Ending employment costs very different amounts in different countries. The Gulf states pay a formula-based end-of-service award to almost every leaver, the UK pays an age-banded statutory redundancy payment after two years, France pays a statutory severance after eight months, and Germany has no general statutory severance but strict protection against unjustified dismissal. Notice periods and the risk of a challenge must be priced together with the payment.
Gulf end-of-service awards
In the UAE, a foreign full-time worker with at least one year's continuous service receives a gratuity of 21 days' basic wage for each of the first five years and 30 days for each later year, capped at two years' wage. Notice must be at least 30 and no more than 90 days, and a party that does not observe it pays the wage for the unserved period.
Saudi Arabia's end-of-service award is half a month's wage for each of the first five years and a full month for each later year, calculated on the last wage. These are accrued liabilities from the first year, so they should be provided for in the accounts and budgeted in any restructuring.12345
UK and France: statutory payments plus fairness rules
In the UK, statutory minimum notice is one week per full year of service between two and twelve years. An employee with two years' service who is made redundant receives statutory redundancy pay of half a week, one week or one and a half weeks' pay per year depending on age, with weekly pay capped at GBP 751 and a maximum of GBP 22,530 for redundancies from 6 April 2026. Unfair dismissal claims usually need two years' service, falling to six months for dismissals from 1 January 2027.
In France, an employee on a permanent contract dismissed after eight months' uninterrupted service is entitled to statutory severance of at least a quarter of a month's pay per year for the first ten years and a third of a month thereafter, unless dismissed for serious or gross misconduct.678910
Germany: protection first, payment by negotiation
German statutory notice runs from four weeks and lengthens with service, for example to one month after two years. Once employment has lasted more than six months, a dismissal is invalid if it is socially unjustified, generally except in establishments with ten or fewer employees.
There is no general statutory severance. Under section 1a of the Protection against Dismissal Act, an employer dismissing for urgent operational reasons can state in the notice that the employee may claim half a month's earnings per year of employment by not challenging the dismissal in court. In practice many separations are settled by agreement, so the realistic cost depends on the strength of the dismissal case.111213
| Market | Minimum notice | Statutory payment | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAE (mainland, foreign worker) | 30 to 90 days | Gratuity: 21 days' basic wage a year for years 1 to 5, 30 days after; cap two years' wage | Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 |
| Saudi Arabia | Not compared here | Half a month's wage a year for years 1 to 5, one month after | Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development |
| United Kingdom | 1 week per full year from 2 to 12 years; 12 weeks after 12 years | Redundancy pay by age band; week capped at GBP 751; maximum GBP 22,530 | GOV.UK |
| Germany | Four weeks, rising with service (one month after two years) | None in general; 0.5 month per year under the section 1a route | BGB s622; KSchG s1a |
| France | Not compared here | At least 1/4 month per year up to 10 years, 1/3 after | Service-Public |
Decisions to make
- Is the end-of-service liability for Gulf staff accrued in the accounts and in the deal model?15UAE and Saudi awards build up from the first year and are paid on almost every exit.
- Has the UK employee passed the qualifying period for unfair dismissal, and will the dismissal fall after 1 January 2027?9The qualifying period falls from two years to six months for most dismissals from that date.
- In Germany, does dismissal protection apply, and will we offer the section 1a severance in the notice?1213Protection applies after six months outside small establishments, and the section 1a route gives cost certainty only if the employee does not sue.
- Will we pay notice in lieu?4In the UAE, failing to observe notice triggers a payment of the wage for the unserved period.
Documents usually needed
- Employment contract and any collective agreement setting notice or severance above the statutory minimum
- Service record and pay history (basic wage for UAE gratuity; last wage for Saudi award; weekly pay for UK redundancy pay)
- Written notice of termination stating reasons and, in Germany, any section 1a statement
- Settlement or mutual termination agreement where used
- Final pay calculation including accrued leave and end-of-service amounts
Common mistakes
- Calculating the UAE gratuity on total pay instead of the basic wage, or ignoring the two-year cap
- Budgeting only the UK statutory redundancy payment and ignoring the risk of an unfair dismissal claim
- Assuming German law requires no payment and therefore that dismissal is cheap
- Missing the change in the UK unfair dismissal qualifying period for dismissals from 1 January 2027
- Forgetting that French statutory severance applies after only eight months' service
Questions businesses ask
Is severance compulsory in Germany?
There is no general statutory severance. An employer dismissing for urgent operational reasons can offer half a month's earnings per year under section 1a if the employee does not challenge the dismissal, and other payments are agreed or awarded case by case.1312
Do UAE employees receive gratuity if they leave within a year?
A foreign full-time worker becomes entitled after completing one or more years of continuous service, so service under a year does not create the entitlement.2
What this guide does not yet confirm
These points need checking with a qualified local professional before you rely on them.
- India's gratuity formula and retrenchment compensation under the Code on Social Security and Industrial Relations Code were not confirmed on an official page; only the one-year eligibility for fixed-term employees is recorded (see the market guide).
- Singapore retrenchment practice and notification duties, US federal WARN Act notice and state rules were not researched.
- Saudi employer notice rules and French notice periods are covered in the market guides rather than here.
- Collective redundancy procedures (UK, Germany, France) and works council consultation are not covered in depth.
- The UAE gratuity treatment of UAE nationals and the DIFC and ADGM regimes were not reviewed.
Sources and review status
Each statement is numbered to the source it was checked against. We use official sources where we can, and each statement says whether it was checked against an official or a secondary source. Sources last checked on 19 October 2026. None of it has been professionally reviewed yet: it is research checked against official and secondary sources by WONE Global, not legal or tax advice.
A foreign worker's end-of-service gratuity is 21 days' wage for each of the first five years of service and 30 days' wage for each further year, capped at two years' wage in total. Mainland private sector. The two-year cap is stated for foreign workers. The wage basis for the calculation and the treatment of UAE nationals were not reviewed here.
Reused from market guide claim ae-people-007.
A foreign full-time worker in the UAE becomes entitled to end-of-service gratuity after completing one or more years of continuous service, and the gratuity is calculated on the basic wage. Mainland private sector under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. DIFC and ADGM have their own employment laws.
Read from the text published on the UAE Legislation Portal; the portal records later amendments, which were not reviewed for this point.
The notice period for terminating an employment contract must be at least 30 days and no more than 90 days. Mainland private sector.
Reused from market guide claim ae-people-006.
A party that does not observe the notice period must pay the other party a notice allowance equal to the worker's wage for the full notice period or for the part not served. Mainland private sector under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.
The end-of-service award is half a month's wage for each of the first five years of service and one month's wage for each later year, calculated on the last wage received. Private-sector workers under the Labor Law, Saudi and non-Saudi.
Reused from market guide claim sa-people-003.
An employer must give at least one week's notice to an employee employed for between one month and 2 years, one week for each full year of service between 2 and 12 years, and 12 weeks after 12 years or more. Statutory minimum notice. A contract may provide longer notice but not shorter.
An employee with at least 2 years' service who is made redundant is entitled to statutory redundancy pay of half a week's pay for each full year under age 22, one week's pay for each full year aged 22 to 40, and one and a half weeks' pay for each full year aged 41 or older. Length of service counted is capped at 20 years.
For redundancies on or after 6 April 2026, weekly pay for statutory redundancy pay is capped at GBP 751 and the maximum statutory redundancy payment is GBP 22,530. Lower caps apply to redundancies before 6 April 2026.
Employees in England, Scotland and Wales usually need 2 years' service to claim unfair dismissal; for dismissals from 1 January 2027 this falls to 6 months for most employees. Northern Ireland, where employment law is devolved, usually requires 1 year; GOV.UK does not say whether the 2027 change applies there. Automatically unfair reasons need no qualifying period.
Reused from market guide claim gb-people-008.
An employee on a CDI dismissed after at least 8 months' uninterrupted service is entitled to statutory severance of at least one quarter of a month's pay per year of service up to 10 years and one third of a month's pay per year beyond 10 years. Not due for serious or gross misconduct unless an agreement, contract or practice provides otherwise. Reference pay is the more favourable of the average of the last 12 months or of the last 3 months. Collective agreements may provide more.
Reused from market guide claim fr-people-g18.
The basic statutory notice period for an employment relationship is four weeks to the 15th or the end of a calendar month, and the employer's notice period lengthens with service, for example to one month after two years and two months after five years, up to seven months after 20 years. Statutory minimums under the Civil Code; collective agreements may differ.
Intermediate tiers: three months after 8 years, four after 10, five after 12, six after 15, each to the end of a calendar month. Reused from market guide claim de-people-003.
Under the German Protection against Dismissal Act, a dismissal of an employee whose employment has lasted more than six months without interruption in the same establishment or company is invalid if it is socially unjustified. Section 1(1) KSchG. Under section 23 the protection generally does not apply in establishments with ten or fewer employees for staff hired after 31 December 2003.
The small-establishment rule in the scope was read.
Where an employer in Germany dismisses for urgent operational reasons and states in the notice that the employee can claim severance by letting the deadline for a court challenge pass, the employee is entitled to severance of half a month's earnings for each year of employment. Section 1a KSchG. Periods of more than six months are rounded up to a full year. There is no general statutory severance entitlement outside this route, a court award or an agreement.
The statement that there is no general statutory severance outside these routes is an inference from the structure of the Act and should be confirmed by a German employment lawyer.
Questions on this topic
13 statements on termination, notice and severance
