As an expat working in any foreign country—in the UAE in this case—it is always important to know its laws and your corresponding rights being an employee there. Your rights include being paid on time, just like in any company that you can work in.
Working abroad is, of course, lucrative (especially in the UAE), so you expect that you are entitled to your rightfully earned salary after every month of hard labor. You know that your monthly wages are important because you get to send most of them to your family back in the your home country, probably for your children’s allowance or for your parents’ daily needs.
But what if one day, for some reason, your employer either refuses or forgets to pay your salary on time? Should you just wait for him/her to remember to give it to you? How long should you wait until your employer pays you your hard-earned wages? What action/s should you take if it took longer for your employer to pay you, if at all?
This article will answer your questions and enlighten you with this concerns so that you will know more about your legal rights as an expat under the UAE Law.
How should Employers Pay their Employees?
In the UAE, employees must receive their salaries once a month and no later than 10 days after the end of each salary period. Otherwise, and if not mentioned in the contract, the employer must pay you once every 14 days.
This basic rule is also emphasized in the law on domestic workers issued by His Highness President Khalifa.
The rule, specifically, is in accordance with Article 56 of the Employment Law which states that: “Employees engaged on yearly or monthly remuneration shall be paid remuneration at least once a month; all other workers shall be paid at least once every two weeks.”
Moreover, the payment is done using the national currency (AED) of the UAE and done in working days.
There are no minimum wages required by the UAE Labor Law. However, your salary as an expat employee should cover your basic necessities.
How are salaries paid in the UAE?
Under the Ministerial Decree No. 739 of 2016 Concerning the Protection of Wages, all employers who are registered with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MoHRE) should pay their employees through the Wages Protection System (WPS) per the due dates.
This is a system where salaries of the employees will automatically be transferred to their accounts in registered banks or financial institutions, which are authorized by Central Bank of the UAE.
Reminding Your Employer to Pay Your Salary on Time
Have you experienced not being able receive your salary on time? Then you should act immediately and start to voice out your concern. It is important to take things one a time. If it’s the first time that your employer does not give you your monthly wages, you can do the following:
- Send a polite and gentle reminder to your employer via email or text message if possible.
- If number 1 is not possible, talk directly to your employer or supervisor and simply ask if your salary has been deposited to your bank account under the Wages Protection System.
- Use a passive-aggressive approach when discussing the matter to your employer.
Reasons you can say to him/her are:
- “I cannot work today because I ran out of budget for my daily expenses.”
- “I worry about my family back in my home country because I don’t have any money or allowance to send to them.”
It is still advisable to have a personal conversation with your immediate supervisor first so that you can avoid too much conflict in your working environment.
That is, better settle disputes internally first before raising it to government because the issue might just be a case of miscommunication.
However, if your employer or supervisor still showed no signs of a plan of action despite your constant reminders, then it’s time to take the issue to the higher management and file a complaint.
Filing a Complaint for the Delay of Salaries
First, it is important that you know when your salary is delayed. The Wages Protection System states that for late or unpaid salaries:
- The employer is considered as late in paying wages if the wage is not paid to the employee within 10 days from the due date, which is the next day of the end of the salary period.
- The employer is considered as refusing to pay wages if the wage is not paid to the employee within one month of the due date.
Now that you know if your salaries are delayed, you can now take action and file a complaint if your employer does not pay you your wages even after an internal communication with him.
And yes, filing a complaint may be hard and challenging because you risk losing your job. But this is also the exact reason why you should take legal action because the UAE government will be in favor of you when you voice out your concerns. And as long as you’re on the right side of the law, you will be in good hands.
So what do you do when you file a compile against your boss?
- Reach out to the MoHRE hotline at 800 665 or visit the local office to voice out your concerns regarding your wages withheld by your employer.
- Fill out and submit an application form written in Arabic. You can get a copy of this in labor offices.
- Submit the following documents together with the application form: labor card, Emirates National ID, labor contract, and other contracts or documents that you have signed together with your employer.
Per Article 55 of the UAE Labor Law, the written complaint that you filed should also be given to your employer for his/her reference. Upon receiving it, your employer should take action within the next seven days to settle the dispute.
If he/she does not accomplish this, the labor office will handle the case and mediate between you and your employer.
If the matter is still not settled after 10 working days, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs will take over and forward the case to a conciliation committee.
Sanctions Faced by the Employer when it Refuses to Pay Wages on Time
So what do you do when your employer does not pay your salary on time?
What if all internal communication and mediation by the MoHRE still failed to compel the employer to pay the necessary wages to his/her employee? This is when the employer will be sanctioned or compelled to pay a hefty fine and face charges for not doing so.
When Employers Don’t Pay Their Employees on Time
If employers do not pay their employees on time, they will face strict sanctions and pay a large amount of fines. This also means a direct violation of the Article 1(b) of Ministerial Decree No. 739 of 2016, which states that “[t]he employer shall be deemed late in paying unless he pays the salary within the first 10 days as of maturity date, and shall be deemed as refusing to pay the salary unless he pays it within one month as of the maturity date, unless a less term is set/provided in the contract.”
Corresponding Penalties/Sanctions:
Here are the following penalties or sanctions that the employer will face if he/she still refuses to pay the wages of his/her employees:
- 16 days after the due date, the MoHRE will stop granting the employer any additional work permits and their license to trade will be suspended.
- One month after the due date, the ministry will inform other authorities to take “punitive measures.” There will be a complete strike against other companies owned by the employer, who will also be prohibited from registering any new companies.
- 60 days after the due date, the employee will be charged administrative fines.
These fines are based on violating the Ministerial Resolution No. 15 of 2017 for evading the WPS or the Wages Protection System. These fines apply for actions involving fraudulent use of the WPS:
- Entry of incorrect data in the WPS for the purposes of evasion or circumvention – AED 5,000 for each worker and a maximum limit of AED 50,000 in case of multiple workers
- Failure to pay on due dates through the WPS – AED1,000 per employee
- Forcing employees to sign fake pay slips showing that they received their salaries – AED 5,000 per employee.
On Companies Employing over 100 Workers
Here are the penalties that the companies employing over 100 workers will face if they fail to pay salaries within a period not exceeding 10 days:
- They will not be issued work permits starting from the 16th day from the date of delay.
- They will be referred to judicial authorities for punitive measures.
- Necessary action will be taken against all companies owned by the same owner.
- The owner/s of the companies will not be able to register any new company.
- The Employees’ bank guarantees will be liquidated.
- The company will be downgraded to the third category.
- The employees of the said company will be allowed to move to other companies.
Moreover, in case a company employing over 100 workers delays salaries over 60 days, a fine of AED 5,000 per worker whose wage is delayed will be levied with a maximum fine of AED 50,000 in cases of multiple workers’ delayed wages.
On companies employing less than 100 workers
On the other hand, if a company employing less than 100 workers still fails to pay the salary within 60 days from due date, penalties will include:
- work permits ban
- fines
- referral to court
If the company commits such violations more than once in one year, MoHRE will apply penalties stated for companies that employ over 100 workers.
On a final note, you can also apply for the cancellation of your employment under the Employment Law of the UAE.
Specifically, as indicated in Article 121 of the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, it states that: “An employee may leave his work without notice in either of the following cases:
- a) If the employer fails to comply with his obligations towards him, as provided for in the contract or in this law;
- b) If he is assaulted by the employer or the employer’s legal representative.”
You will be allowed to leave your present job and find another opportunity for you. Don’t worry because an employment ban will not be imposed on you in your favor.
You may also file a complaint against your employer with the MoHRE concerning the non-payment of salary for the last three months. On the other hand, while complaining to MoHRE, you may inform them that you still intend to continue with the current employment and your demands are only related to settlement of salaries which are not paid to you.
Observe Your Behavior when your Salary is not Paid on Time
A few reminders when you encounter a delayed salary from your employer:
- Do not take an Absence without Leave (AWOL). Committing an intentional mistake just because the same harm was done to you does not justify the act itself. It also does not put you in a good position to file a complaint because your employer may also use your negligence of work against you. Keep your work professional even if you experience delayed wages.
- Do not post your sentiments on social media. The UAE has strict social media policies and guidelines when it comes to posting rants and sentiments on social media. You may end up getting a complaint filed against you for doing so.
- Do not threaten your employer online. Again, anything you post on social media about your rants against your employer—which includes threats—may be used against you.
Summary
As an expat in the UAE, you should know your rights as an employee well. You should not be ashamed of voicing out your concerns to your employer because you are working your hardest for him/her after all. You don’t simply work for FREE in a foreign company like UAE.
Not being able to receive your salaries on time is already a form of abuse, and as an employee you should immediately take action so that this kind of issue won’t surface again in the future with your employer.