Home / Domestic Worker Gratuity
What the current law actually says, where the famous “14 days per year” came from, and what a domestic worker is definitely owed when the job ends.
Domestic workers — housemaids, nannies, cooks, private drivers and 15 other listed occupations — are not covered by the general UAE labour law and its famous 21/30-day gratuity formula. They have their own law: Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 on Domestic Workers, in force since December 2022, with Executive Regulations issued by Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2022.
And here is what most websites get wrong: the current domestic-worker law does not contain a gratuity formula at all. Article 22 of the Decree-Law says only that the Council of Ministers may approve the systems and mechanisms for calculating and paying end-of-service gratuity for domestic workers. Until such a system is issued, there is no fixed statutory number of days per year written into the law — what is payable in practice depends on the MOHRE-approved employment contract and MOHRE’s own guidance and calculator.
You will see “14 days of pay per year of service” quoted all over the internet. That figure is real — but it comes from the previous law. Article 26 of Federal Law No. 10 of 2017 entitled a domestic worker who completed at least 1 year of continuous service to an end-of-service benefit of 14 days’ wage for each year of service.
Federal Law No. 10 of 2017 was repealed when Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 took effect, and the new law did not restate the 14-day formula. Legal commentators are split on what that means in practice:
The law applies to 19 occupations listed under the Decree-Law and its regulations, including: housemaid, housekeeper, cook, nanny/babysitter, private/family driver, guard, gardener, farm worker, personal trainer/coach, private tutor, home nurse, personal assistant, falcon care-taker, sailor, shepherd, jockey, animal tamer, private agricultural engineer and general domestic worker.
If your job is one of these and your work permit was issued under the domestic-worker system, this page applies to you. If you are employed by a mainland company under an ordinary MOHRE work permit, the general labour law applies instead — see our guide to Federal Decree-Law 33/2021 and use the settlement calculator.
Whatever the position on gratuity, the 2022 law is explicit about several end-of-service entitlements:
Deadline: the employer must pay all financial entitlements within 10 days of the employment agreement’s expiry (Article 19(2)) — note this is shorter than the 14-day deadline for mainland private-sector employees.
| Domestic worker | Mainland employee | |
|---|---|---|
| Law | Federal Decree-Law 9/2022 | Federal Decree-Law 33/2021 |
| Gratuity formula in the law | None — left to Cabinet; contract & MOHRE guidance govern (old 2017 law: 14 days/year) | 21 days/year (first 5 yrs), 30 days/year after, capped at 2 years’ wage |
| Settlement deadline | 10 days from contract end | 14 days from contract end |
| Annual leave | 30 days/year minimum | 30 days/year |
| Sick leave | Up to 30 days/year (first 15 paid, next 15 half-paid) | Up to 90 days/year (15 full, 30 half, 45 unpaid) |
| Contract type | Fixed 2-year term, renewable | Fixed-term (limited) contracts |
| Probation | Up to 6 months | Up to 6 months |
| Claim time limit | 3 months from end of work relationship | 1 year from entitlement due date |
It is no longer automatic. The current law (Federal Decree-Law 9/2022) sets no gratuity formula — Article 22 leaves the calculation system to the Council of Ministers, and Cabinet Resolution 106/2022 does not specify one either. What is payable depends on the MOHRE-approved contract and MOHRE’s guidance. The repealed 2017 law granted 14 days’ wage per year of service.
Article 26 of the old Federal Law No. 10 of 2017, which gave a domestic worker with at least 1 year of continuous service an end-of-service benefit of 14 days’ wage per year. That law was repealed by Federal Decree-Law 9/2022, which does not restate the formula.
Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 on Domestic Workers plus Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2022 — not the general labour law (33/2021). It covers 19 listed occupations.
Within 10 days of the employment agreement’s end (Article 19(2)) — shorter than the 14 days for mainland employees.
All unpaid wages; cash compensation at the last wage for untaken annual leave (30 days/year minimum); a return ticket home if the employer ended the contract for a reason not attributed to the worker; and anything additional the contract promises.
Complain to MOHRE first; the Ministry can issue a binding decision on claims up to AED 50,000. Court cases are free of judicial fees for domestic workers. File within 3 months of the work relationship ending or the claim is time-barred.