UAE Gratuity: How to Calculate your End of Service
For illustrative purposes only. Image Credit: Gulf News

Question:

I have been working in a private company for 6 years. Two years ago, my employer asked me to work without salary, and on commission-only basis. A month ago, my employer fired me from work without reason and also without notice. My question is, according to the Labour Law, how is the end-of-service benefit calculated for me from the beginning of my work until now? Am I legally entitled to claim arbitrary dismissal and annual leave allowance for a period of 3 years? Please advise.

Answer:

To answer such question, I would advise the questioner that:

As per Article 24 of the Labour Law (“A worker with a monthly wage may be transferred to the category of day workers or workers hired for a weekly wage, per piecework or hour, if the worker agrees on the same in writing, without prejudice to the rights acquired by the worker during the period he worked on a monthly wage”).

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Based on this Article, your end of service benefits will be calculated for 4 years as per the basic salary you were taking and for the last 2 years according to the average daily wage stipulated in the provisions hereof for those who receive their wages on a piecework basis.

Article 24 of the Labour Law regarding the Method of Calculating the Wages of Workers on Piecework Basis (“The daily wage of workers who receive their wages on piecework basis shall be calculated according to the average amount the worker received for the actual working days during the (6) six months preceding the request or claim regarding any issue related to the wage”).

You cannot request arbitrary dismissal because as per Article 47 of the law (“The termination of the worker’s service by the employer is unlawful if the termination of the worker’s service is due to filing a serious complaint to the Ministry or filing a lawsuit against the employer, whose validity is proven”).

You are entitled to any annual leave accrued days as per Article 29 of the law (“The worker shall be entitled to a wage for the accrued leave days if he quits the work before using them, regardless of the leave duration, with respect to the period for which he did not obtain his leave. He shall also be entitled to receive leave wage for parts of the year in proportion to the period he spent in work and it shall be calculated according to the basic wage.”)