Delayed Salary in the UAE — Your Rights & How to Get Paid

Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (UAE Labour Law) and Ministerial Resolution No. 43 of 2022 set strict rules on wage payments:

• Salary must be paid on the date specified in the employment contract
• Maximum payment cycle: once per month (can be weekly or bi-weekly if agreed)
• Payment must go through the Wage Protection System (WPS) — bank transfer, not cash
• Employers delaying salary by 15+ days face automatic MOHRE penalties
• Workers can file a complaint after just 1 day of delay
• End-of-service gratuity must be paid within 14 days of termination

WPS is a government-monitored electronic salary transfer system:

• All private-sector employers must register with WPS
• Salaries are tracked by MOHRE in real time
• If an employer misses a payment cycle, MOHRE is automatically alerted
• Employers with repeated WPS violations face work permit freezes
• WPS does not apply to domestic workers (separate rules under Federal Law No. 10 of 2017)

Follow this process if your salary is delayed:

Beyond your owed salary, you may be entitled to:

• Full unpaid salary amount
• Delay compensation — courts may award interest on late payments
• End-of-service gratuity (if terminated or resigned after 1+ year)
• Repatriation ticket — employer must cover return flight costs
• Arbitrary dismissal compensation — up to 3 months' salary if fired unfairly
• Labour ban exemption — if you leave due to employer violation, no ban applies

Know the time limits for salary claims:

• You can file a MOHRE complaint at any time while employed
• After leaving employment: file within 1 year of the claim arising
• Labour Court claims must be filed within 1 year of the disputed amount becoming due
• End-of-service gratuity claims: within 1 year of termination date