Two rules govern the whole sequence. **Settle within 14 days** of the last working day, and **pay before cancelling** the permit and visa. Reversing that order leaves someone without status while money is owed, and turns an ordinary departure into a complaint.
Offboarding
From notice to cancellation
Two rules govern the whole sequence. Settle within 14 days of the last working day, and pay before cancelling the permit and visa. Reversing that order leaves someone without status while money is owed, and turns an ordinary departure into a complaint.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employee | [NAME], [JOB TITLE] |
| Jurisdiction | [Mainland / free zone / DIFC / ADGM] |
| Joined | [DATE] Notice given: [DATE] |
| Last working day | [DATE] |
| Settlement due by | [DATE] — 14 days after |
| Reason | [Resignation / termination / redundancy / mutual] |
| Total settlement | AED [AMOUNT] |
| Dependants sponsored | [NUMBER] — their visas fall with the employee’s |
| Owner of this process | [NAME] |
The Sequence That Matters
| Order | Step | Why this order |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calculate the settlement | Before any conversation about dates |
| 2 | Work or pay notice | Per the contract |
| 3 | Pay everything due | Within 14 days of the last working day |
| 4 | Cancel the work permit | After payment |
| 5 | Cancel the residence visa | After the permit |
| 6 | Explain the grace period — to the whole family | Before they need it |
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These notes accompany the template and explain the drafting choices, the compliance points and the mistakes most often made with this document. They appear as a final page in the Word file, intended to be deleted before the document is executed.
Settlement, then work permit, then residence visa. Cancelling while money is outstanding leaves someone without status and converts an ordinary departure into a complaint. The order is both the legal expectation and the decent one.
Not from the notice date and not from the next payroll run. Start the calculation when notice is given, not after the person has gone, and reconcile the leave balance to records rather than memory.
A settlement statement showing days, rates and the gratuity basis prevents most disputes. A bare figure invites a departing employee with time on their hands to have it checked and find the error you did not.
Dependants’ visas fall with the sponsor’s. Someone on 30 days notice who does not realise their children’s status ends with theirs has no time to plan schooling, housing or departure. One conversation, at the right moment.
Resigning an office, leaving the country and having a visa cancelled remove nobody from a bank mandate. A departed employee retaining payment authority is the most common live control failure found in due diligence.
A power granted years ago remains effective against a third party who has no notice of revocation. Telling the former employee is not enough — every bank, authority and counterparty holding a copy needs notifying.
Company data on a personal phone, personal email or personal cloud storage is the leakage route least examined at exit. Ask directly, get confirmation in writing, and record it.
System logins, shared drives, SaaS tools and building access all need removing on the day. Dormant access belonging to former employees appears in almost every diligence exercise and is trivially preventable.
Funded end-of-service schemes require contributions to be up to date, and arrears cannot be settled at exit as a gratuity would be. Check the contribution history, not the balance sheet line.
Employer costs — permit, visa, medical, Emirates ID, recruitment — can never be recovered. Other deductions are limited to what the Law permits and to a statutory proportion. Any remainder is a debt, not a withholding.
Removing a leaver from the file before the last period is paid produces a non-payment record for someone you were about to pay properly. Sequence it after payment clears.
A departure changes the skilled headcount, and where the leaver is Emirati it can put the establishment below target with penalties accruing monthly. Recalculate on every exit, not at the assessment date.
It records role and dates. Recording a dispute or a reason for leaving turns a routine document into a defamation risk, and it will be produced in any subsequent proceeding.
Departing employees say things current ones will not. The value is in the pattern across several exits, not in any single conversation — and it costs an hour.
Reflects UAE law current as of {{DATE OF USE}}. Notice periods, gratuity calculation, settlement deadlines, permitted deductions, cancellation procedures, grace periods and free zone, DIFC and ADGM requirements all change — confirm with MOHRE or the relevant authority before processing an exit.
This is a ready-to-use template provided for convenience. Laws and requirements change, and every situation is different — please have it reviewed by a qualified professional (a lawyer, corporate secretary, or accountant as relevant) before you rely on it.