Key facts at a glance
Minimum rate
3 weeks a year
Of basic wage, every year, no cap
Service needed
1 year
Resignation or termination
QAR 15,000 basic, 10 years
QAR 105,000
Seven months of basic wage
Qatar's end-of-service gratuity is at least three weeks of basic wage for every year you work, paid as a lump sum when you leave. On a basic wage of QAR 15,000 a month it builds by QAR 10,500 a year, reaching QAR 52,500 after 5 years and QAR 105,000 after 10. There is no cap and no reduction for resigning.
You qualify after one full year, as an expat or a national, under Article 54 of the Labour Law. The figures here are PayMetric Labs' own calculation from that formula and show the legal minimum. Your contract may give more.
Work out your own gratuity, including part years.
Open the Gratuity CalculatorHow the Article 54 formula actually works
Article 54 says the gratuity is agreed between you and your employer, “provided that it is not less than a three-week wage for every year of employment”, with fractions of a year paid in proportion and the last basic wage as the base. In practice: divide your monthly basic wage by 30, multiply by 21, and multiply by your years of service.
Basic wage means basic wage. Housing, transport and other allowances are not counted, which is why the split between basic and allowances in a Doha offer letter changes what you leave with. Our guide to negotiating a Qatar package covers how to raise it.
The four-week myth
You will often read that Qatar pays three weeks a year for the first five years and four weeks a year after that. The law doesn't say so. That wording belongs to Article 79, on annual leave: three weeks of leave with under five years of service, four weeks with more. Article 54, on gratuity, has a single rate.
It matters because the gap grows with every year past five. If you have been planning on the four-week figure, check your contract. Some employers do promise it, and a contract can always give more than the legal minimum. If yours is silent, the right-hand column below is not yours to claim.
| Years of service | Legal minimum (3 weeks) | If your contract pays 4 weeks from year 6 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | QAR 10,500 | QAR 10,500 |
| 2 years | QAR 21,000 | QAR 21,000 |
| 5 years | QAR 52,500 | QAR 52,500 |
| 10 years | QAR 105,000 | QAR 122,500 |
| 15 years | QAR 157,500 | QAR 192,500 |
| 20 years | QAR 210,000 | QAR 262,500 |
PayMetric Labs' own modeled estimates on a QAR 15,000 monthly basic wage. The second column is a contract term some employers offer, not a legal entitlement.
When you get less, or nothing
| Situation | What is owed |
|---|---|
| You leave before one year | Nothing. The entitlement starts at one completed year. |
| You resign after a year or more, with notice | The full gratuity. No reduction for resigning. |
| Your employer ends the contract or makes you redundant | The full gratuity. |
| You are dismissed without notice under Article 61 | Nothing. The law allows the employer to withhold it. |
| You owe the employer money | The gratuity, less what you owe. |
| Your employer runs a pension scheme worth more | The pension instead (Article 56). This covers most Qatari nationals in GRSIA. |
Final pay, including the gratuity, is due by the end of the day after the contract ends, or within seven days if you left without giving notice (Article 67). If your employer is licensed by the Qatar Financial Centre, the QFC Employment Regulations apply in place of the Labour Law.
Freelancing gives this up entirely
Gratuity belongs to an employment relationship. A freelancer or sole proprietor invoicing a client has no employer to owe it. Because Qatar taxes neither route, the gratuity is the main thing a day rate has to make up for. See the freelance day-rate trade-off for the numbers.
Comparing Gulf offers? Saudi Arabia pays more for long service but cuts the payout if you resign early, and the UAE pays a higher rate after five years but caps the total. Our Qatar vs Saudi Arabia comparison puts the figures side by side.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Qatar's end-of-service gratuity, and who gets it?
It is a lump sum your employer owes you when your job ends, under Article 54 of Labour Law No. 14 of 2004. You qualify once you have completed one year of service, whether you resign or your employer ends the contract. It is a legal minimum, not a discretionary bonus.
How is the amount calculated?
At least three weeks of your last basic wage for every year of service, with part years counted in proportion. Qatar uses a 30-day month, so three weeks is 21 days of a daily wage equal to monthly basic divided by 30. On QAR 15,000 basic that is QAR 10,500 a year: QAR 52,500 after 5 years and QAR 105,000 after 10.
Does the rate go up to four weeks after five years?
Not under the law. Article 54 has one minimum rate, three weeks a year, for the whole of your service. The rule that gives four weeks after five years is Article 79, and it is about annual leave. The two are often confused, including in an earlier version of this article. Your contract can promise four weeks or more, and if it does, that higher rate applies.
Is there a cap on the total?
No. There is no limit on years or on the amount, so the gratuity keeps growing at the same rate for as long as you stay. The UAE caps its gratuity at two years' basic salary.
Does 'wage' mean my full salary, including housing allowance?
No. The law says the last basic wage is the base. Housing, transport and other allowances are left out. Two people on the same total package can get very different gratuities if one has a higher basic wage.
What happens if I resign?
You get the same gratuity as if your employer had ended the contract, provided you have completed a year and give proper notice. Qatar has no resignation reduction. Saudi Arabia does: a resignation before ten years there pays only part of the award.
When can an employer refuse to pay it?
If you are dismissed without notice under Article 61, which covers serious misconduct such as using false documents, causing gross financial loss, repeated breaches of written safety instructions, disclosing the employer's secrets, or being absent without good reason for more than seven days in a row or fifteen in a year. Short of that, the gratuity is owed, though the employer can deduct money you owe them.
Do Qatari nationals receive it too?
Usually they receive a pension instead. Qatari nationals in the private sector are in the GRSIA scheme, and Article 56 says an employer whose retirement scheme gives a greater benefit than the gratuity does not also owe the gratuity. The worker can choose the gratuity where the pension would be worth less.
Sources and correction
Articles 54, 56, 61, 67 and 79 of Labour Law No. 14 of 2004, read in the English translation held by the ILO on 30 September 2026. Figures are PayMetric Labs' own calculation of the statutory minimum and don't reflect your contract, any deductions, or a pension scheme. This is general information, not legal advice.
Correction, 2 October 2026: an earlier version of this article said the gratuity rate rises to four weeks a year after five years. That is the annual leave rule, not the gratuity rule. The figures for service beyond five years have been corrected downwards.
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