UAE overtime calculator
What the labour law pays for overtime, night work and work on a rest day or public holiday, at the legal minimums or your own rates. Worked out in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Enter your basic wage and your overtime hours to see the pay.
The law behind these figures
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 19(2)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 19(3)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 19(4)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 28(2)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 19(1)
- Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 (Implementing Regulation), Art. 15(3)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 17(1)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 67
Overtime, explained
How much is overtime pay in the UAE?
Overtime is paid at the wage for normal working hours, calculated on the basic wage, plus an increase of not less than 25%. Overtime worked between 10 pm and 4 am carries an increase of not less than 50%. Both are minimums, so a contract can pay more. This calculator reads the hourly rate as the monthly basic wage divided by 30 and by the hours in a normal day. That is a reading of Art. 67 and Art. 17, not a figure the law states.
How many hours of overtime can an employer ask for?
The employer may instruct up to two hours of overtime a day. The Implementing Regulation allows more where the work is necessary to prevent a serious loss or a serious accident, or to eliminate or mitigate its effects. In all cases, total working hours may not exceed 144 hours every three weeks. The Regulation text used here is MOHRE's English copy, which is not an official translation.
Who is exempt from the maximum working hours?
The Implementing Regulation (Art. 15(4)) exempts these categories from the provisions on maximum working hours: chairpersons and members of boards of directors; people in supervisory positions that vest the powers of the employer in them; crews of naval vessels and seafarers on special service conditions; work that, for technical reasons, must run continuously in successive shifts, averaging no more than 56 hours a week; and preparatory or complementary work that must be done outside the establishment's general working time. The exemption is from the maximum hours provisions. That Article does not address overtime pay.
What is night overtime, and what about shift workers?
Overtime between 10 pm and 4 am is paid with an increase of not less than 50% on the basic wage. Art. 19(3) excludes shift workers from the 50% night rate and does not give them another rate. Entering their hours as normal overtime (at least 25%) is our reading. Check the contract for what applies.
How is work on a rest day or public holiday paid?
For work on the weekend set in the contract (Art. 19(4)) or on a public holiday (Art. 28(2)), the employer gives another day off, or pays that day's wage at the normal working-day rate plus an increase of not less than 50% of the basic wage for that day. The calculator shows the pay option, using the total monthly wage divided by 30 for the day's wage and the basic wage divided by 30 for the premium base. Both are readings of Art. 67, not figures the law writes out.
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. 19(2)Hours beyond the normal working hours are overtime, paid at the wage for normal hours, calculated on the basic wage, plus an increase of not less than 25% of that wage.
- Art. 19(3)Overtime worked between 10 pm and 4 am is paid at the normal-hours wage, calculated on the basic wage, plus an increase of not less than 50% of that wage. Workers on shifts are excluded from this clause.
- Art. 19(4)A worker required to work on the weekend set in the contract or work regulation is given another day off, or is paid that day's wage at the normal working-day rate plus an increase of not less than 50% of the basic wage for that day.
- Art. 28(2)If work conditions require a worker to work on a public holiday, the employer compensates with another day off for each day worked, or pays the wage for that day at the normal working-day rate, plus an increase of not less than 50% of the basic wage for that day.
- Art. 17(1)The maximum normal working hours are 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week.
- Art. 67Periods follow the Gregorian calendar: a year is 365 days and a month is 30 days.
- Art. 19(1)The employer may instruct the worker to work overtime of up to two hours a day. More is allowed only under the conditions and rules of the Implementing Regulation. In all cases the total working hours may not exceed 144 hours every three weeks.
Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 (Implementing Regulation)
- Art. 15(3)The employer may instruct overtime of no more than two hours a day, unless the work is necessary to prevent a serious loss or accident or to eliminate or mitigate its effects. The total working hours may not exceed 144 hours every three weeks. MOHRE marks its English copy as not an official translation.
- Art. 15(4)Board chairpersons and members, persons in supervisory positions that vest the powers of the employer in them, crews of naval vessels and seafarers on special terms, continuous shift work averaging no more than 56 hours a week, and preparatory or complementary work are exempted from the provisions relating to the maximum working hours. MOHRE marks its English copy as not an official translation.
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.
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