If you have resigned at work, the next step is to calculate how much gratuity you are owed.
This is the end of service benefit that is paid to all employees under UAE Labour Law. But if maths was never your forte, working out the exact amount can be a headache. That’s why the Abu Dhabi resident Glen Ferris decided to come up with an app to help you plan, and to ensure your company correctly calculates the gratuity you’re owed.
“When my wife started working in Abu Dhabi in September 2015 and we found out about the complexities of the gratuity system and the calculation, it seemed like a concept that could translate well into an app,” says Mr Ferris, a 33 year-old aeronautical engineer by trade. “I found it difficult to find a job due to the market downturn and wanted to put my time to good use, so I decided to learn how to develop apps.”
Mr Ferris's Gratuity Calculator app, which is free on iOS, contains six multiple-choice boxes for you to input information regarding contract type, basic monthly salary, start date, end date, days of unpaid leave and how the contract ends (resigned or terminated). When you input the information, the app then states the amount owed to you, along with a "workings" page explaining how it arrived at that sum. The Abu Dhabi resident Ian Bishop, a teacher whose three-year contract is coming to an end, recently used the app.
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Your Money blog
■ A guide to the UAE's end of service gratuity. Read here
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“I was surprised how simple it was to use,” says Mr Bishop, a 55-year old New Zealander. “When I’d done calculations in my head, I’d worked out that I was owed less money than I actually was. So it was a pleasant surprise to find out I’m richer than I thought.”
Mr Ferris says it took him two weeks to build the app – a few days to research the gratuity calculation process, a week to design and program, and then more time to test and submit the app to Apple for review.
“The app didn’t cost anything to build,” he adds. “The UAE Labour Law documents were available online, and I did all my own graphics and text. I did need an Apple Developer Account to upload apps to the store, which costs US$99 per year.”
q&a entitlements unravelled
App creator Glen Ferris tells Jessica Hill more about his Gratuity Calculator app:
How exactly is the UAE’s end-of-service gratuity calculated?
It has many variables, but the basic calculation is 21 days’ salary for each of the first five years, and 30 days’ salary for each additional year . The salary used is the final basic salary – it does not include allowances or overtime, and is payable after one complete year of service. Gratuity is payable for fractions of a year (over one year), and the maximum gratuity owed cannot exceed two years of wages.
Do companies top up the gratuity allowance?
An overpayment of gratuity is a possibility. The rules are written to provide a basic calculation and protect the company with a maximum condition (two years’ wage).
Why did you choose to devise an app for this use?
There are online calculators out there, but they don’t necessarily process all the relevant information to accurately calculate gratuity, and they don’t show how the figure is derived. There were also many questions on forums regarding the calculation, so I could see there was a demand for such an application.
Do people sometimes get confused?
Absolutely. It is a complex calculation with many variables. The UAE Labour Law explains precisely how gratuity is calculated; however, legal documents can be daunting. People want quick answers.
Could your app could be expanded to gratuity systems in other countries?
Now that I have the structure for the app, yes, I think that’ll be a project for the future.
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More on end of service gratuity
Paolo Vecina / The National
■ Keren Bobker: How much will an Abu Dhabi worker with Dh1,600 basic salary get as end of service gratuity?
■ Your Money blog: Enhanced end of service benefits on the rise in the Middle East
■ UAE companies not permitted to arbitrarily change any worker's terms of contract
■ Working beyond UAE contract expiry is continued service
■ Domestic staff not covered by UAE Labour Law regarding end of service gratuity
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business@thenational.ae
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UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Meghan%20podcast
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Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Sweet%20Tooth
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
