UAE Annual Leave Salary & Overtime Calculator
Leave balance, leave salary and overtime pay under the UAE Labour Law.
How your balance adds up
How this was calculated
Law and official sources
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (UAE Labour Law), as set out on the government portal u.ae.
- u.ae — Types of leave in the private sector
- u.ae — Jobs FAQs: how the annual leave salary is calculated
Statutory minimums — your contract can give more. Estimate for information — not legal advice.
For general information only, not legal advice. Templates are generic starting points — have a qualified lawyer review anything you rely on.
About the UAE Annual Leave Salary & Overtime Calculator
Private-sector workers in the UAE get 30 days of fully paid annual leave for each year of service — 2 days a month while service is between six months and a year — and overtime paid at the basic hourly rate plus 25%, or plus 50% between 10 pm and 4 am. This calculator works out your leave balance, the leave salary you are paid before you go (your basic wage plus the allowances you normally receive), what unused days are worth in cash on the basic salary, and, on its second tab, your overtime, rest-day and public-holiday pay.
Every figure shows its formula with your numbers, and every rule links to the government portal u.ae, where the UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021) is set out.
How to use it
- Enter your basic wage and the allowances you receive every month.
- Leave salary: enter your start date and the day to count up to — today, or your last day — the unused days from earlier leave years and the days taken this leave year. Add the days of a planned break to see its leave salary.
- Overtime pay: enter your normal hours a day, the overtime hours (those between 10 pm and 4 am separately), and the rest days and public holidays you worked without another day off for them. Tick I work in shifts if that applies to you.
- Change the currency or how a day’s wage is worked out under Currency and the day’s wage, then copy or download the summary.
Examples
Earned this leave year: 30 × 99 ÷ 365 = 8.14 days With 10 days carried over and 5 taken: 13.14 days Leave salary: AED 300 a day (9,000 ÷ 30) — 30 days = AED 9,000 Cash for the balance: 13.14 × AED 200 = AED 2,627.40
Basic hourly rate: 6,000 ÷ 30 ÷ 8 = AED 25 10 hours × 25 × 1.25 = AED 312.50 4 hours between 10 pm and 4 am × 25 × 1.5 = AED 150 1 rest day: 300 + 50% × 200 = AED 400 1 public holiday: 300 + 50% × 200 = AED 400 → AED 1,262.50
2 days × 9 months = 18 days of leave, paid in cash on the basic salary
Annual leave in the UAE
- 30 days of fully paid leave for each year of service, once you have completed a year; with more than six months and less than a year of service, 2 days for each month. When the job ends you get the leave for the part of the last year you worked.
- Leave is meant to be used in the year it is due. Your employer may set the dates to suit the work, by agreement with you or by rotation among workers, and must tell you the dates at least a month in advance.
- With your employer’s approval you can carry unused leave over to the next year. Unused days paid in cash instead — by agreement with your employer, or when the job ends — are paid on the basic salary. Your employer may not prevent you from using accrued leave for more than two consecutive years, unless you choose to carry it over or take cash.
- Public holidays that fall within your annual leave count as part of it, unless your contract or company policy gives more. Part-time workers earn leave according to the hours they actually work.
Leave salary and cash for unused days
Annual leave is fully paid. The leave salary is your basic wage plus the allowances you receive in a normal working month, and it is paid before you go on leave, together with your wage up to then (u.ae jobs FAQs). Days you do not take and are paid out in cash — by agreement with your employer, or when the job ends — are paid on the basic salary only. On a basic of AED 6,000 with AED 3,000 of allowances, a day of leave salary is 9,000 ÷ 30 = AED 300, while a day of unused leave paid in cash is 6,000 ÷ 30 = AED 200.
Overtime, rest days and public holidays
- Normal working hours are 8 a day or 48 a week (Article 17); in Ramadan they are 2 hours shorter every day. Overtime may not exceed 2 hours a day.
- Overtime is paid at the pay for normal hours based on the basic salary, plus 25%, or plus 50% between 10 pm and 4 am — the night rate does not apply to shift workers.
- Work on your weekly rest day earns another day off, or the wage of a normal day plus at least 50% of the basic wage for that day (Article 19). Except for workers paid by the day, no one may be made to work more than two rest days in a row.
- Work on a public holiday is paid the same way: another day off, or the wage of a normal day plus at least 50% of the basic wage (Article 28).
u.ae’s English summary describes rest-day pay on the basic salary alone; the Decree-Law and u.ae’s Arabic page give the day’s wage plus 50% of the basic wage, as for a public holiday, and the calculator follows them.
u.ae: working hours and overtime · u.ae (Arabic): working hours · u.ae: types of leave · Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Articles 19 and 28 (PDF)
A day’s and an hour’s wage
The law gives leave and overtime in days and hours of wage but does not say how a monthly wage becomes one. The calculator divides the monthly wage by 30 — or, if you choose, multiplies it by 12 and divides by 365 — for a day’s wage, and divides a day’s basic wage by your normal working hours for the basic hourly rate: 6,000 ÷ 30 ÷ 8 = AED 25, or 6,000 × 12 ÷ 365 ÷ 8 = AED 24.66.
Other countries
For the UK, the UK Holiday Entitlement & Leave Calculator works out statutory holiday; for Australia, the Australia Annual Leave & Leave Loading Calculator; for the Philippines, the Philippines Holiday, Overtime & Night Differential Calculator. When a UAE job ends, the UAE Final Settlement Calculator adds the gratuity, leave and notice together.
Limitations
- For private-sector workers under the federal UAE Labour Law. The DIFC and ADGM financial free zones have their own employment laws, and domestic workers have a law of their own.
- Leave years are counted from your start date. If your employer runs leave by calendar year, enter the days carried in and taken for that year instead.
- Sick, maternity, parental and other kinds of leave are not worked out, and the 2-hour overtime limit is checked only when you enter the days the overtime was worked on.
- Some sectors and categories of workers have other normal hours under the Executive Regulations: enter your own normal hours a day.
- An estimate for information, not legal advice. Your contract can give more than these statutory minimums.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
How is annual leave salary calculated in the UAE?
On your basic wage plus the allowances you receive in a normal working month, for each day of leave, paid before you go. With a basic of AED 6,000 and allowances of AED 3,000, 30 days of leave pay 9,000 ÷ 30 × 30 = AED 9,000.
Is unused leave paid on the basic salary in the UAE?
Yes. Unused days paid in cash — by agreement with your employer, or owed when the job ends, including the days carried over from earlier years — are calculated on the basic salary.
How many days of annual leave do I get in my first year?
None until your service passes six months; from then until your first year is complete, 2 days for each month of service. After a full year of service it is 30 days a year.
How is overtime calculated in the UAE?
At the basic-salary pay for a normal hour plus 25%, or plus 50% between 10 pm and 4 am (not for shift workers). On a basic of AED 6,000 and 8-hour days, an hour is 6,000 ÷ 30 ÷ 8 = AED 25, so an overtime hour pays AED 31.25, or AED 37.50 at night. Overtime may not exceed 2 hours a day.
What do I get for working on a public holiday?
Another day off, or the wage of a normal day plus at least 50% of your basic wage for that day. Work on your weekly rest day is paid the same way. With a basic of AED 6,000 and allowances of AED 3,000, a day worked pays 9,000 ÷ 30 + 50% × 6,000 ÷ 30 = AED 400.
Can my employer stop me from taking my leave?
Your employer can set the dates to suit the work, but may not prevent you from using accrued leave for more than two consecutive years, unless you choose to carry it over or take cash for it.