Termination Without Notice in the UAE (Article 44)

Dismissal without notice does not take away your gratuity under the current law. Enter your basic salary, start date and last working day to see what you are owed.

Prepared and reviewed by the Mustahaqati team · Last updated: 2026-11-03

Calculate your gratuity after dismissal

The 10 cases in Article 44

The employer may dismiss a worker without notice, after a written investigation and with a reasoned written decision, in these cases:

Case	Extra condition
1. Impersonating someone else, or submitting forged certificates or documents	Proven
2. A mistake causing serious material loss, or deliberate damage to the employer's property, with admission	Ministry notified within 7 working days of learning of it
3. Breaking the internal rules on workplace and worker safety	Rules written, posted visibly and communicated to the worker
4. Failing to perform basic duties and continuing to do so	Written investigation and two warnings of dismissal if repeated
5. Disclosing the business's industrial or intellectual property secrets	Causing loss, a lost opportunity or personal gain
6. Being visibly drunk or under the influence of drugs at work, or an indecent act at the workplace	—
7. Assaulting the employer, manager, superiors or colleagues during work	—
8. Absence without a valid reason for more than 20 separate days in a year or more than 7 consecutive days	—
9. Exploiting the job position unlawfully for personal gain	—
10. Joining another business without following the rules and procedures	—

Your gratuity is preserved

Under the old law, dismissal for these reasons cancelled the gratuity. Decree-Law 33 of 2021 makes dismissal a disciplinary penalty with preservation of the worker's right to end-of-service gratuity. Only the notice and notice pay are lost.

Example (the calculator above): basic salary AED 7,000 and 5 years 5 months of service, dismissed under Article 44.

Daily wage = 7,000 ÷ 30 = AED 233.33.
First 5 years × 21 days = 105 days = AED 24,500; the next five months × 30 days pro rata = 12.5 days = AED 2,917.
Gratuity ≈ AED 27,417 — the same as if the contract ended for any other reason, without notice pay.

If the employer did not follow the procedure

Dismissal without a written investigation, without a written reasoned decision, or for a reason outside the ten cases becomes a termination without notice, so the worker is owed notice pay on top of the gratuity. For the reverse situation, see the Article 45 cases in which you may leave without notice. Prefer Arabic? Use the Arabic version.

Frequently asked questions

Does disciplinary dismissal cancel gratuity in the UAE?

No. Under Decree-Law 33 of 2021, dismissal is listed among disciplinary penalties "with preservation" of the worker's right to end-of-service gratuity (Article 39), and Article 51 does not exclude Article 44 cases. This is the opposite of the old law, which cancelled it.

How many days of absence allow dismissal without notice?

Absence without a valid reason for more than 20 separate days in one year, or more than 7 consecutive days.

Is an investigation required before dismissal?

Yes. Dismissal under Article 44 is allowed only after a written investigation with the worker and with a written, reasoned dismissal decision handed to the worker by the employer or its representative.

Can the employer deduct anything from my gratuity?

Article 51 allows the employer to deduct amounts the worker owes under the law or a court ruling, such as damages awarded by a court. It may not withhold the gratuity simply because of the dismissal.

What if I was dismissed without notice for a reason not on the list?

If the case does not apply or the procedure was not followed, it becomes a termination without observing the notice period, so you are owed notice pay for the notice in your contract on top of the gratuity, and other rights may follow depending on the case.

Sources

Figures and formulas on this page were last reviewed on 2026-11-03.