Resignation and termination under UAE labour law: notice and final pay

Under the UAE Labour Law, either the employer or the worker can end an employment contract for a legitimate reason by giving written notice of the period agreed in the contract, which must be 30 to 90 days. The worker is paid in full during notice, the side that skips notice owes the other the wage for it, and final dues are payable within 14 days.

Key takeaways

• Either side can end the contract for a legitimate reason with written notice of 30 to 90 days, as agreed in the contract.
• The worker is paid in full during the notice period, and the side that does not give notice pays the other the wage for it.
• An employer can dismiss without notice only on the grounds listed in Article 44, after a written investigation.
• A court can award up to 3 months' wage for arbitrary dismissal, on top of gratuity, notice pay and other dues.
• Wages, gratuity and all other dues must be paid within 14 days of the end of the contract.

On this page 11 sections

How an employment contract ends

A contract ends by written agreement, by expiring without renewal, by notice from either side, or through one of six other events the law lists, such as the worker’s death or the permanent closure of the business (Article 42).

Ways an employment contract ends

9 cases

An employment contract ends by written agreement of both parties; on expiry of its term unless extended or renewed; at the wish of either party, observing the rules on termination and the agreed notice period; on the death of the employer where the contract relates to the employer personally; on the worker's death or full permanent inability to work, proven by a medical certificate; on a final judgment against the worker imposing a freedom-restricting penalty of at least 3 months; on permanent closure of the establishment; on the employer's bankruptcy, insolvency or economic or exceptional reasons that prevent the business continuing; or when the worker cannot meet the conditions for renewing the work permit for a reason beyond the employer's control.

The rules come from Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, which covers the private sector; employees of federal and local government entities, of the armed forces, police and security, and domestic workers are outside it (Article 3).

Every contract under this law is fixed-term and renewable, and one that both sides keep performing after expiry counts as renewed on the same terms (u.ae, employment contracts page). The “unlimited” contracts of the old law, Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, had to be converted to fixed-term ones (Article 68). A “limited contract” is therefore today’s standard contract, and ending one early follows the notice rules below.

Resigning: what the law requires

A worker resigns by giving the employer written notice and serving the notice period set in the contract.

Written notice of 30 to 90 days

Notice is mandatory unless both sides agree otherwise or one of the without-notice grounds in Articles 44 and 45 applies. The contract fixes its length within the legal range.

Notice period

30 to 90 days

Either party may end the employment contract for a legitimate reason by written notice; the notice period agreed in the contract must be at least 30 days and no more than 90 days, the worker is paid in full during notice, and a party that does not serve notice owes the other a payment in lieu based on the worker's last wage.

The contract stays in force throughout the notice period and ends when the period expires. The worker works during that time if the employer asks (Article 43(2)).

Can an employer refuse a resignation?

Article 43 lets either party end the contract for a legitimate reason by written notice, and its text does not make a resignation depend on the employer accepting it. What the Article gives the employer is the right to require work until the notice period ends, and the option of agreeing to shorten or waive it.

Shortening or waiving the notice period

Both sides can agree to a shorter notice period or none at all. Article 43(2) adds that such an agreement preserves the worker’s rights for the notice period agreed in the contract. Separately, the contract must set the same notice period for both sides unless the difference favours the worker, for example a longer period for the employer to give than for the worker.

Leaving without serving notice

A worker who stops work before the notice period ends, without the employer’s agreement or one of the Article 45 grounds below, owes the employer a notice allowance: the wage for the full notice period or the part not served (Article 43(3)). It is due even if the employer suffered no loss, and the worked example under final settlement shows the arithmetic.

Resigning also rules out a claim under the job loss insurance scheme, which pays only when the job ended for a reason other than resignation or disciplinary dismissal (u.ae, Insurance against job loss); see ILOE unemployment insurance after a job loss.

Termination by the employer

An employer ends a contract under the same Article 43 rule as a worker: a legitimate reason, written notice of the contract period, and full pay during notice or a notice allowance instead.

Termination with notice

Notice from the employer is written, runs for the contract period and is paid in full. An employer that ends the job at once instead owes the notice allowance for the period not worked, on the last wage (Article 43(3) and (4)). Termination is also a disciplinary penalty under Article 39, which expressly keeps the worker’s end-of-service benefits.

The job-search day during notice

A worker under notice can take one unpaid day a week to look for work, but only when the employer is the one ending the contract.

Job-search leave during notice

1 unpaid day a week; 3 days' warning

When the employer ends the contract, the worker may be absent for one working day a week without pay during the notice period to look for another job, choosing the day and telling the employer at least 3 days before.

Article 43(5) gives no equivalent right to a worker who resigns.

Dismissal without notice

An employer can dismiss without notice only on one of the ten grounds in Article 44, and only after a written investigation with the worker, followed by a written decision that gives the reasons and is handed to the worker.

Grounds for dismissal without notice

10 grounds; absence over 20 days a year or over 7 in a row

An employer may dismiss a worker without notice only after a written investigation, by a written and reasoned decision handed to the worker, and only on the grounds listed in the law: false identity or forged documents; an error causing gross loss or deliberate damage that the worker acknowledges (reported to MOHRE within 7 working days); breach of posted safety instructions; continued failure to perform basic duties after a written investigation and two warnings; disclosure of a secret relating to industrial or intellectual property that causes the employer a loss or a missed opportunity or brings the worker a personal benefit; being drunk or under the influence of drugs at work, or an act against public morals at work; assault at work; absence without a legitimate reason for more than 20 intermittent days in a year or more than 7 consecutive days; unlawful use of position for personal gain; and joining another establishment without following the rules.

In the law’s order, with the conditions attached:

1. Impersonating someone, or submitting forged certificates or documents.
2. A mistake causing gross material loss, or deliberate damage to the employer’s property, that the worker admits; the employer informs the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) within 7 working days of learning of it.
3. Breaking written safety rules that are posted visibly and that the worker was told about.
4. Neglecting basic duties after a written investigation and two warnings of dismissal.
5. Disclosing an industrial or intellectual property secret that causes the employer a loss or a missed opportunity, or brings the worker a personal gain.
6. Being drunk or under the influence of drugs during working hours, or acting against public morals at work.
7. Assaulting the employer, a manager or a colleague at work, by word, act or any assault punishable by law.
8. Absence without a legitimate reason or accepted excuse for more than 20 intermittent days in a year or more than 7 consecutive days.
9. Unlawfully using the position for personal gain.
10. Joining another establishment without following the required procedures.

When the employer may not terminate

Some reasons and moments are off limits, even with notice:

• Sick leave. No dismissal or notice while the worker is on sick leave (u.ae, Types of leaves), and no termination for lack of health fitness before the leave due by law is used up (Article 46). Once the sick leave is used up and the worker cannot return, the employer may end the contract, paying all the worker’s dues, end-of-service benefits included (Article 31(5)).
• Pregnancy and maternity. No dismissal or notice because of pregnancy, maternity leave or the related absence (Article 30(8)).
• A complaint or lawsuit. Dismissal for these reasons is arbitrary dismissal, covered below.

Probation has its own notice rules: see ending a contract during probation.

When a worker can leave without notice

A worker can stop work without notice and keep end-of-service rights in four situations caused by the employer, listed in Article 45.

Grounds for leaving without notice

4 grounds; MOHRE notified 14 working days before leaving

A worker may leave without notice and keep end-of-service entitlements if the employer breaches its contractual or legal obligations and does not put this right after MOHRE notifies it (the worker must notify MOHRE 14 working days before leaving); if the employer or its representative assaults or harasses the worker (reported to the authorities and MOHRE within 5 working days of being able to report); if the employer assigns work fundamentally different from the contract without written consent, except in cases of necessity; or if the employer does not remove a grave danger at the workplace that it knows about.

The first ground covers a breach of the contract or the law, such as unpaid wages, but it runs through MOHRE: the worker reports the breach, MOHRE notifies the employer, and the right to leave arises only if the breach is not put right. The government portal points to Article 26 of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, the Labour Law’s Implementing Regulation, for what counts as grave danger.

Arbitrary dismissal

In the Labour Law, arbitrary dismissal has a narrow meaning: the employer ends the job because the worker filed a serious complaint with MOHRE, or a lawsuit against the employer that proved valid (Article 47). The law’s English translation calls it “unlawful” termination; the government portal calls it arbitrary dismissal.

Compensation for arbitrary dismissal

Up to 3 months' wage

If a dismissal is found to be unlawful (arbitrary), the court orders compensation that may not exceed 3 months' wage, calculated on the worker's last wage, in addition to the gratuity, notice pay and other dues.

Three months’ wage is a ceiling, not a set award: the court weighs the type of work, the damage to the worker and the length of service. The claim starts as a complaint to MOHRE, which investigates and tries to settle it before referring it to court (u.ae). Other dismissal disputes, such as whether an Article 44 ground was proven, take the same route, but Article 47 compensation is tied to the two causes it names.

Final settlement: what is paid and when

Everything owed when the contract ends is paid together, against a short deadline.

Deadline for final dues

14 days

The employer must pay the worker's wages, gratuity and all other entitlements within 14 days of the end of the contract.

Each item has its own pay base. The law’s “wage” is the basic wage plus cash allowances and benefits in kind, while the “basic wage” leaves them out (Article 1).

The employer may deduct from end-of-service benefits amounts due under the law or a court judgment (Article 51(7)), and may deduct from wages only in the cases listed in Article 25.

Worked example

Notice allowance and the arbitrary dismissal cap on a last wage of AED 12,000

The wage, the notice period and the days worked are illustrations. The contract sets 60 days’ notice. The worker resigns, works 20 days and stops without the employer’s agreement. The last wage is AED 12,000 a month: AED 7,000 basic plus AED 5,000 allowances.

1. The notice allowance uses the last wage, allowances included: AED 12,000, not the AED 7,000 basic wage.
2. A day’s wage, taking the month as 30 days, as Article 67 counts periods (the law does not say in so many words how a day’s wage is worked out): AED 12,000 / 30 = AED 400.
3. Days not served: 60 minus 20 = 40.
4. Notice allowance owed to the employer: 40 × AED 400 = AED 16,000.
5. Had a court instead found this worker arbitrarily dismissed, compensation could not exceed 3 × AED 12,000 = AED 36,000, on top of gratuity and notice pay.

Notice allowance owed: AED 16,000. Ceiling on arbitrary dismissal compensation: AED 36,000.

Non-compete clauses after the job ends

Where the job gives the worker knowledge of the employer’s clients or access to its secrets, a contract can stop the worker from competing with the employer after leaving, within limits the law sets (Article 10(1)).

Longest non-compete period

Up to 2 years

An employment contract may include a non-compete restriction limited in time, place and type of work to what is needed to protect the employer's legitimate interests, for no more than 2 years after the contract ends.

The restriction falls away if the employer ends the contract in breach of the Labour Law (Article 10(2)).

Changing jobs and work permits after the contract ends

A worker can move to another employer when the contract ends in line with the law. The government portal, summarising Article 27 of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, gives three situations: the contract expired and was not renewed; it ended under Article 42 or Article 45 of the Labour Law; or the employer ended it without fault on the worker’s part.

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.

The Labour Law sets a similar bar for a foreign worker who leaves work for an illegitimate reason before the contract ends, with exceptions MOHRE can make (Article 50). After a contract ends or expires, the worker may stay in the UAE for a grace period to find a new job and work permit, or to leave. The portal does not give its length and refers readers to MOHRE and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) for grace periods, new work permits and residency (u.ae, Terminating employment contracts).

Disputes: complaints to MOHRE and the courts

Either side starts a labour dispute with a request to MOHRE, which tries to settle it amicably and refers a dispute it cannot settle to the competent court (Article 54).

MOHRE settlement period

14 days to settle at MOHRE; court hearing set within 3 working days

A worker or an employer with a labour dispute files a request with MOHRE, which tries to settle it amicably; if no settlement is reached within 14 days of the application, MOHRE refers the dispute to the competent court with a memorandum summarising it, and the court sets a hearing within 3 working days of receiving the request.

For smaller claims, MOHRE can decide the dispute itself.

MOHRE decision limit

Claims under AED 50,000

Under Ministerial Resolution No. 782 of 2023, MOHRE can make a final decision on an individual labour dispute if the amount claimed is less than AED 50,000, or if the parties reach an amicable settlement whatever the value; a disputed claim of more than AED 50,000 that the parties cannot settle is referred to the courts.

Claims by workers or their heirs that do not exceed AED 100,000 are exempt from court fees at every stage of the case and its enforcement (Article 55). Complaints are filed on the MOHRE website or app, and MOHRE’s Labour Claims and Advisory Call Centre answers on 80084 (u.ae, Resolving labour disputes).

Other rules for employers and staff are in the Employment and payroll guides.