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IMPORTANT: Federal Law No. 10 of 2017 on Domestic Workers has now been replaced by Federal Law no. (9) of 2022 Concerning Domestic Workers as of 15th December 2022. The 2017 law had specific reference to End of Service Gratuity calculations under Article 26. This new law does not provide a calculation, only a reference to a potential decision by ministers in the future, under Article 22. The implementing regulations for this law also do not provide any reference to End of Service Gratuity calculations. Government legal advisors at MOHRE said as such, that no End of Service Gratuity is payable to domestic workers currently and that is their official legal guidance. This information was provided to us on phone calls with them on 20th May 2023 after seeking clarification for 5 months. If you wish to confirm you can call them on 04 665 9999.

However, it could be argued that the previous end-of-service gratuity calculation remains applicable under Article 31 of this new law, which allows prior regulations to remain in force unless they conflict with the new provisions. Given that the 2022 law does not explicitly repeal or contradict the previous calculation, and in the absence of a new ministerial decision, employers may reasonably use the old calculation as a reference, though the final legal position remains subject to further clarification.

Differences Between the Old Law vs. the New Law

Because no official guidance definitively clarifies whether the old formula still applies, we cannot produce a new Domestic Workers gratuity calculator under the current 2022 law. Our existing report generator is therefore kept for historical / reference only: it uses the 2017 law’s method and is not guaranteed to reflect the current legal stance of MOHRE or the UAE courts for post-2022 claims. Furthermore the implications output in the old reports are no longer aligned with the current law.

Old vs. New UAE Domestic Workers Law: Key Points

Topic Old Law
(Fed. Law No. 10 of 2017)		 New Law
(Decree-Law No. 9/2022 + Cabinet Res. 106)		 Implications
End of Service Gratuity
  • Article 26: 14 days of basic wage/year.
  • Clear formula and pro-rating.
  • Article 22 defers gratuity rules to future Cabinet decision.
  • No official formula right now.
 ⚠
Gratuity Forfeiture
(e.g. resignation, misconduct)
  • Article 27: Worker could lose gratuity for resigning early or “unlawful discontinuance.”
  • No mention of forfeiture or partial reduction in the new law.
 ⚠
Resignation & Penalties
  • Article 23(3): Worker might owe 1 month wage + flight if resigning during contract.
  • No “1 month compensation” clause in the new law.
  • Employer usually covers repatriation (Article 20(3)(a)/(b)), but no set penalty on worker.
 ⚠
Working Hours & Rest
  • Article 12: 12 hrs rest/day (8 consecutive), 1 weekly day off.
  • If required to work on rest day, worker gets alternative day off or a day’s wage.
  • Articles 7–8 of Cab. Res. 106 echo the same: 12 hrs rest/day, 1 day off or compensation.
  • Slight added detail about not skipping more than two rest days in a row without consent.
 ℹ
Employer Early Termination
  • Article 23(2): 1 month wage + flight if contract ended early for reasons not related to worker.
  • Article 20: “Employer pays due compensation + repatriation,” but no fixed “1 month wage.”
 ⚠
Recruitment Agency Obligations
  • Decree-Law 9/2022 (Arts. 4–5) + Cab. Res. 106 (Arts. 3–6) impose more detailed licensing, refunds, bank guarantees, etc.
 ✔

Legend:
⚠ = Major change or gap
ℹ = Minor clarifications
✔ = Largely the same but expanded

If you want to try the old 2017 law based report generator: