UAE workers now have two systems to compare: traditional gratuity and the EOSB savings scheme. Traditional gratuity (Article 51) is paid by your employer when you leave: 21 days’ basic wage per year for the first five years, 30 days per year after, capped at two years’ wages, basic wage only. The savings scheme (voluntary since 1 November 2023, Cabinet Resolution 96/2023) works differently: your employer pays 5.83% of basic salary every month if you have under 5 years of service, and 8.33% if you have 5 or more years, into an SCA-approved investment fund you choose. A consultation on the scheme closed in February 2026 and a mandatory rollout is expected. Gratuity earned before enrolment is preserved.
Which pays more? It depends. The fund can beat the fixed formula if investment returns are strong and you stay enrolled for years — and the money sits in a fund separate from your employer, so it is protected if the employer defaults. But the formula is guaranteed and easy to predict, while fund value moves with markets. Job-changers usually prefer the fund because it travels with you; long-service workers with a high basic wage should compare the fund’s growth against the 30-day accrual years. The one clear action: check whether your employer has enrolled you at all — many workers assume they are in the scheme when they are not.
Sources: UAE Cabinet Resolution 96/2023; MOHRE; Securities and Commodities Authority fund framework.
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