UAE Probation Period Rules: What Employers Can and Can't Do
Probation gives both sides a trial run, but it isn't a legal grey zone — the maximum length, the notice required to end it, and what the employee is owed are all fixed, and getting any of them wrong turns a straightforward non-confirmation into a dispute.
The short answer
Probation can run up to six months and can't be extended or repeated with the same employer. Either side can end it with written notice — at least 14 days if the employer ends it, 30 days if the employee is moving to another UAE employer, 14 days if they're leaving the country — and the employee is still owed everything they've earned up to the last working day.
The basics
- Maximum length: six months from the employee's start date. It cannot be extended, and it cannot be repeated if the same employer re-hires them later for the same or a similar role.
- It has to be written into the contract. If the contract doesn't specify a probation period, the employee is treated as confirmed from day one.
- Normal employment protections still apply during probation — the employee is paid their full agreed salary and is covered by the same conduct and safety rules as everyone else.
Ending probation: the notice rules
Three different scenarios, three different notice periods:
- Employer ends it. At least 14 days' written notice to the employee.
- Employee resigns to join another employer within the UAE. At least 30 days' written notice. The new employer may also owe the original employer compensation for recruitment or contracting costs, unless agreed otherwise — this is one that trips up both sides, since the employee's new employer is often the one caught off guard by it.
- Employee resigns to leave the UAE (not taking up another role here). At least 14 days' written notice.
Either way, put the notice in writing and keep it on the employee's file — a verbal conversation is exactly what gets disputed later.
What's owed if probation doesn't work out
- Pay up to the last working day, in full.
- Accrued annual leave, even for a short tenure — leave accrues from day one, it's just that the right to actually take it generally kicks in after six months. (See our leave policy guide.)
- Gratuity doesn't apply. It requires at least one year of continuous service, so someone who doesn't pass probation won't be eligible. (See how gratuity is calculated.)
- Sick leave is the one real gap. Paid sick leave entitlement only begins once probation is completed, so plan for that explicitly in your policy rather than leaving it to be worked out case by case.
The settlement mechanics otherwise mirror a normal exit — see our guide to resignation and final settlement for how to calculate what's owed and the 14-day payment deadline.
Make probation actually useful, not just a formality
- Set expectations in writing on day one — what "passing" probation actually looks like for this specific role.
- Schedule real check-ins (30/60/90 days works well) and keep a written record of each one.
- Decide by week eight whether it's working, not week twenty-five. Ending it with proper notice in month two is far less disruptive, for both sides, than doing it in month six.
- If it's going well, confirm it in writing — don't let probation quietly expire without a clear, documented confirmation.
This is a general explanation of UAE probation rules for HR teams doing their own planning — not legal advice for a specific case. Notice periods, compensation rules for moving employer, and entitlements during probation are set by UAE labour law and can change, and specific contracts can add their own terms; confirm anything unusual with MOHRE or a UAE labour lawyer.
OfficeHR tracks every probation deadline automatically.
Start dates, probation end dates, and review check-ins, all against the employee record — so a decision never gets made by default because nobody noticed the date.