The same job in three Gulf countries pays three different gratuities.
Basic salary 10,000 a month, ten years of service, contract ended by the employer. Qatar pays the least and Saudi pays the most at that length. At five years it is the other way round.
The three formulas
| Country | Formula | Base | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAE | 21 days per year for 5 years, then 30 | basic wage | two years of wage |
| Saudi Arabia | half a month per year for 5 years, then a full month | last wage, fixed allowances included | none |
| Qatar | 21 days per year, flat | last basic wage | none |
All three share a one year floor: no completed year, no gratuity. All three pay part years in proportion once the first year is done.
Five years, then ten
Basic salary 10,000. Daily wage is 10,000 ÷ 30 = 333.33. A month is 10,000.
| Service | UAE | Saudi | Qatar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years | 35,000 | 25,000 | 35,000 |
| 7 years | 55,000 | 45,000 | 49,000 |
| 10 years | 85,000 | 75,000 | 70,000 |
| 15 years | 135,000 | 125,000 | 105,000 |
The shapes explain the numbers. Qatar is a straight line, so it falls behind as service grows. Saudi and the UAE both step up at five years, and the UAE steps higher because 30 days is a full month while Saudi's month is a full month too but only after five half months. At ten years the UAE is ahead by 10,000, and the gap widens slowly.
Where the table breaks
Resignation. This is the biggest difference of all, and the table above assumes the employer ended the contract.
- UAE: resignation changes nothing. The 2021 law has no resignation scale.
- Saudi: a third after two years, two thirds after five, all of it after ten. Resign at seven years and you get 30,000 instead of 45,000.
- Qatar: resignation changes nothing after the first year.
A worker who resigns at seven years on 10,000 basic takes 55,000 from the UAE, 30,000 from Saudi, and 49,000 from Qatar. Saudi, the most generous on paper for long service, pays the least in that scenario.
What this means if you are choosing
For a short stay that you plan to end yourself, the UAE is the most predictable and usually the best paying. For long service on a package heavy with allowances, Saudi can pull ahead. Qatar is the simplest to calculate and rarely the highest.
None of that replaces reading your own contract. Free zones in all three countries can set different rules, and the number that matters is always the basic salary written on your paper.
Sources
- UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51. Read 2026-11-02.
- Saudi Labor Law, Articles 84 and 85, as implemented in our Saudi calculator.
- Qatar Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 54, as implemented in our Qatar calculator.
- Arithmetic is our own, from the day counts in each law.
General information, not legal advice.