Wage Protection System (WPS): what UAE employers must do

The Wage Protection System (WPS) is the UAE’s system for paying private-sector salaries through banks, exchange houses or financial institutions authorised by the Central Bank, so the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) can check wages are paid in full and on time. It is mandatory for establishments registered with MOHRE: wages fall due on the 1st of the following month, with at least 85% paid on time.

Key takeaways

• Establishments registered with MOHRE must pay wages through WPS, via banks, exchange houses or financial institutions authorised by the Central Bank.
• Under Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, wages for the previous month are due on the first day of each month, and at least 85% of the total wages due must be paid on time.
• Late payment triggers alerts from the 2nd day after the due date, a stop on new work permits on the 5th day and further measures on the 11th, 16th and 21st days.
• Some workers and employers are excluded, including workers on documented unpaid leave or on mission work permits of up to 3 months, banks and financial institutions, and houses of worship.
• All deductions from a worker's wage together may not exceed 50% of it.

On this page 9 sections

What WPS is

WPS is a payment channel and a monitoring tool in one. The Central Bank developed it, and it gives MOHRE a database of private-sector wage payments, which the ministry uses to check that every establishment pays its workers in full and on time (u.ae, Payment of salaries/wages).

The legal basis is Article 22 of the Labour Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021: the employer pays wages on their due dates in line with the regulations approved by the ministry, in UAE dirhams or, where the employment contract says so, in another currency. The current WPS rules are in Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 Concerning the Wage Protection System.

WPS checks that wages are paid; it does not set them. The amount is whatever the employment contract states (Article 22). The Labour Law has no general minimum wage, only a requirement that wages be enough to meet workers’ basic needs (u.ae).

Who must pay salaries through WPS

Every establishment registered with MOHRE must pay its workers through WPS, unless the worker or the employer falls into one of the excluded categories.

Establishments registered with MOHRE

The duty follows MOHRE registration, not size: u.ae says all establishments registered with the ministry must pay wages on the due date through WPS. Size matters only for some of the late-payment measures. The Labour Law itself does not cover employees of federal and local government entities, the armed forces, police and security, or domestic workers (Article 3).

Emirati employees are covered too. When it hires a UAE national, the employer must pay the salary through WPS, alongside the other duties set out in Emiratisation rules (u.ae, Employing Emiratis in the private sector).

Free zones are a separate case. The WPS resolution is framed around establishments registered with MOHRE, and this guide covers those rules only, not the payroll rules of individual free zones. The two financial free zones have their own employment laws: the DIFC Employment Law (DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019) and the ADGM Employment Regulations 2024. ADGM’s own guidance says ADGM is generally exempt from the federal Labour Law and from MOHRE’s resolutions and decisions, and that the UAE WPS does not apply within ADGM. The wider differences between set-ups are in mainland or free zone.

Workers and employers excluded from WPS

A short list of workers and employers sits outside WPS.

Excluded from WPS

7 worker categories and 4 employer categories

Excluded from WPS are workers whose wage-related complaint has been referred to the courts; workers reported for work abandonment; workers whose freedom is restricted by an order or judgment, for that period; workers on unpaid leave with supporting documents submitted to MOHRE; seafarers on vessels, on the establishment's request; foreign workers of foreign establishments or their UAE branches who are paid outside the UAE, on request and with the workers' approval; and workers on mission work permits of up to 3 months. Excluded employers are UAE nationals owning fishing boats or public taxis, banks and financial institutions, and houses of worship.

The exclusion for a worker whose freedom is restricted also needs MOHRE to be notified with supporting documents, and u.ae adds that it does not affect any wages or entitlements due to the worker. Leave rules, including unpaid leave, are in leave entitlements.

When salaries are due

Wages for a month are due on the first day of the next Gregorian month: September’s wages on 1 October.

WPS due date and 85% rule

Due on the 1st of each month; at least 85% on time

Employers registered with MOHRE must pay wages through the Wage Protection System (WPS); under Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, wages for the previous month are due on the first day of each Gregorian month, and employers must transfer at least 85% of total wages due on time.

u.ae states the 85% against the total wages due to the employees, where lawful deductions apply. Its summary does not say whether the share is also checked worker by worker, or when any balance above 85% must follow. The Labour Law defines the wage as the basic wage plus the cash allowances and benefits in kind allocated to the worker under the contract or the law (Article 1); the basic wage alone is the narrower figure used for items such as overtime, explained in how overtime pay is calculated.

Only the deductions the Labour Law lists can reduce what a worker receives. Several have their own cap, and all of them together are capped at 50% of the wage.

Deductions from wages

Total deductions capped at 50% of the wage

No amount may be deducted or withheld from a worker's wage except in the cases the law lists, including repayment of loans with the worker's written consent and without interest, recovery of overpaid amounts of no more than 20% of the wage, pension and insurance contributions, penalties under approved work regulations of no more than 5% of the wage, judgment debts of no more than a quarter of the wage (except alimony), and damage caused by the worker of no more than 5 days' wage a month; all deductions together may not exceed 50% of the wage.

Article 25 also allows deductions for the worker’s contributions to an approved savings fund at the establishment, and instalments for an approved social project the worker agreed to in writing. A deduction for damage above 5 days’ wage a month needs the competent court’s approval.

Worked example

The 85% rule on AED 200,000 of wages due

The payroll figures are illustrations.

1. An establishment owes AED 200,000 in total wages due to its employees for September.
2. The wages are due on 1 October.
3. The minimum to transfer on time is 85% × AED 200,000 = AED 170,000.
4. If it pays AED 150,000 on the due date, it has paid AED 150,000 ÷ AED 200,000 = 75% of the wages due, which is AED 170,000 - AED 150,000 = AED 20,000 short of the 85% minimum.

Paid on the due date	Share of wages due	Meets the 85% minimum?
AED 150,000	75%	No, short by AED 20,000
AED 170,000	85%	Yes
AED 200,000	100%	Yes

Minimum to pay on time: AED 170,000.

How employers pay through WPS

An employer pays salaries through a bank, exchange house or financial institution authorised by the Central Bank to provide the WPS service. The salaries are transferred through that institution, and the payments feed the WPS database that MOHRE uses to monitor whether wages are paid in full and on time (u.ae).

Salaries go out in dirhams unless the employment contract agrees another currency (Article 22). The u.ae page does not set out set-up steps, file formats or charges for the service.

What happens when wages are paid late

MOHRE does not wait for a complaint: it monitors payments from the due date and escalates in fixed steps, with heavier measures for repeat offenders and larger establishments.

Measures for late or unpaid wages

Measures on days 2, 5, 11, 16 and 21 after the due date

Under Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, MOHRE monitors wage payments from the due date; from the 2nd day after it, it sends alerts to non-compliant establishments; on the 5th day it suspends new work permits for the establishment; on the 11th day, for a repeated violation within 6 months, it applies the administrative fine under Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020 and moves the establishment to the third category; on the 16th day, for establishments with 25 or more workers (and same-owner groups with 25 or more unpaid workers in listed sectors), it registers labour disputes for the affected workers automatically and suspends work permits; and on the 21st day the measures include an executive instrument for the wages (establishments under 50 workers) or a collective dispute (50 or more), precautionary attachment, a travel ban on the person in charge and, for repeated violations by establishments with 50 or more workers, referral to the Public Prosecution.

The listed sectors are construction, transport and storage, security services, cleaning services, recruitment agencies and domestic worker recruitment offices. For the 21st day, the u.ae table names the establishments targeted as those in the last column, and adds that the measures can apply to an establishment of any size where there is a risk to the stability and regularity of the labour market. The amount of the 11th-day fine is set by Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020; the u.ae summary of the WPS resolution does not state it.

What a worker can do about an unpaid salary

A worker can file a salary complaint with MOHRE through the ministry’s website or app; MOHRE’s toll-free Labour Claims and Advisory Call Centre on 80084 also helps workers with labour grievances (u.ae, Resolving labour disputes). MOHRE first tries to settle the complaint amicably. If that fails, it can decide smaller claims itself and refers larger ones to the courts.

Claims MOHRE can decide

Claims under AED 50,000

Under Ministerial Resolution No. 782 of 2023, MOHRE can make a final decision on an individual labour dispute if the amount claimed is less than AED 50,000, or if the parties reach an amicable settlement whatever the value; a disputed claim of more than AED 50,000 that the parties cannot settle is referred to the courts.

Where an establishment with 25 or more workers has not paid, MOHRE registers the labour dispute automatically on the 16th day after the due date, as the table above shows. The full complaint and court route is in labour complaints and disputes.

WPS rules at a glance

Contracts, leave, end-of-service pay and other payroll topics are in the employment and payroll guides.