Probation period rules in the UAE

Under Article 9 of the UAE Labour Law, private-sector probation is optional for the employer and can last no more than six months, and the government portal says it cannot be extended. The employer can end the contract during probation with 14 days’ written notice. A worker must give at least one month’s written notice to move to another UAE employer, or 14 days to leave the UAE.

Key takeaways

• Probation is set by the employer, may not exceed 6 months, cannot be extended and can be used only once with the same employer.
• The employer must give 14 days' written notice to end the contract during probation.
• A worker moving to another UAE employer gives at least 1 month's notice; a worker leaving the UAE gives 14 days.
• A foreign worker who leaves the UAE during probation without following the rules can be barred from a new work permit for 1 year.
• There is no paid sick leave during probation, and probation counts as service if the worker stays on.

On this page 8 sections

How long probation can last

Probation can last up to six months from the first day of work, and the employer can set a shorter period.

Probation: maximum length and notice

Up to 6 months; notice 14 days / 1 month / 14 days

Probation may not exceed 6 months. During probation the employer must give 14 days' written notice to terminate; a worker moving to another UAE employer must give at least 1 month's written notice, and a worker leaving the UAE must give 14 days' written notice.

The Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021) describes probation as a period in which the employer assesses the worker’s performance and the worker gets to know the job and the workplace. When it ends, the contract either continues on its agreed terms or is terminated under the law. The other rules that apply to private-sector staff are covered in the Employment and payroll guides.

Is probation mandatory?

No. Article 9(1) says the employer “may” appoint a worker on probation, so the law permits a probation period but does not require one. When an employer does not use probation, the rules in Article 9 do not come into play.

Can probation be extended?

No. The UAE government portal u.ae states that probation must not exceed six months or be extended for another term. Article 9(2) adds that a worker can be put on probation only once with the same employer.

How the six months are counted

The six months run from the date work starts, the starting point Article 9(1) gives, and the Labour Law’s general rule for periods applies to them.

How the Labour Law counts periods

Year = 365 days; month = 30 days

Periods and dates in the UAE Labour Law are calculated on the Gregorian calendar, with a year counted as 365 days and a month as 30 days.

Article 67 covers every period the law sets, and Article 9 adds no counting rule of its own for probation. Neither article states the six months as a number of days.

Ending the contract during probation

Yes, a worker can resign during probation, and the employer can end the contract too. Either way the notice must be in writing, and its length depends on who ends the contract and where the worker goes next.

When the employer ends it

The employer must tell the worker in writing at least 14 days before the date the employment ends (Article 9(1)). The u.ae contracts page says this applies whatever the employer’s reason for ending it.

When the worker moves to another UAE employer

The worker gives the current employer at least one month’s written notice (Article 9(3)). The new employer then compensates the original employer for its recruitment costs, as the next section explains.

When the worker leaves the UAE

A foreign worker who resigns during probation to leave the UAE gives at least 14 days’ written notice (Article 9(4)). A return on a new work permit within three months brings in the same recruitment-cost rule.

Ending it without the required notice

The party that ends the contract without the notice Article 9 requires pays the other side compensation equal to the worker’s wage for the notice period, or for the part of it not served (Article 9(5)). The rule works both ways: an employer that cuts the notice short owes the worker, and a worker who leaves early owes the employer. Article 1 defines the wage as the basic wage plus the cash allowances and benefits in kind due under the contract or the law, so it is a wider amount than the basic wage used for gratuity.

Worked example

Moving employer with 10 days' notice instead of one month

The wage of AED 9,000 a month and the 10 days’ notice are illustrations.

1. Notice required to move to another UAE employer: one month, which is 30 days under Article 67.
2. Notice given: 10 days. Notice missing: 30 - 10 = 20 days.
3. The wage for the full notice period is one month’s wage, AED 9,000, so each of its 30 days is worth AED 9,000 / 30 = AED 300.
4. Compensation for the missing notice: 20 × AED 300 = AED 6,000.

The worker owes the original employer AED 6,000.

The recruitment costs are a separate matter, settled between the two employers. Once probation is over, the notice period in the contract applies instead: see notice periods after probation.

Recruitment costs and the one-year permit bar

A worker who moves to a new UAE employer during probation does not pay the original employer’s recruitment costs: the new employer does, unless the parties agree otherwise.

Probation once per employer and recruitment costs

Probation once per employer; 3-month return window

A worker may be placed on probation only once with the same employer. If a worker on probation moves to another employer in the UAE, the new employer compensates the original employer for the costs of recruiting or contracting the worker unless otherwise agreed, and the same applies if a worker who left the UAE during probation returns on a new work permit within 3 months; a party that ends the contract during probation without the required notice pays the other compensation equal to the worker's wage for the notice period or its remainder.

The law sets no amount for this compensation. It refers only to the costs of recruiting or contracting the worker.

Leaving during probation can also affect a foreign worker’s next work permit.

Work permit bar

1 year

Under Article 8 of Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022, a worker may not obtain a work permit for one year from leaving the UAE if the worker ended the employment relationship during the probation period without a breach by the employer, or if a work abandonment report against the worker was proven true.

Leave and pay during probation

A worker on probation has no right to paid sick leave, and annual leave during probation needs the employer’s agreement.

Article 31(2) rules out paid sick leave during probation, but the employer may grant unpaid sick leave on a medical report from the medical authority stating that leave is needed. Paid sick leave starts once probation ends.

Sick leave after probation

15 full pay + 30 half pay + 45 unpaid

After probation, a worker is entitled to up to 90 days of sick leave a year, continuous or intermittent: the first 15 days on full pay, the next 30 days on half pay and the remaining 45 days unpaid. The worker must notify the employer and provide a medical report from the medical entity; Article 31(1) of the Labour Law sets the time limit for notifying at 3 working days.

Annual leave follows its own scale, which the law ties to length of service.

Annual leave

30 days a year; 2 days a month after 6 months

A worker is entitled to fully paid annual leave of at least 30 days for each year of service, and 2 days for each month of service if service is more than 6 months but less than a year; leave for the part of the last year is due if service ends before the leave is used.

Article 29(3) lets the employer agree to grant leave from the worker’s annual leave balance during probation. A worker who does not pass probation keeps the right to be paid for the rest of that balance. How both kinds of leave are counted and paid is covered in sick leave and annual leave.

Probation and end-of-service benefits

Probation counts as service if the worker passes it and stays on: Article 9(2) counts the period within the term of service. For a worker who stays, service for gratuity therefore runs from the first day of work, not from the end of probation.

Minimum service for gratuity

At least 1 year of continuous service

An expatriate full-time worker who has completed at least 1 year of continuous service is entitled to an end-of-service gratuity on termination, with fractions of a year counted in proportion; unpaid absence days are excluded from service. A worker with less than 1 year of service gets no gratuity.

Probation lasts six months at most, so a contract that ends during probation falls short of that year and no gratuity is due. UAE nationals receive end-of-service benefits under the pensions and social security legislation instead (Article 51(1)). The formula and the cap are explained in end-of-service gratuity.

Probation rules at a glance

The table sums up each situation with the provision that sets the rule.