# What is ADGM?

ADGM stands for Abu Dhabi Global Market.

ADGM is an Abu Dhabi financial free zone with its own employment regulations, which apply to ADGM-registered employers instead of the federal UAE Labour Law.

## ADGM explained

ADGM Employment Regulations govern contracts, working time, leave and end-of-service for entities licensed in the zone. End-of-service gratuity is retained, unlike DIFC's DEWS model, but the detailed rules differ from the mainland regime.

As with DIFC, an employer running both ADGM and mainland entities is subject to two rulebooks and needs payroll and HR configuration that can hold both.

## Related terms

- [DIFC](https://neuralhr.ai/en/hr-glossary/difc): DIFC is a Dubai financial free zone with its own employment law, DIFC Employment Law No. 2 of 2019, which applies instead of the federal UAE Labour Law.
- [UAE Labour Law](https://neuralhr.ai/en/hr-glossary/uae-labour-law): Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 is the UAE's private-sector employment law, governing contracts, working hours, leave, termination and end-of-service entitlements.

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Canonical page: https://neuralhr.ai/en/hr-glossary/adgm
Last verified: 2026-08-01

Published by NeuralHR.AI — AI-native HR and payroll platform for the UAE, Saudi Arabia and India.