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The contract line that quietly shrinks your end-of-service payout
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| Your end-of-service gratuity is calculated on your last basic salary only; housing and transport allowances are carved out of the calculation entirely. Gratuity builds at 21 days' basic salary for each of your first five years of service, then 30 days' basic for every year beyond five, capped at two years' wages. The raise that arrives as a bigger allowance can quietly shrink the gratuity you've been earning. Ask HR for your basic-versus-allowances split in writing before you sign. |
| 2The tax break thousands of firms forfeit by staying silent | | UAE Small Business Relief cuts corporate tax to nothing for companies with revenue up to Dh3 million, but it is not applied automatically. You have to actively elect it when you file the return. Gulf News quotes adviser Mayank Sawhney on a firm with Dh2.9 million revenue and Dh2.5 million profit that still qualifies: 'you have to opt for that relief while filing your corporate tax return.' For the wave of solo founders filing a first return this year, doing nothing is the same as forfeiting it. |
| 3The week ahead: a tax deadline, a night out, and maybe a three-day weekend | | Three markers worth putting in your calendar. India's income-tax-return deadline is 31 July, four days out, the last-week flag for any UAE-based NRI still to file. And if you want somewhere to be this weekend, Beat the Heat DXB with Rasha Rizk runs Saturday 1 August at Hall 8, Dubai World Trade Centre, doors 6pm, tickets from about Dh110 on Platinumlist. Prophet Mohammed's Birthday is projected to fall on Tuesday 25 August, though the official date is only fixed once the moon-sighting committee meets. Under Cabinet Resolution 27 of 2024, the government can shift an eligible mid-week holiday to the start or end of the week, which would move this one to Monday 24 August and hand public and private sector staff a three-day weekend. Nothing's confirmed yet, so pencil it in but wait for the official word before you book anything non-refundable. One practical note on travel: airports are running close to full schedules, though some regional routes to Kuwait and Bahrain still see cancellations, so check your flight before you go. |
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