End-of-service benefits across the Gulf
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain all pay an end-of-service benefit and all five calculate it differently. What identical service is worth in each.
Work out yoursFive countries, five formulas
There is no such thing as a 'GCC gratuity formula'. Each country sets its own accrual rate, its own step points, its own minimum service and its own treatment of resignation, and the differences are large enough to matter when you are choosing between offers.
| Country | First tier | Later | Minimum | Cap | Resigning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAE | 21 days/yr to 5 yrs | 30 days/yr | 1 year | 2 years' pay | No change |
| Saudi Arabia | ½ month/yr to 5 yrs | 1 month/yr | None | None | Reduced |
| Qatar | 3 weeks/yr | Same | 1 year | None | No change |
| Oman | 1 month/yr | Same | None | None | No change |
| Bahrain | ½ month/yr to 3 yrs | 1 month/yr | None | None | No change |
What ten years is worth
On a basic salary of 10,000 a month, ten years of service ending in dismissal:
| Country | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Oman | 100,000 |
| UAE | 85,000 |
| Bahrain | 85,000 |
| Saudi Arabia | 75,000 |
| Qatar | 70,000 |
The two that catch people out
Saudi Arabia reduces the award substantially if you resign rather than being dismissed: nothing under two years, a third between two and five, two thirds between five and ten, and the full amount only after ten years. On a five-year posting that is the difference between a third of the award and all of it.
Qatar's three weeks a year is a statutory floor, not an entitlement. Article 54 says the gratuity is agreed between the parties provided it is not less than that, and many contracts pay a full month a year. Read the contract before assuming the minimum.
What none of them include
Every figure here is the statutory end-of-service benefit alone. Unpaid wages, accrued annual leave, notice pay and any repatriation ticket your contract provides are separate, and in most of these countries they are legally distinct entitlements settled at the same time.
Nor do any of them account for periods that break continuous service, unpaid leave, or a change of employer within the same group. Where service is being transferred rather than ended, the accrual usually continues rather than crystallising, and the calculation is different.
Oman's transition
Oman's 2023 Labour Law raised the rate to a full month a year from the first year, but that applies to service from 31 July 2023. Service before that date accrued at the older, lower rate - fifteen days a year for the first three years. If you joined before mid-2023, a calculator applying the current rate to your whole period will overstate the figure.