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Appointment Letter Generator

How do I write an appointment letter confirming a new employee's job, salary and terms?

Confirm a new hire's appointment with a Gulf-format letter: job, start date, salary split, probation, notice, working hours, leave and benefits — in English, Arabic or both, for any GCC country.

How the appointment letter is put together

The letter follows the order GCC HR teams use: letterhead and reference, the employee, a subject line, a confirming paragraph (job, department, location, manager, start date), then numbered sections for the contract type, the monthly salary split into basic and each allowance with the total, probation, notice, working hours and annual leave, and benefits, followed by a signature and receipt block. The country sets the currency, the labour-law name, the platform the contract is recorded on (MOHRE in the UAE, Qiwa in Saudi Arabia) and the annual-leave wording, which comes from our labour-law library. Empty fields stay as highlighted [placeholders].

Basic salary: Fixed monthly pay before allowances; gratuity and leave pay are usually based on it.
Fixed-term contract: A contract with an end date. UAE private-sector contracts are fixed-term.
Unlimited contract: A contract with no end date, used in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
WPS / Mudad: The Wage Protection System salaries are paid through (Mudad in Saudi Arabia).

Probation and annual leave by country

Country	Probation limit	Annual leave the letter prints
UAE	Up to 6 months	30 days' paid annual leave for each year of service.
Saudi Arabia	Up to 90 days (180 by written agreement)	21 days' paid annual leave a year, rising to 30 days after five years' service.
Qatar	Up to 6 months	21 days' paid annual leave a year, rising to 28 days after five years' service.
Oman	Up to 3 months	30 days' paid annual leave for each year of service.
Bahrain	Set in the contract	30 days' paid annual leave for each year of service.

Annual leave comes from our labour-law library. Kuwait leave rules are not yet verified, so the letter uses general wording there.

Before you send it

Keep salary, probation and notice identical to the employment contract registered with MOHRE or documented on Qiwa.
UAE notice after probation must be 30–90 days. Saudi unlimited contracts: at least 30 days from the employee and 60 from the employer.
Paste onto your letterhead, sign and stamp.
This is a template, not legal advice.

Data Sources

u.ae — Terminating employment contracts (2026-09-23)
u.ae — Types of leaves (private sector) (2026-09-23)
Saudi Labour Law 2025 amendments (Clyde & Co) (secondary) (2026-09-23)
Saudi Labour Law — annual and sick leave (secondary) (2026-09-23)
Qatar Labour Law No. 14 of 2004 (summary) (secondary) (2026-09-23)

From offer to first day

Send the offer letter first, prepare the contract terms with the UAE employment contract template, then follow the onboarding checklist. When probation ends, issue a probation confirmation letter.

Frequently asked questions

What is an appointment letter?

An appointment letter (خطاب تعيين) is the letter an employer issues after the candidate accepts the offer, confirming the appointment: job title, department, start date, contract type, salary split, probation, notice, working hours, leave and benefits. It is the record new joiners keep alongside the employment contract.

What's the difference between an offer letter and an appointment letter?

The offer letter comes first and is conditional — references, medical test, visa. The appointment letter confirms the job once the offer is accepted and the conditions are met. In the GCC both sit alongside the employment contract registered with MOHRE (UAE) or documented on Qiwa (Saudi Arabia), which is the binding document.

How long can probation be?

UAE: up to 6 months. Saudi Arabia: up to 90 days, extendable to 180 days by written agreement. Qatar: up to 6 months. Oman: up to 3 months. Enter the probation length and choose months or days; the hint under the field repeats these limits.

What annual leave should the letter state?

The generator prints the legal minimum for the country from our labour-law library: 30 days in the UAE; 21 days in Saudi Arabia rising to 30 after five years; 3 weeks in Qatar rising to 4 after five years; 30 days in Bahrain and Oman. You can offer more in the contract, never less.

Does the appointment letter replace the employment contract?

No. The letter says so: the contract sets the full terms and prevails if the two differ. Keep the salary, probation and notice identical in both to avoid disputes.

Should the appointment letter be in Arabic?

Saudi labour law requires employment contracts in Arabic, and UAE MOHRE contracts are bilingual. The appointment letter itself is often English-only, but choosing Both gives the employee an Arabic version at no extra effort and prints side by side on A4.

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APPOINTMENT LETTER

[Company name] (to fill in)

Ref: [Reference number] (to fill in) Date: [Date] (to fill in)

Mr. [Employee full name] (to fill in)

Subject: Letter of appointment — [Job title] (to fill in)

Dear Mr. [Employee full name] (to fill in),

Further to your acceptance of our offer, we are pleased to confirm your appointment as [Job title] (to fill in) at [Company name] (to fill in), based in [Work location (city)] (to fill in), UAE, with effect from [Start date] (to fill in).

1. Contract Your appointment is on a fixed-term contract from [Start date] (to fill in) to [End date] (to fill in). Your employment contract, registered with MOHRE, sets out the full terms; if this letter and the contract differ, the contract prevails.

2. Monthly salary (AED) Basic salary: AED [Basic salary] (to fill in) Total monthly salary: AED [Total salary] (to fill in) Your salary is paid monthly through the Wage Protection System.

3. Probation You will serve a probation period of [Probation length] (to fill in) months from your start date.

4. Notice period After probation, either party may end the contract with [Notice after probation (days)] (to fill in) days' written notice, subject to UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.

5. Working hours and leave Working hours: 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Annual leave: 30 days' paid annual leave for each year of service.

6. Benefits • Medical insurance • An annual return air ticket to your home country • End-of-service gratuity under UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021

Please sign and return a copy of this letter to confirm receipt. We are delighted to welcome you to [Company name] (to fill in).

Yours sincerely,

[Signed by] (to fill in) HR Manager [Company name] (to fill in)

Received by: [Employee full name] (to fill in) Signature: ____________________ Date: ____________

Paste onto your letterhead, sign and stamp. The employment contract (MOHRE / Qiwa) sets the binding terms — keep both identical. This is a template, not legal advice.