Overtime Calculator UAE: Rates, Rules and Examples

Calculate overtime pay in the UAE

This tool estimates the federal private-sector minimum for a monthly-paid employee on an ordinary eight-hour working day. Select the kind of work first. Ordinary overtime, qualifying late-night overtime and work on your contractual rest day have different rules. A special work pattern or excluded role needs separate checking.

Which overtime rate applies?

As of November 2026, Article 19 of Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021 sets the following minimums. Check whether your contract gives a better rate. Do not add both hourly premiums to the same hour merely because it falls at night.

The MOHRE working hours and wages guide shows basic salary ÷ 30 ÷ 8 for the hourly calculation. Our hourly tool follows that ordinary eight-hour example. It does not automatically adapt the divisor for shorter contractual days or special schedules.

A night shift is not automatically overtime. First establish which hours exceed the normal schedule. The shift-worker exception concerns the special night uplift; it should not be read as a blanket statement that shift workers can never have an overtime claim.

Limits on hours still apply

Article 17 sets normal maximum hours of eight a day or 48 a week, subject to permitted variations. Article 19 ordinarily limits additional work to two hours a day and states a total limit of 144 working hours in every three weeks. A calculator result does not approve a roster.

Executive Regulations, Article 15 describe the serious-loss or serious-accident exception to the ordinary daily overtime limit. Routine workload should not simply be labelled an emergency. Ask which provision is being applied when a schedule exceeds the usual limits.

The same regulations contain categories excluded from maximum-hours provisions, including certain supervisory positions with the employer’s authority. A job title alone does not explain the legal category. Ask payroll to identify the provision and how your actual role meets it.

Under Article 19(5), employees should not be required to work more than two consecutive rest days, except day workers. Check the contract or work regulations to identify your rest day. Sunday, Friday and a public holiday are not interchangeable labels for every employee.

Worked overtime calculations

Assume AED 4,800 monthly basic salary and an ordinary eight-hour day. The basic hourly rate is AED 4,800 ÷ 30 ÷ 8 = AED 20. The examples use separate periods; they should not be added together unless the underlying records show distinct work.

In the ordinary example, AED 200 is the basic hourly component and AED 50 is the premium. Paying only AED 50 would omit part of the overtime wage. Equally, adding another AED 200 to the AED 250 result would count that basic component twice.

The rest-day example uses full normal-day wage and a basic-wage premium. If your payslip already credits compensation for the same rest-day work, compare those entries before calculating the balance still owed. A partial rest day needs an agreed treatment checked with MOHRE; this tool handles complete days only.

Build a clear overtime record

Start with the contract and your normal roster. For each date, record scheduled hours, actual start and finish, breaks, extra hours, any night hours and the reason you were asked to stay. Keep the employer’s approval or instruction with the timesheet.

1. Separate ordinary working hours from additional hours.
2. Split additional hours at the 10pm and 4am boundaries where the night rule applies.
3. Record contractual rest-day work in a separate column.
4. Note any substitute rest day actually granted.
5. Match each claimed period against the payslip and bank payment.

Use actual time rather than rounding every small period up to a full hour. If a shift spans midnight, keep the work as one documented shift while showing the calendar dates and relevant night segment. That makes it easier to explain the claim without losing hours or counting them twice.

For a pay query, send a short table with the date, work category, hours, basic wage, formula, amount paid and difference. Ask payroll to identify any disputed category or hour. Keep their written response with the source roster.

Ramadan, public holidays and other work arrangements

Executive Regulations Article 15 reduces normal working hours by two during Ramadan. Identify the applicable normal schedule before deciding which hours are additional. This calculator’s standard hourly divisor does not determine every Ramadan payroll question; ask MOHRE when the correct divisor or schedule is disputed.

Public-holiday work is addressed separately in Article 28. Use the UAE public-holiday guide to identify the relevant announcement, then check the holiday compensation rule. Do not select the weekly rest-day option as a substitute for assessing public-holiday work.

DIFC, ADGM, government employment and domestic work require their own rules. Part-time and other work patterns also need checking. This page explains the ordinary federal private-sector calculation; an employer cannot establish an exemption merely by calling everyone a manager.

If you are leaving, keep overtime separate from gratuity and unused leave pay. A final settlement should allow you to reconcile each component. For unresolved federal labour issues, start with MOHRE’s official service channels and retain the reference given.

SettleUAE is an independent guide, not a government website, and is not affiliated with any UAE authority. This is general information, not personal legal, financial or immigration advice.