Legal Definitions - ex gratia

EX GRATIA

Ex gratia means doing something as a favor, even though it is not legally required.

• The company decided to pay the employee ex gratia, even though they were not entitled to it under their contract.
• The government offered ex gratia payments to the victims of a natural disaster, to help them recover.

These examples show situations where someone is receiving something as a favor, even though they are not legally entitled to it. In the first example, the employee is getting extra money as a gesture of goodwill from the company. In the second example, the government is giving money to help people who have suffered from a disaster, even though they are not legally required to do so.