The figure that decides your end-of-service money in the UAE is the basic wage, not the total package: UAE law pays foreign full-time workers 21 days’ basic wage for each of the first five years of service and 30 days’ for each year after, capped at two years’ wage. In Saudi Arabia the award is half a month’s wage for each of the first five years and a month’s wage for each year after, and since February 2025 “wage” in the Labor Law means the actual wage, which includes allowances. So in the UAE, check how much of your offer is basic; in both countries, check probation, notice and what each allowance covers. Sources: the UAE’s Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on u.ae and Saudi Arabia’s Labor Law on hrsd.gov.sa, opened 4 October 2026.
This guide covers private-sector offers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. It does not cover Qatar, Kuwait, Oman or Bahrain, government jobs, free-zone rules or domestic workers; we will add them once we have read the official texts.
Basic wage and allowances: two different numbers
UAE law separates the two. Article 1 of the Decree-Law defines the basic wage as the wage stipulated in the employment contract, paid “on a monthly, weekly, daily, hourly or piecework basis”, and the wage as “the basic wage, in addition to the cash allowances and benefits in-kind allocated to the worker under the employment contract”. Article 51 then calculates end-of-service gratuity on the basic wage only.
Saudi law has the same two terms but, after the 2025 amendments, uses the larger one by default. Article 2 now reads “Wage: Means the actual wage”, and the consolidated Arabic text defines the actual wage as the basic wage plus all other increments due. The end-of-service award in Article 84 is calculated on the wage.
Some advertisements give only a total. Etihad Airways’ cabin crew posting, for example, says crew can “Earn up to AED 10,000 per month, including additional pay for flight hours and layovers, depending on your roster”, and does not publish the base salary. A total in an advertisement is not the basic wage; look for the basic figure in the offer letter and contract.
UAE and Saudi rules side by side
| Term | United Arab Emirates | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| End-of-service | After 1 year of continuous service: 21 days’ wage per year for the first 5 years, 30 days’ per year after; on the basic wage; total capped at 2 years’ wage (Art. 51) | Half a month’s wage per year for the first 5 years, one month’s wage per year after, on the last wage; partial years count pro rata (Art. 84) |
| If you resign | Article 51 does not mention resignation; it sets no reduction for it | One third of the award after 2 to 5 years, two thirds after 5 to 10, the full award after 10 (Art. 85) |
| Probation | Up to 6 months (Art. 9). Employer ending it gives 14 days’ written notice; an employee moving to another UAE employer gives at least one month, or 14 days if leaving the UAE (u.ae) | Must be written in the contract with its length; 180 days in total at most; either party may end it; no end-of-service award if the contract ends during probation (Art. 53; HRSD) |
| Notice | At least 30 days and no more than 90 (Art. 43) | Article 75 (amended) covers open-ended contracts: 30 days from the employee, 60 from the employer for monthly-paid workers. Non-Saudis are on fixed-term contracts (Art. 37), so read your contract’s termination clause |
| Final pay | Wages and all entitlements within 14 days of the contract’s end (Art. 53) | Not covered in this guide |
| Housing and transport | Set by the contract | Employer provides suitable housing and transport, or a cash allowance for each (Art. 61, amended) |
| Nationals | Emiratis’ end-of-service follows pension and social security legislation (u.ae) | Not covered in this guide |
What the difference means in practice
Take an offer of AED 15,000 a month made of AED 9,000 basic and AED 6,000 in allowances, and three full years of service. This is arithmetic on the law, not a quote from any employer. In the UAE, the gratuity is 3 × 21 = 63 days of the AED 9,000 basic wage; the allowances do not count. In Saudi Arabia, an equivalent offer of SAR 15,000 in total would give 3 × half a month = one and a half months of the actual wage, allowances included, if the employer ends the contract; if you resign after those three years, Article 85 gives one third of that.
Two offers with the same monthly total can therefore end very differently in the UAE if one has a higher basic share. The UAE government’s page on job offers for expatriates states that after the contract is signed, “the employer is not allowed to alter or replace any provisions of the offer letter unless the employee consents to it”, so the offer letter is the document to read closely.
The UAE offer letter
The UAE government site states that if you are offered a job in the UAE, “you must get an offer letter issued by the UAE’s Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE)”, and that you can check it by its reference number through MOHRE’s enquiry service. After you sign the offer letter, the employer sends you an electronic entry permit for employment. Recruitment costs are the employer’s: Article 6 prohibits the employer from charging the worker “for the fees and costs of recruitment and employment”.
Checklist before you sign
- Basic wage written as its own figure, and each allowance named with its amount.
- Contract type and length, and the start date.
- Probation length: no more than 6 months in the UAE, 180 days in total in Saudi Arabia.
- Notice period: between 30 and 90 days in the UAE.
- Housing and transport: provided, or a cash allowance (and how much).
- Who pays the work permit, residence and visa costs: the employer, under both countries’ laws.
- UAE: an offer letter issued through MOHRE with a reference number you can check. Saudi Arabia: a contract you approve on Qiwa.
- Anything promised in an email or interview (bonus, leave, tickets) is in the offer or contract.
Advice: when you compare two UAE offers, put the basic wages side by side, not only the totals. When you compare Saudi offers, ask whether every allowance is a fixed monthly amount; fixed allowances are easier to check against the contract.
For the Saudi hiring rules in full, read working in Saudi Arabia as a non-Saudi. Listings are always free; we never ask for documents or payment to apply. Apply on the employer’s official page via careermena.com.
