 15 days: full pay
- Next 30 days: half pay
- Final 45 days: unpaid
There is no paid sick leave during probation at all. You must notify your employer within three days and produce a medical certificate from a licensed facility.
An employer cannot dismiss you simply for being ill within those 90 days. Beyond them, termination becomes lawful — but you still keep your full end of service benefits.
Overtime, and the Ramadan rule employers get wrong
- 125% of the basic hourly rate for normal overtime
- 150% for hours between 10pm and 4am
- 150% for a rest day or public holiday, unless you get a day off in lieu
- Capped at 2 extra hours a day, except in genuine emergencies
Now the part most people never claim. During Ramadan, the working day is reduced by two hours — for every employee, of any religion.
Because the standard day is shorter, overtime begins two hours earlier than usual. Hours that would be ordinary working time in any other month become paid overtime during Ramadan. Employers frequently fail to apply this, and most employees never realise they are owed it. Check your timesheet.
Notice must be identical both ways
Notice is between 30 and 90 days, as set in your contract, and it must be the same for both you and your employer.
A contract giving your employer 30 days but demanding 90 from you is not enforceable as written. You continue to work and be paid throughout the notice period; your employer may place you on garden leave, but must still pay you.
During probation, an employer gives 14 days' notice. An employee leaving to join another UAE employer gives 30 days. Probation cannot exceed six months and cannot be extended — if you are still "on probation" after six months, you are not.
If something is wrong
MOHRE handles labour complaints, and filing costs nothing. Before you escalate, work out precisely what you are owed — a specific figure with the law behind it is far more persuasive than a general sense of unfairness. Most employers correct course once they see you know the rules.
If you are leaving, calculate your end of service gratuity too — it is the largest single line in your final settlement.