UAE notice period calculator
Work out your notice period: UAE law sets it at 30 to 90 days. Get the first and last day under Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021, and what is owed for notice not worked. Worked out in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Enter the date notice was given to see the first and last day.
Your notice period: UAE law, explained
What is the UAE labour law notice period?
The period is the one agreed in the contract, and the law sets it at not less than 30 days and not more than 90. The contract stays valid through the notice period. The worker is entitled to the full wage for it, at the last wage obtained, and works during it if the employer asks.
What if notice is given while the worker is on leave?
The notice period does not begin until the day after the day scheduled for the worker's return from leave, unless both parties agree otherwise (Art. 35). Enter the return date in the calculator and the first day of notice follows it.
What is the notice period allowance?
The party who does not keep to the notice period pays the other an allowance equal to the worker's wage for the full period or the remaining part of it, even if the missing notice caused no damage. It is worked on the last wage received for monthly, weekly, daily or hourly pay. The calculator divides a monthly wage by 30 for the day, a reading of Art. 67.
Does the worker get a day off to look for a job?
When the employer ends the contract, the worker may be absent for one working day without pay per week of the notice period, to search for another job. The worker chooses the day and tells the employer at least 3 days before it. The calculator counts one day for each full week of notice, which is a reading of "per week".
Can notice be waived or shortened?
Art. 43(2) says it may be agreed to exempt from the notice period condition or to reduce the period, while preserving all the rights of the worker for the notice period agreed in the contract, provided the notice period is the same for both parties unless it serves the interests of the worker.
The law behind these figures
Every figure on this page comes from the rules below, checked 17 October 2026.
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021
- Art. 43(1)-(2)Either party may terminate for a legitimate reason by written notice, with a notice period agreed in the contract of not less than 30 and not more than 90 days. The contract stays valid through the notice period and the worker is entitled to full wage for it, at the last wage obtained.
- Art. 43(3)-(4)The party who does not abide by the notice period pays the other a notice period allowance equal to the worker's wage for the full notice period or the remaining part of it. It is calculated on the last wage received for monthly, weekly, daily or hourly pay.
- Art. 43(5)If the employer terminates the contract, the worker may be absent for one working day without pay per week of the notice period to search for another job, on at least three days' notice to the employer of the day chosen.
- Art. 35If a party terminates the contract while the worker is on leave, the notice period does not begin until the day after the day scheduled for the worker's return from leave, unless both parties agree otherwise.
- Art. 67Periods follow the Gregorian calendar: a year is 365 days and a month is 30 days.
A guide to the legal minimum for private-sector employers on the mainland and in most free zones. DIFC and ADGM have their own employment laws, and a contract can give more. It is not legal advice.
Also free: the gratuity calculator, the leave calculator, the overtime calculator, and every UAE tool.
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