UAE Employee Total Cost Calculator

Hire through a free zone with included visa quota (DMCC, IFZA), pick the basic health insurance tier, structure gratuity efficiently (don't over-load basic salary), and minimise recruitment costs by hiring via referral. A AED 10,000/month junior hire can cost AED 11,500-12,000 total this way.

Yes in Dubai (DHA rules since 2014) and most other emirates. The minimum is the Essential Benefits Plan from a DHA-licensed insurer (around AED 1,500-2,000/year per employee). For employees' families, the employer is responsible only if the family is on the employer's visa sponsorship.

For non-DIFC employers, the typical accrual is around 21 days of basic salary per year (8.75% of annual basic) in years 1-5, rising to 30 days per year (8.33%) after that. The total is capped at two years of basic. The calculator uses the first-five-years rate as the default monthly accrual figure.

DEWS = DIFC Employee Workplace Savings. It's mandatory for all DIFC-registered employers. You contribute 5.83% of each employee's basic salary monthly into a regulated trust. This replaces traditional end-of-service gratuity. Non-DIFC employers continue to use the traditional gratuity model. Customize mode handles both cases.

Quick mode gives the true monthly cost with sensible defaults (50% basic, basic insurance tier, 3-year tenure, no recruitment, non-DIFC). Customize lets you set every parameter and ALSO computes cost-per-hour, cost-per-productive-day (accounting for leave + holidays), and a fully-loaded tenure projection that compounds annual increments. Use Customize when comparing offer scenarios or doing project costing.

Through a professional recruiter, yes. Specialist roles can go higher. The calculator lets you set 0 if you hire through job boards (LinkedIn, Bayt — free or cheap) or employee referrals. For senior hires, the recruiter cost can dwarf everything else combined.

Initial visa stamping + medical + EID for a new hire is roughly AED 4,500 + AED 370 = AED 4,870. Renewal every 2-3 years is cheaper at AED 3,200 + AED 370 = AED 3,570. The calculator amortises these over the employee's tenure to show the true annual impact.

Annual total cost divided by productive days per year. Productive days = 365 − 104 weekends − 30 annual leave days − 10 public holidays ≈ 221 days. So an annual total of AED 200k means about AED 905 per productive day. This is the figure that matters for project costing and freelancer-vs-employee comparisons.

End-of-service gratuity payout (which is a future liability, not a current cost), pension contributions for UAE/GCC nationals (5%), training costs, equipment, office space, software licences, parking, and entertainment / business travel. For fully-loaded cost in technical or professional services, add another 15-30% depending on your industry.