How Qatar gratuity is calculated in 2026
The rule is one article. Article 54 of Law No. 14 of 2004 promulgating the Labour Law, recorded on Al Meezan with a starting date of 2 January 2005 and, unlike Article 1, carrying no amendment note, reads: the employer shall pay at date of termination the end of service gratuity in addition to any amounts due to the worker who spent one year or more in employment; this gratuity shall be agreed upon by the two parties, provided that it is not less than a three week remuneration for every year of employment; the worker shall be entitled to gratuity for the fractions of the year in proportion to the duration of employment; and the last basic wage shall be taken as the basis of the calculation of the gratuity.
- Check the one year threshold. Nothing is owed under one year of employment.
- Count service in years, then the part year in proportion to the time served.
- Multiply by three weeks a year, or by the contractual rate if it is higher, because three weeks is a floor and not a ceiling.
- Convert weeks into money using the last basic wage and a stated weekly convention.
- Deduct any amount the worker owes the employer. There is no cap to test against.
Article 54 sets a minimum that the contract can improve on. Where a company policy or an employment contract pays four weeks a year, or a full month, that is the figure to use, and the calculator takes the rate as an input for exactly that reason.
What counts as basic wage
Article 54 uses two different words in two sentences: a three week remuneration for every year, then the last basic wage as the basis of the calculation. Article 1 of the same law, as amended by Decree 22 of 2007 and Law 6 of 2009, defines the basic wage as the remuneration paid to the worker, including only the annual allowance and no other payment, for the work performed in a certain period of time or on the basis of piecework or production. It defines remuneration more widely as the basic wage plus all the allowances, compensations and gratuities paid for the work.
The last sentence of Article 54 settles which one drives the arithmetic, so this calculator works on basic wage alone: housing, transport and food allowances are outside it unless the contract itself promises a more generous basis. Enter the basic wage from the contract or the payslip, not the total package.
The divisor the law does not fix
Article 54 measures the entitlement in weeks and never says how to turn a monthly basic wage into a weekly one. That gap is why two honest calculations of the same service differ by about one percent, and why this tool shows weeks first and money second. Two conventions are in common use, both derived from the law's own wording rather than from a rule in it.
| Convention | Weekly basic wage | Months of basic per year | Seven years at QAR 10,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A week is 7 days of a 30 day month | basic / 30 x 7 | 0.7 | 49,000.00 |
| A week is a fifty second of the annual basic wage | basic x 12 / 52 | 0.6923 | 48,461.54 |
Neither figure is more official than the other. Pick one, write it into the policy so every leaver is treated the same way, and be ready to show the working. The calculator prints the amount under the other convention on every result for that reason.
One year, fractions of a year and continuity
Nothing is due until the worker has spent one year or more in employment. After that, Article 54 entitles the worker to gratuity for the fractions of the year in proportion to the duration of employment, so a part year is paid at the same rate as a full one. This calculator counts whole years from the start date to each anniversary, then whole months, then leftover days, and values the year in progress as months divided by 12 plus days divided by 365.
Article 54 also protects continuity: employment is considered continuous if it is terminated in cases other than those in Article 61 and the worker returns to work within two months of that termination. Article 1 adds that service is not interrupted by holidays, by absence permitted legally or by agreement, or by a stoppage of work for a reason beyond the worker's control. The tool does not model a rehire, so enter the combined service yourself where that rule applies.
No cap, and the deduction Article 54 allows
Article 54 states no maximum. Long service keeps accruing at three weeks a year, so twenty years is 60 weeks of basic wage and thirty years is 90 weeks, with no ceiling to test against. That is a real difference from the UAE, where the total cannot exceed two years' wage, as our UAE gratuity calculator shows.
The second paragraph of Article 54 says the employer shall be entitled to deduct from the service gratuity the amount owed to the employer by the worker. The calculator subtracts that figure and stops at zero; it never reports a negative gratuity, because whatever is left of a debt is a separate matter between the parties.
When no gratuity is payable
Article 61 lets an employer dismiss a worker without notice and without the end of service gratuity in ten listed cases: a false identity or false certificates, a mistake causing gross financial loss to the employer with notice to the Department within twenty four hours, repeated violation of written safety instructions, repeated failure to carry out essential duties after written notice, disclosing the secrets of the establishment, being found during working hours clearly drunk or under the influence of a drug, assaulting the employer or a supervisor, repeated assault on colleagues after a written warning, absence without legitimate cause for more than seven consecutive days or fifteen interrupted days in one year, and a conclusive conviction in a crime of dishonour or dishonesty. Selecting that case in the calculator shows the accrual and then a nil payable figure. Whether a dismissal actually falls inside Article 61 is a legal question, and the courts decide disputes.
Where a retirement or savings scheme applies instead
Article 56 covers the employer who maintains a retirement system or a similar system securing for the worker a greater benefit than the Article 54 gratuity. That employer is not obliged to pay the gratuity on top of the scheme benefit. If the net benefit under the scheme is less than the gratuity, the employer pays the gratuity and returns any sum the worker contributed to the scheme, and the worker may choose to take either the gratuity or the scheme benefit. So a scheme substitutes for the gratuity only when it is at least as good, and the calculation on this page is still the number to compare it against.
Two related points sit outside the calculator. Qatari nationals are covered by social insurance: PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries, last reviewed on 26 February 2026, states that employers have to pay social insurance in respect of Qatari employees, and this page does not quote the contribution rates because we did not read them from the authority's own site. On tax, the personal income page of the same summary states that income tax is not imposed on employed individuals' salaries, wages and allowances, so the gratuity is not reduced by payroll income tax.
Worked example
Last basic wage QAR 10,000, employment from 1 March 2019 to 28 February 2026, which is exactly seven years, at the statutory three weeks a year on the thirty day month convention. Press "Load the worked example" in the calculator to see the same lines live.
| Line | Working | QAR |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly basic wage | 10,000 / 30 x 7 | 2,333.33 |
| Weeks accrued | 7 years x 3 weeks = 21 weeks | |
| Gratuity before deductions | 21 x 2,333.33 | 49,000.00 |
| On the other convention | 21 x (10,000 x 12 / 52) | 48,461.54 |
| Cap check | Article 54 states no maximum | |
| Payable gratuity | Nothing owed to the employer | 49,000.00 |
Six more months of service takes the accrual to 22.5 weeks, which is QAR 52,500.00 on the same convention, because the part year is paid in proportion at the same three week rate. A contract paying four weeks a year instead of three would pay QAR 65,333.33 for the seven year case, an uplift of QAR 16,333.33 over the statutory floor.
Assumptions and exclusions
- Private sector employment governed by Law No. 14 of 2004. Article 3 puts several groups outside the law, among them government employees, the armed forces and the police, domestic workers, incidental work and most farming and grazing workers, and this tool does not cover them.
- The wage entered is the last monthly basic wage as defined in Article 1, which includes only the annual allowance. Housing, transport and food allowances are excluded.
- Weeks are converted into money by the convention you pick, because the law fixes no divisor. Every result also shows the other convention.
- Whole years run from the start date to each anniversary. The year in progress is valued as months divided by 12 plus days divided by 365, which is one reading of "in proportion to the duration of employment" rather than a rule stated in the law.
- No cap is applied, because Article 54 states none.
- Amounts owed to the employer are deducted under the second paragraph of Article 54, and the payable figure never falls below zero.
- An Article 61 dismissal is modelled as a nil payable gratuity. Whether the facts meet one of those ten cases is a legal question.
- Article 56 schemes, rehires within two months under the continuity rule, social insurance for Qatari nationals, leave encashment, notice pay and any settlement agreement are outside the tool.
- This is not a Ministry of Labour tool, and nothing here asserts a wage protection file format for Qatari banks.
How Axion People accrues gratuity every month
In Axion, the People box calculates end of service gratuity from the employee record: country, start date and current basic wage feed the accrual, so the liability shows up every month rather than at the final settlement. Each employee carries the rule set for their own country, so a Doha team on three weeks a year and a Dubai team on the 21 and 30 day bands sit in the same payroll run, in Arabic and English. Axion reports the accrual and the settlement figure; it does not pay the gratuity or file anything with a ministry.
Frequently asked questions
How is end of service gratuity calculated in Qatar?
Article 54 of Law No. 14 of 2004 owes the gratuity to a worker who spent one year or more in employment. The amount is agreed between the parties provided it is not less than three weeks for every year of employment, fractions of a year are paid in proportion to the time served, and the last basic wage is the basis of the calculation. So the working is service in years multiplied by three weeks, multiplied by a weekly basic wage. On a thirty day month, three weeks is 21 days, or 0.7 of a month's basic wage for each year.
Is Qatar gratuity calculated on basic salary or total salary?
On the last basic wage. Article 54 says the last basic wage is taken as the basis of the calculation, and Article 1 of the same law defines the basic wage as the remuneration paid for the work including only the annual allowance and no other payment. Housing, transport and food allowances are part of remuneration under Article 1 but not part of the basic wage, so they sit outside the calculation unless the contract says otherwise.
How many days is three weeks of gratuity in Qatar?
The law states weeks and fixes no divisor, so it depends on the convention. Treating a week as seven days of a thirty day month makes three weeks 21 days, or 0.7 of a month's basic wage per year. Treating a week as a fifty second of the annual basic wage makes three weeks 36/52, or about 0.6923 of a month per year. On a basic wage of QAR 10,000 and seven years of service that is QAR 49,000 against QAR 48,461.54. The calculator shows both so the choice is visible rather than buried.
Do you still get gratuity if you resign in Qatar?
Article 54 attaches the gratuity to one year or more of employment and sets no reduction for resignation, so resigning does not cut the amount. The exception is Article 61, which lets an employer dismiss a worker without notice and without the end of service gratuity in ten listed cases, among them a false identity, a mistake causing gross financial loss to the employer, disclosing the secrets of the establishment and absence without legitimate cause for more than seven consecutive days or fifteen interrupted days in a year.
Is there a maximum gratuity in Qatar?
Article 54 states no maximum, so this calculator applies no cap. That is a real difference from the UAE, where the total cannot exceed two years' wage. The second paragraph of Article 54 does allow the employer to deduct from the gratuity any amount the worker owes the employer.
When must the gratuity be paid, and is it taxed?
Article 54 says the employer shall pay the end of service gratuity at the date of termination, in addition to any other amounts due. If the worker dies during employment, Article 55 requires the employer to deposit the entitlements and the gratuity with the court within fifteen days of the death, with a report showing how the amounts were calculated. On tax, PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries for Qatar, last reviewed on 26 February 2026, states that income tax is not imposed on employed individuals' salaries, wages and allowances.
Related tools and guides
- End of service gratuity across the GCC in 2026, the guide behind this calculator, with the rule, the wage base and the cap for all six states side by side.
- UAE gratuity calculator, for the 21 and 30 day bands and the two year cap.
- Saudi end of service calculator, for the half month and full month award and the resignation fractions.
- Oman gratuity calculator, for the 15 day band before 31 July 2023 and one month a year from that date.
- Kuwait indemnity calculator, for the 15 day and one month bands, the cap and the resignation fractions.
- GOSI calculator, for Saudi social insurance contributions.
- GCC payroll compliance in 2026, on accruing these liabilities monthly instead of finding them at exit.
- All Axion tools, the product features and the Axion FAQ.
Sources
All sources checked on 5 September 2026.
- Al Meezan Qatari Legal Portal, Law No. 14 of 2004 promulgating the Labour Law, Article 54: the end of service gratuity, the three week floor, fractions of a year, continuity and the employer's right to deduct
- Al Meezan, Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 1 as amended by Decree 22 of 2007 and Law 6 of 2009: the definitions of Basic Wage, Remuneration and continuous service, in the full text of the law
- Al Meezan, Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 56: an employer with a retirement or similar system securing a greater benefit
- Al Meezan, Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 61: the ten cases of dismissal without notice and without the end of service gratuity
- Al Meezan, Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 55: entitlements and gratuity on the death of a worker, deposited with the court within fifteen days
- Al Meezan, Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 3: the categories the Labour Law does not apply to. The page carries three versions of the article, and the one in force since 4 February 2014 is shown in Arabic
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Qatar individual taxes on personal income (last reviewed 26 February 2026): no income tax on salaries, wages and allowances
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Qatar individual other taxes (last reviewed 26 February 2026): social insurance is payable in respect of Qatari employees
This calculator gives an estimate based on Article 54 of Qatar Law No. 14 of 2004 and a stated weekly convention that the law itself does not fix. It is not legal advice and it is not a Ministry of Labour tool. Employment contracts, company schemes and settlement agreements can pay more than the statutory floor, and the courts decide disputes. Check the final figure with your employer or a qualified adviser before relying on it.