How do I calculate end of service gratuity for my maid in Dubai?

Use the MOHRE Domestic Worker Calculator at mohre.gov.ae under the Services menu, then cross-check the signed MOHRE unified contract for any express end of service term. Do not apply the 21-days-per-year private-sector formula, because Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 does not cover domestic workers for end of service, and do not apply the 14-day formula from Federal Law No. 10 of 2017, because that law was repealed by Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022. Article 22 of the current decree-law delegates the calculation rules to the Cabinet rather than stating a formula. Separately from gratuity, Article 10(5) requires cash in lieu of unused annual leave calculated on the last remuneration received, and Article 19(9) requires settlement within ten days of contract expiry.

Do I have to pay gratuity to my maid in the UAE?

The statutory position on maid gratuity is unsettled. Article 22 of Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 states only that the Cabinet shall adopt the rules for calculating and paying end of service gratuity for domestic workers. The ILO's May 2024 UAE brief describes this as a statutory benefit whose calculation and payment rules have not yet been determined. Dubai firm HPL Yamalova & Plewka goes further and reads it as leaving no express legal authority for the entitlement at all; other UAE practitioners disagree and treat gratuity as payable. What is not in doubt is that Article 19(9) requires the employer to pay the worker's compensation within ten days of contract expiry, and that Article 10(5) requires payment for unused annual leave. Run the MOHRE calculator, honour the signed contract, and take advice from MOHRE or a UAE-qualified lawyer where the amount is significant or contested.

What happens if my maid leaves without giving notice?

Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 does not set a general statutory notice period, so the position depends on the signed MOHRE unified contract, which Article 7(2) requires to specify the circumstances that may terminate the agreement. Where a directly recruited worker terminates after probation for reasons attributed to herself, Article 20(3)(a) makes her liable for her own repatriation cost and for amounts due to the employer that she has acknowledged, though the same clause makes it the employer's responsibility to compensate her where she cannot afford it. If the worker simply stops attending, Article 18(2) requires the employer to notify the Ministry within five days, and Article 19(7) treats absence exceeding ten consecutive days or fifteen intermittent days in a year without valid reason as terminating the contract.

Do I have to pay for my maid's flight home?

In most cases yes. Article 11(15) places the cost of repatriating the domestic worker to her country of origin on the employer, and Article 20(2) confirms the employer is liable for repatriation expenses where termination is for reasons not attributed to the worker. There are two exceptions. Under Article 20(3)(a), a directly recruited worker who resigns after probation for her own reasons bears her own repatriation cost, but it remains the employer's responsibility to compensate her if she is unable to cover it. Under Article 21(2), where the worker transfers directly to a new employer, the original employer is not liable for repatriation at all. Separately, Article 10(4) requires the employer to fund a home-leave return ticket once every two years during employment.

Can I deduct damages from my maid's final settlement?

Only within the limits of Article 16. Where the worker has caused loss, damage, or destruction to the employer's tools, equipment, or property in her custody, the employer may deduct the cost of rectification, but only with the worker's consent, or with Ministry approval if she declines, and the deduction cannot exceed one quarter of salary. Deductions for debts payable under a court judgment are subject to the same one-quarter cap. Deducting unilaterally, without documented consent or Ministry approval, is a breach and is a common trigger for a MOHRE complaint under Article 23. Note also Article 26(2): a claim for entitlements is not heard after three months from the end of the employment relationship.

How long do I have to bring a claim over end of service pay in the UAE?

Three months. Article 26(2) of Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 provides that a lawsuit concerning entitlements under the decree-law shall not be heard after the lapse of three months from the date of termination of the employment relationship. Article 26(3) exempts domestic workers' claims from judicial fees throughout the litigation and requires that such actions be expedited, so cost is not a barrier to a worker bringing one. Since Federal Decree-Law No. 21 of 2023 amended the dispute procedure, MOHRE resolves disputes valued at AED 50,000 or less directly, and either party may contest that decision before the Court of First Instance within 15 working days of notification, which suspends enforcement. For employers this cuts both ways: it caps how long you carry exposure, and it means a settlement dispute can be decided against you inside a very short window.

Can I keep my maid's passport until she leaves?

No. Article 11(11) requires that the domestic worker be allowed to retain all official documents. Holding a passport as security against departure, against alleged damages, or for any other reason is a breach of the employer's obligations under Article 11, and because Article 20(1) permits unilateral termination by either party where the other fails its Article 11 or Article 12 obligations, it also weakens the employer's position in any subsequent dispute.

Maid End of Service UAE 2026 | Domestic Worker Gratuity, Final Settlement | Hire Replacement from 195 AED

When your maid or nanny leaves — whether she resigns, you terminate, or the contract simply expires — end of service benefits for a domestic worker in the UAE are governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 21 of 2023, not by the private-sector Labour Law. That distinction changes the numbers. Most online gratuity calculators apply the wrong statute to domestic workers, and a large share quote a formula from a law that no longer exists.

This guide works through what the decree-law actually says, article by article: what you certainly owe, where the law is genuinely unsettled, what the notice position really is, and how to close out the visa. It applies whether your worker is a live-in maid, a domestic helper, a nanny, a cook, or a driver, and whether this is a resignation, a termination, or a contract expiry. Content is current as of Q3 2026. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Which Law Covers End of Service for Domestic Workers in the UAE?

Domestic workers in the UAE are covered by Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 Concerning Domestic Workers, which took effect on 15 December 2022, replaced Federal Law No. 10 of 2017, and was itself amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 21 of 2023. They are not covered by Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 for pay, leave, or end of service. The category includes housemaids, nannies, private drivers, cooks, and home nurses. Under Article 7(3), a limited domestic worker contract runs for two years and may be renewed for a similar period. Article 8 caps probation at six months from the date of employment.

	Domestic workers	Private-sector employees
Governing law	Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022	Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021
Effective	15 December 2022	2 February 2022
Standard contract term	2 years, renewable (Art. 7(3))	Fixed term, renewable
Maximum probation	6 months (Art. 8)	6 months
Statutory gratuity formula	None stated; deferred to Cabinet (Art. 22)	21 days per year, then 30 days after 5 years
Regulator	MOHRE	MOHRE

The practical consequence is that any gratuity calculator or guide applying "21 days for the first five years, 30 days thereafter" to a housemaid is using the private-sector formula on a worker the private-sector law does not cover. Background on the wider framework is in our guide to UAE domestic worker laws.

The terms mean the same thing

Searches for this topic split across half a dozen phrasings, and they all describe one process. End of service benefits for domestic workers, domestic worker gratuity, maid gratuity, domestic helper end of service, severance pay, and final settlement are used interchangeably in the UAE market. The legal position is identical whichever term you searched: what you owe is set by Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 and by the signed contract, not by the label.

Does UAE Law Set a Gratuity Formula for Domestic Workers?

No. Article 22 delegates the calculation rather than setting one. The ILO put the position plainly in its May 2024 UAE brief: the statutory benefit of an end-of-service gratuity exists, but the rules and regulations for calculation and payment of this gratuity for domestic workers have not yet been determined. Dubai firm HPL Yamalova & Plewka goes further, publishing the position that Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2022 makes no reference to a gratuity entitlement at all and that no express legal authority for one survives. Other UAE practitioners disagree and treat gratuity as payable. The previous statute, Federal Law No. 10 of 2017, did contain an express entitlement, but Article 31(1) of the current decree-law repealed it.

Where the three circulating maid gratuity formulas actually come from

Formula in circulation	Actual source	Applies to domestic workers?
14 days' pay per year of service	Federal Law No. 10 of 2017, repealed by Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022	No. The source law no longer exists
21 days per year, 30 days after 5 years	Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the private-sector Labour Law	No. Domestic workers are excluded from that law
No stated formula; entitlement exists but rules undetermined	Article 22 of Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022; ILO UAE brief, May 2024	This is the position to work from

What this means in practice

The absence of a statutory domestic worker gratuity formula does not mean nothing is payable. Two things fill the gap. First, Article 19(9) requires that on expiry of the contract the employer pays the domestic worker's compensation within ten days of the expiry date. Second, MOHRE operates a Domestic Worker Calculator on mohre.gov.ae under the Services menu. Gulf News reported in April 2024 that the tool takes contract start and end dates, salary, reason for departure, unused annual leave, weekend overtime, and work injuries as inputs.

For an employer, the defensible approach is: run the MOHRE calculator, check the signed maid contract for any express end of service term, pay the statutory entitlements set out in the next section, and document everything. Where the sum is significant or the departure is contested, take advice from MOHRE or a UAE-qualified lawyer rather than relying on an online calculator.

What Do You Definitely Owe? Statutory End of Service Entitlements

Whatever the gratuity position, several end of service obligations are stated expressly in the decree-law and are not open to interpretation.

Entitlement	Article	What it requires
Cash in lieu of unused annual leave	Art. 10(5)	Paid on last remuneration received
Annual leave accrual	Art. 10(1)	Not less than 30 days per year; 2 days per month for 6 to 12 months' service
Return airfare during employment	Art. 10(4)	Employer bears cost once every two years for home leave
Repatriation on exit	Art. 11(15), Art. 20(2)	Employer bears cost of return to country of origin
Settlement deadline	Art. 19(9)	Compensation paid within 10 days of contract expiry
Wages on death in service	Art. 11(12)	Heirs receive the month's wages plus other entitlements
Retention of documents	Art. 11(11)	Worker must be allowed to retain all official documents
No charges to the worker	Art. 11(13)	Employer may not pass on costs, directly or indirectly
Limitation period	Art. 26(2)	A claim for entitlements is not heard after three months from the end of the employment relationship

Two of these are routinely mishandled. Passport retention is not permitted: Article 11(11) requires that the worker be allowed to retain all official documents. And unused leave is calculated on the last remuneration received, not on an average or on the starting salary, so a mid-contract raise increases the leave payout. Salary benchmarks for that calculation are in our maid salary guide for Dubai, and the corresponding worker-side duties under Article 12 are summarised in key responsibilities of a domestic helper.

What Is the Notice Period for a Domestic Worker in the UAE?

Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 does not impose a general statutory notice period on either party. There is no notice article equivalent to the private-sector rule. Instead, Article 7(2) requires that the MOHRE unified standard contract set out the contract duration, the probation period, rest periods, and the circumstances that may result in termination, which means the notice position for any given household is whatever the signed contract specifies. The commonly quoted "30 days' notice" figure for maids is a contract term in many standard agreements, not a statutory floor.

Article 19: contract ends without default

Article 19 lists the circumstances in which the employment contract terminates, including expiry of the contract period, death or total disability of the worker, death of the employer, conviction or imprisonment of the worker, mutual consent, exhaustion of sick leave or medical unfitness, and absence of more than ten consecutive days or fifteen intermittent days without valid reason.

Article 20: unilateral termination

Article 20(1) permits either party to terminate unilaterally where the other has failed the obligations in Article 11 (employer) or Article 12 (worker). Article 20(2) is the provision that decides most disputes: where termination is for reasons not attributed to the domestic worker, the employer is liable for the worker's due compensation plus repatriation expenses. Article 20(3)(a) is the mirror image: where a directly recruited worker terminates after probation for reasons attributed to herself, she bears her own repatriation cost, but the same clause makes it the employer's responsibility to compensate a worker who is unable to cover the cost of repatriation.

Check the signed contract for the notice term before assuming 30 days. Contract terms and expectations are worth setting explicitly at the start of any engagement, as covered in our guide to setting house rules for a new domestic worker.

How Do the Four Exit Scenarios Change What You Owe?

What you owe turns on why the relationship ended and, under Article 20, on whether the reason is attributed to the worker. That single question decides who pays for the flight home, which is usually the largest line item after salary.

	Contract expiry	Employer terminates, no fault of worker	Worker resigns after probation, own reasons	Worker transfers to new employer
Governing article	Art. 19(1)	Art. 20(2)	Art. 20(3)(a)	Art. 21(2)
Unused annual leave	Owed (Art. 10(5))	Owed	Owed	Owed
Repatriation cost	Employer	Employer	Worker, but employer must cover if she cannot	Original employer not liable
Due compensation	Per contract and MOHRE calculator	Employer liable (Art. 20(2))	Amounts acknowledged as due to employer may be offset	Per contract
Settlement deadline	10 days from expiry (Art. 19(9))	On termination	On termination	On transfer

Article 21(2) is worth knowing before you agree to a release. If the worker moves directly to another employer, the original employer is not liable for repatriation costs, which removes the single largest exit expense.

On deductions, Article 16 sets hard limits. Deductions for debts payable under a court judgment cannot exceed one quarter of the worker's pay. Where the worker has caused loss or damage to the employer's property, the employer may deduct the cost of rectification, but only with the worker's consent, or with Ministry approval if she declines, and in either case capped at one quarter of salary.

What Goes Into the Final Settlement for a Departing Maid?

A complete maid final settlement in the UAE has eight components, and the order matters because two of them are time-bound.

Run the MOHRE gratuity calculator for domestic workers at mohre.gov.ae under Services, using contract dates, salary, and reason for departure.
Check the signed maid contract (the MOHRE unified standard form) for any express end of service or notice term.
Calculate cash in lieu of unused annual leave on the last remuneration received (Art. 10(5)).
Settle any outstanding wages in UAE dirhams (Art. 15(1)).
Arrange repatriation unless the worker is transferring to a new employer (Art. 11(15), Art. 21(2)).
Return all official documents including the passport (Art. 11(11)).
Obtain a signed settlement receipt itemising every component paid.
Cancel the work permit and residence visa through MOHRE and immigration, or through your Tadbeer centre.

Keep the full settlement file for at least three months after the last working day. Under Article 26(2) a claim for entitlements is not heard after three months from the end of the employment relationship.

Do not net off alleged damages without following Article 16. Do not withhold documents pending departure. Both are breaches that convert a routine exit into a MOHRE complaint.

Visa Cancellation and the Cost of Replacing a Domestic Worker

Cancelling a domestic worker's sponsorship is an immigration process separate from the settlement itself, handled through MOHRE and the relevant immigration authority, or through a Tadbeer centre. Sequence matters: complete the final settlement and obtain the signed receipt before cancellation is finalised.

Replacement sponsorship costs are itemised in our maid visa cost breakdown for Dubai and, for the Tadbeer route specifically, in the Tadbeer maid visa cost guide. If your incoming worker already holds a valid UAE visa under another sponsor, the process changes substantially and is covered in hiring a maid in Dubai without sponsoring a visa.

What Mistakes Do Employers Make at End of Service?

Most MOHRE complaints from domestic workers trace back to a short list of recurring errors, and each one maps to a specific article of the decree-law rather than to a grey area.

Withholding the passport. Article 11(11) requires that the worker be allowed to retain all official documents. Holding a passport as security is a breach, regardless of the reason.
Deducting damages unilaterally. Article 16 requires the worker's consent or Ministry approval, and caps the deduction at one quarter of salary.
Refusing repatriation because she resigned. Under Article 20(3)(a), even where a directly recruited worker resigns for her own reasons, it is the employer's responsibility to compensate a worker who is unable to cover the cost of repatriation.
Passing costs to the worker. Article 11(13) prohibits charging the worker any costs whatsoever, directly or indirectly, outside what the law or approved contract allows.
Paying late. Article 19(9) sets a ten-day deadline from contract expiry, and Article 15(1) requires wages within ten days of the maturity date.

A sixth, less obvious error: calculating leave pay on the starting salary. Article 10(5) specifies the last remuneration received.

What Happens If There Is a Dispute?

Disputes go to MOHRE first. Since Federal Decree-Law No. 21 of 2023 amended the dispute mechanism, MOHRE decides smaller claims itself rather than referring them onward. Any dispute valued at AED 50,000 or less is now resolved directly by MOHRE without referral to court, and MOHRE's decision is enforceable. Either party may contest it by filing with the Court of First Instance within 15 working days of being notified, which suspends enforcement, and the court then schedules a hearing within three working days. You cannot skip MOHRE and go straight to court.

The three-month deadline nobody mentions

Article 26(2) is the most consequential provision in the statute for anyone in a payment dispute: a lawsuit concerning entitlements under the decree-law shall not be heard after the lapse of three months from the date of termination of the employment relationship. Three months from the end of the relationship, not from the date the dispute arose. Article 26(3) also exempts domestic workers' claims from judicial fees for the whole litigation and requires that such actions be expedited, so the cost barrier that might otherwise deter a claim does not exist.

Practical protection is documentary. Keep the signed contract, proof of every salary payment, the itemised settlement receipt, and any written consent to deductions.

Hiring a Replacement Domestic Worker

An exit usually means a hire. Once the settlement is closed and the visa cancelled, you can hire a maid directly on ChooseMaid without going through a maid agency: browse verified maids, nannies, cooks, and drivers and contact candidates yourself. The platform is direct-hire rather than an agency: the 195 AED monthly subscription buys access to candidate contact details for 30 days. Salary and terms are agreed privately between you and the worker. The full process is set out on how it works and the pricing page.

Start the replacement search before the outgoing worker's last day if you can, since the handover period is the easiest time to transfer household knowledge.

Find your next maid on ChooseMaid

Closing the Contract Properly

End of service for a domestic worker in the UAE is a short, documented process: calculate on the correct statute, pay within ten days of expiry, fund repatriation unless the worker is transferring, return all documents, and get a signed receipt. Most disputes come from applying the wrong formula or withholding something the law does not allow you to withhold.

Browse verified maids on ChooseMaid

This article is general guidance and not legal advice. Rules, fees, and procedures for domestic worker employment, gratuity, and visas in the UAE change, and the end of service gratuity position for domestic workers is unsettled at the time of writing. Article references are to Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 21 of 2023; quoted wording is from a widely circulated English translation and the Arabic text prevails. For your specific situation, check directly with the UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) or consult a UAE-qualified legal advisor.