The UAE end-of-service Savings Scheme

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation offers an optional alternative to gratuity. If the employer joins it for you, it stops applying the traditional gratuity and instead pays money into an approved investment fund every month. This page explains the rules published on u.ae and compares the amounts.

What the employer pays

5.83% of monthly basic salary while you have not completed 5 years.
8.33% of monthly basic salary once you have served more than 5 years.
Paid into the fund within 15 days of the start of each calendar month.

Compared with gratuity, on a basic salary of AED 5,000

Service	Employer contributions (no returns)	Gratuity under the standard rule
1 years	AED 3,498	AED 3,500
3 years	AED 10,494	AED 10,500
5 years	AED 17,490	AED 17,500
6 years	AED 22,488	AED 22,500
8 years	AED 32,484	AED 32,500
10 years	AED 42,480	AED 42,500
15 years	AED 67,470	AED 67,500
20 years	AED 92,460	AED 92,500

The contributions are close to the gratuity because 5.83% is 21 days a year as a share of salary (21 ÷ 360) and 8.33% is 30 days a year (30 ÷ 360). The Savings Scheme adds investment returns, which can be positive or negative for the risk-based options, and has no two-year cap shown on the page; the capital guarantee option is for unskilled workers.

Good to know

Gratuity earned before you joined the scheme must still be calculated and paid under the law.
You may add voluntary contributions up to 25% of your wage.
The scheme applies to the private sector and free zones; complaints go to MOHRE and, for the fund provider, to the Securities and Commodities Authority.

Common questions

What is the Savings Scheme?

An optional alternative to gratuity run by MOHRE: the employer pays a percentage of basic salary every month into an investment fund approved by the Securities and Commodities Authority, and the employee receives those amounts plus returns instead of gratuity.

How much does the employer pay in?

5.83% of monthly basic salary while the employee has not completed 5 years, and 8.33% after 5 years of service.

When can the money be taken out?

The employee is entitled to the basic subscription amounts and returns within 14 days after the employment ends, and may withdraw at any time without restriction according to u.ae.

Can I add my own money?

Yes. Voluntary contributions may not exceed 25% of the employee's total wage monthly or annually if paid as a lump sum.

Sources

UAE Government portal u.ae, "End of service benefits for workers in the private sector" (u.ae), read on 13 November 2026. It quotes Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and Article 30 of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022. Everything about the 21 and 30 days, the two-year cap, the basic salary, the 14-day payment deadline, part-time workers and the Savings Scheme comes from that page.
The only assumption: a "day" of salary is the monthly basic salary divided by 30. The page does not state the divisor; check how your employer or MOHRE counts it.

Rules read on 13 November 2026 from the UAE Government portal. They apply to expatriate workers in the private sector; Emiratis follow the pension and social security legislation. Laws change and your contract may give more. This site is not connected with the UAE Government or MOHRE and gives no legal advice: contact the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation for your own case.