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Yes – a pay rise increases your end-of-service gratuity in every GCC country, as long as it raises the wage the gratuity is calculated on. All six states multiply your whole service by your last wage, so a raise counts for every year you have already worked: after 10 years in the UAE, each extra AED 1,000 of basic salary adds AED 8,500 to the gratuity.
With year-end salary reviews and bonuses arriving from December to March, this is when many people in the Gulf decide whether to stay or move. Below are the rules for each state, two original tables computed with our UAE, Saudi and GCC gratuity calculators, and worked examples. Rules as of November 5, 2026.
Why a raise is paid on every past year
Gratuity is not a savings pot that grows by a fixed amount each year. It is a formula applied once, on your last day: years of service × a number of days or months per year × your last wage. Change the last wage and the whole result changes in proportion. A 10% raise in your final year lifts the gratuity for all your years by 10%; a pay cut shortly before you leave shrinks it the same way.
What matters is which wage the law uses:
- UAE – last basic salary (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51). Article 1 defines the basic wage as the contract wage without allowances or benefits in kind.
- Saudi Arabia – the last wage (Labour Law, Article 84), which our calculator takes as basic salary plus fixed allowances such as housing, as defined in your contract.
- Qatar – last basic wage (Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 54). Oman – last basic wage (Royal Decree 53/2023, Article 61).
- Kuwait – last remuneration, including regular allowances (Law No. 6 of 2010, Article 51). Bahrain – last wage as defined in the contract (Law No. 36 of 2012, Article 116).
So in the UAE, Qatar and Oman a raise paid as a higher housing or transport allowance adds nothing to your gratuity, while the same raise in basic salary adds to every year.
Gratuity in months of your last wage
Because the result is always a multiple of the last wage, each country’s gratuity can be written as a number of months. Multiply your raise by the figure for your length of service and you have what the raise is worth when you leave. The table assumes a constant wage, service ending on December 31, 2026, and no unpaid leave.
| Wage the gratuity uses | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | Last basic salary | 1.40 | 2.10 | 3.50 | 5.50 | 8.50 | 13.50 | 18.50 |
| Saudi Arabia | Last wage (basic + fixed allowances) | 1.00 (resign: 0.33) | 1.50 (resign: 0.50) | 2.50 (resign: 1.67) | 4.50 (resign: 3.00) | 7.50 | 12.50 | 17.50 |
| Qatar | Last basic wage | 1.40 | 2.10 | 3.50 | 4.90 | 7.00 | 10.50 | 14.00 |
| Kuwait | Last remuneration (incl. regular allowances) | 1.15 (resign: 0.00) | 1.73 (resign: 0.87) | 2.88 (resign: 1.92) | 4.88 (resign: 3.26) | 7.88 | 12.88 | 17.88 |
| Bahrain | Last wage per contract | 1.00 | 1.50 | 3.50 | 5.50 | 8.50 | 13.50 | 18.50 |
| Oman | Last basic wage | 2.00 | 3.00 | 4.21 | 5.50 | 8.50 | 13.50 | 18.50 |
Months = gratuity ÷ last monthly wage, from each calculator. Oman counts service before 31 July 2023 under the old law, so its figures depend on the exit date; a 9% savings scheme replaces gratuity for expatriates there no later than 19 July 2027 (not modelled). Bahrain uses the Article 116 formula for the whole period; since 1 March 2024 the Social Insurance Organization pays the part earned from that date.
After 10 years, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman give the most (8.50 months) and Qatar the least (7.00 months). Kuwait divides the monthly wage by 26 working days, which is why 15 days a year is worth more than half a month there. Kuwait also caps the indemnity at 18 months’ pay, and the UAE at two years’ basic salary – longer service adds nothing beyond that point.
What a 10% raise adds after 10 years
Each row applies a 10% raise to an illustrative monthly wage and recalculates the 10-year gratuity with the calculator. Every “Open” link loads the raised wage and dates.
| Monthly wage | 10% raise | Gratuity before | Gratuity after | Calculator | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | AED 10,000 | AED 1,000 | AED 85,000 | AED 93,500 | +AED 8,500 | Open |
| Saudi Arabia | SAR 10,000 | SAR 1,000 | SAR 75,000 | SAR 82,500 | +SAR 7,500 | Open |
| Qatar | QAR 10,000 | QAR 1,000 | QAR 70,000 | QAR 77,000 | +QAR 7,000 | Open |
| Kuwait | KWD 1,000 | KWD 100 | KWD 7,884.615 | KWD 8,673.077 | +KWD 788.462 | Open |
| Bahrain | BHD 1,000 | BHD 100 | BHD 8,500 | BHD 9,350 | +BHD 850 | Open |
| Oman | OMR 1,000 | OMR 100 | OMR 8,500 | OMR 9,350 | +OMR 850 | Open |
In the UAE, the AED 1,000 monthly raise adds AED 8,500 at exit – 8.5 months of the raise, earned without a single extra day of work.
Worked examples
UAE: AED 1,000 more basic vs AED 1,000 more housing allowance
Your package rises by AED 1,000 a month after 10 years on AED 10,000 basic. If the raise goes into basic salary, the gratuity rises from AED 85,000 to AED 93,500. If it goes into housing allowance, the gratuity stays at AED 85,000. Same monthly pay, AED 8,500 difference.
Saudi Arabia: resigning after the raise, one month short of 10 years
Your wage rises from SAR 12,000 to SAR 12,960. If you resign at 9 years and 11 months, Article 85 pays two-thirds of the award: SAR 64,090 on the new wage (SAR 59,342 on the old one). Wait one more month to reach 10 years and the full award is due: SAR 97,200. The timing of the resignation matters far more than the raise.
Kuwait: the raise when you resign
On KWD 1,000 for 7 years, a 10% raise lifts the indemnity from KWD 4,884.615 to KWD 5,373.077. If you resign instead, Article 53 pays two-thirds between 5 and 10 years of service: KWD 3,256.410 before the raise and KWD 3,582.051 after it. From 10 years the full amount is due, up to the cap of 18 months’ pay.
Bonuses, allowances and other pay
A year-end bonus paid once is not a monthly wage, so it does not enter any of these formulas, and our calculators use only the monthly wage you enter. In the UAE, Qatar and Oman the base is the basic wage alone. In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait the base is wider, so regular, contractual pay elements can count; how commissions or variable pay are treated depends on the contract, and disputes go to the labour authorities.
Checklist before you accept a raise or resign
- Ask which line of your payslip the raise goes into – basic salary or an allowance.
- Get the new wage in writing (a contract amendment, or the updated contract registered with MOHRE in the UAE).
- Count your service to the day: one year (UAE, Qatar), two years (Saudi resignation), three years (Kuwait resignation), five and ten years are thresholds.
- Run your own numbers in the calculator for your country, with your last wage and dates.
- Check whether your contract gives more than the legal minimum.
Common mistakes
- Using total pay in the UAE, Qatar or Oman. Allowances are excluded, so the result will be too high.
- Averaging your salary over the years. The law uses the last wage, not an average or your starting pay.
- Forgetting resignation cuts. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reduce the amount on resignation below 10 years; the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman do not.
- Ignoring the caps. Two years’ basic salary in the UAE and 18 months’ pay in Kuwait.
To see what a raise does to your monthly pay as well, use the pay raise calculator.
Sources: UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Articles 1 and 51 (uaelegislation.gov.ae, mohre.gov.ae); Saudi Labour Law, Articles 84–85 (hrsd.gov.sa); Qatar Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 54 (almeezan.qa); Kuwait Law No. 6 of 2010, Articles 51 and 53 (manpower.gov.kw); Bahrain Law No. 36 of 2012, Article 116 (lloc.gov.bh); Oman Royal Decree 53/2023, Article 61 (mol.gov.om). Rules as of November 5, 2026.
This is general information about the rules our calculators apply, not legal advice. Contracts can give more than the legal minimum; confirm your entitlement with your country’s labour ministry or a lawyer.
