UAE labour law · overtime

UAE overtime calculator

Enter your basic salary and the extra hours or days you worked. For each case we show the minimum the law sets and the article it comes from. An employer may always pay more.

Estimate, not legal advice. For a dispute about your pay, MOHRE handles complaints from private-sector workers.

Your case
The basic salary in your contract, without allowances. Overtime is calculated on the basic salary.
Basic salary plus the cash allowances in your contract. We only use it to show the wage for a rest day or public holiday worked.
At most 8 hours a day under Article 17. In Ramadan, normal hours are 2 hours shorter.
Only if your contract sets one. Otherwise we divide the basic salary by 30 days and by your normal hours a day.

Enter the hours and days for the period you want to check, for example one month.

Nothing you type is stored, sent or written in the address bar: the calculation runs in this browser.

Example

A full-time worker with a basic salary of AED 6,000 a month and a total wage of AED 9,000 a month, 8 normal hours a day, who worked 10 overtime hours in the day, 4 overtime hours between 10 pm and 4 am and one rest day.

Minimum overtime pay

Hourly basic wage: AED 25. This is our method, because the law does not say how to turn a monthly wage into an hourly one: the basic salary divided by 30 days (Article 67) and by 8 normal hours a day.

Overtime hours outside 10 pm to 4 am: 10. At least AED 312.50: AED 250 for the hours plus AED 62.50, which is 25% of the hourly basic wage (Article 19(2)).

Overtime hours between 10 pm and 4 am: 4. At least AED 150: AED 100 for the hours plus AED 50, which is 50% of the hourly basic wage (Article 19(3)).

Overtime hours in total: at least AED 462.50.

For each rest day or public holiday worked, the employer either gives you another day off or pays you for the day (Articles 19(4) and 28(2)).

Rest days worked: 1. The employer gives you the same number of other days off, or pays at least AED 400: the wage for those days, AED 300, plus AED 100, which is 50% of the daily basic wage.

The wage for the day is our reading: the law pays the day at the wage for a normal working day, and Article 1 defines the wage as the basic salary plus cash allowances, so we use the total monthly wage divided by 30. The 50% on the basic wage is the part the law sets without doubt.

If the rest days and public holidays are paid instead of given off: at least AED 862.50 in all.

Limits in the law

  1. Overtime is limited to 2 hours a day, unless the work is needed to prevent or reduce a serious loss or accident (Article 19(1); Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 15(3)).
  2. Total working hours may not be more than 144 every three weeks (Article 19(1)).
  3. A worker cannot be asked to work more than two rest days in a row, except day workers (Article 19(5)).
  4. In Ramadan, normal working hours are 2 hours shorter (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 15(2)).

How this calculator works

  1. Overtime hours are paid at the hourly basic wage plus at least 25%, or at least 50% between 10 pm and 4 am (Article 19(2) and (3)).
  2. A rest day or public holiday worked is compensated with another day off, or with the wage for the day plus at least 50% of the daily basic wage (Articles 19(4) and 28(2)).
  3. Every amount is a minimum. Where the law leaves a step open, such as the hourly wage or the wage for a day, we say that the figure follows our method.

What this page does not do

  1. It does not read your contract or check the hours you worked.
  2. It does not cover part-time work, the exempt categories or workers outside this law.
  3. It is an estimate, not legal advice. For a dispute about your pay, MOHRE handles complaints from private-sector workers.

Questions

How much is overtime pay in the UAE?
For a private-sector worker, at least the hourly basic wage plus 25% for each overtime hour, and plus 50% between 10 pm and 4 am, except for shift workers (Article 19 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021).
Is overtime calculated on the basic salary or the total salary?
On the basic salary: Article 19 calculates overtime according to the basic wage, which does not include allowances (Article 1).
What if I work on my rest day or a public holiday?
The employer gives you another day off, or pays the wage for that day plus at least 50% of the basic wage for the day (Articles 19(4) and 28(2)).
How many overtime hours are allowed?
Up to 2 hours a day, unless the work is needed to prevent or reduce a serious loss or accident, and no more than 144 working hours in total every three weeks (Article 19(1)).

Sources