Country guide · 8 min read · Updated October 2026
Payroll in the UAE: the month, the calendar and a salary worked through
How a payroll month runs on the UAE mainland: the deadlines, pensions for each group, a salary worked through to net pay and employer cost, overtime, the year's holidays and what changed this year.
How does payroll work in the UAE?
Each month's wages are due through WPS on the 1st of the next month. GPSSA contributions for Emirati nationals are due by the 15th of the next month. For an Emirati national first registered from 31 October 2023, that is 15% from the employer and 11% from the employee. An expatriate from outside the GCC pays into no pension. They build up an end of service gratuity on basic pay. There is no income tax on salaries.
Know the month's deadlines
This guide describes the mainland, where establishments are registered with MOHRE. Free zones set some rules of their own, and DIFC and ADGM sit outside federal employment law.
Five deadlines shape a UAE payroll. Each one sits with your own entity.
| Deadline | What is due |
|---|---|
| On the 1st of the next month | Wages, through WPS, for each establishment registered with MOHRE |
| From the 1st to the 15th of the next month | GPSSA contributions for each Emirati, both shares together |
| Within 30 days of an Emirati national joining | Registering them with GPSSA |
| Within a month of an Emirati national leaving | Reporting to GPSSA that they have left |
| Within 14 days of employment ending | Final pay and every amount owed, the gratuity included |
GPSSA contributions paid late carry an additional 0.1% of the amount for each day, up to the amount itself. Emirati nationals employed in Abu Dhabi pay into the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, on the Fund's own dates.
Work out pensions for each group
Emirati nationals pay into a pension, worked out on the salary in their contract. Which scheme and which rates depend on where they work and when they first registered, not on when they joined you.
| Who | Employer | Employee | The salary it is worked out on |
|---|---|---|---|
| An Emirati national outside Abu Dhabi, first registered with GPSSA from 31 October 2023 | 15%, of which the government pays 2.5% where the salary is under AED 20,000 | 11% | From AED 3,000 up to AED 70,000 a month |
| An Emirati national outside Abu Dhabi, registered with GPSSA before then | 12.5% | 5% | Up to AED 50,000 a month |
| An Emirati national in Abu Dhabi, a member of the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund from 1 December 2023 | 15% | 11% | From AED 6,000 up to AED 100,000 a month |
| An Emirati national in Abu Dhabi, a member before then | 15% | 5% | From AED 6,000 up to AED 150,000 a month |
| A national of another GCC country | Their home country's rate, up to the UAE employer's share | Their home country's rate, and any difference | As their home country's scheme sets |
| An expatriate from outside the GCC | Nothing | Nothing | The gratuity builds up instead |
GPSSA covers private employers in every emirate except Abu Dhabi. A full month's contributions are due for the month someone joins, and none for the part of the month in which they leave.
A national of another GCC country is covered by their home country's scheme, under the GCC extension of insurance protection. You register them through GPSSA and pay contributions under their home country's rules.
Follow one salary through the month
Take a salary of AED 25,000 a month: AED 15,000 basic pay, AED 7,000 housing and AED 3,000 transport. Here is the same salary for an Emirati national outside Abu Dhabi, first registered with GPSSA from 31 October 2023, and for an expatriate from outside the GCC.
| An Emirati national | An expatriate | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | AED 25,000 | AED 25,000 |
| GPSSA, from the employee | AED 2,750 | Nothing |
| Net pay | AED 22,250 | AED 25,000 |
| GPSSA, from the employer | AED 3,750 | Nothing |
| End of service, built up each month | Nothing: the pension provides it | AED 875 |
| The employer's cost for the month | AED 28,750 | AED 25,875 |
The Emirati national's pension is worked out on the whole AED 25,000, the salary in the contract. The expatriate's gratuity is worked out on basic pay alone, at 21 days' basic pay for each of the first five years. A day's basic pay is the month's divided by 30.
Under AED 20,000 a month, the government pays part of the employer's share. For an Emirati national first registered from 31 October 2023 on AED 15,000 a month, the employer pays AED 1,875 and the government AED 375.
For an Emirati national registered with GPSSA before 31 October 2023, a salary of AED 25,000 has AED 1,250 deducted from pay. Their employer pays AED 3,125.
An employer can join MOHRE's Savings Scheme in place of the gratuity. It then pays 5.83% of basic pay into a fund each month for the first five years of service. On the expatriate's AED 15,000 basic pay, that is AED 874.50 a month.
Every employee must also hold unemployment insurance. At this basic pay, it costs AED 5 a month. It is the employee's own premium. Health insurance comes on top, at the premium your insurer sets.
Pay overtime at the right rate
| What it earns | |
|---|---|
| Overtime | Basic pay for the hours, plus at least 25% |
| Overtime between 10 pm and 4 am | Basic pay for the hours, plus at least 50%, except for shift workers |
| Work on the weekly rest day | Another day off, or the day's wage plus at least 50% of its basic wage |
| Work on an official holiday | Another day off for each day worked, or the day's wage plus at least 50% of its basic wage |
Overtime may not pass two hours a day. All working hours together may not pass 144 every three weeks.
The normal week is 48 hours. In Ramadan, normal hours are two hours shorter each day, for every employee.
Mark the year's public holidays
Each official holiday is paid at the full wage. The same holidays apply to the public and private sectors.
| Holiday | When |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | The 1st of January |
| Eid al-Fitr | The 1st to the 3rd of Shawwal, and the 30th of Ramadan when the month runs to it |
| Arafat Day | The 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah |
| Eid al-Adha | The 10th to the 12th of Dhu al-Hijjah |
| Islamic New Year | The 1st of Muharram |
| The Prophet's Birthday | The 12th of Rabi al-Awwal |
| National Day | The 2nd and 3rd of December |
The Islamic holidays follow the sighting of the moon. A holiday that falls on a weekend, or on another holiday, is not moved to another day. One that falls during annual leave counts as part of the leave, unless the contract gives more.
Pay through WPS by the due date, and keep each Emirati above the floor
Wages for every establishment registered with MOHRE go through the Wage Protection System. They are paid through a bank, an exchange house or another institution the Central Bank authorises. Wages are paid in dirhams, or in another currency the contract agrees.
A month's wages fall due on the 1st of the next month. An establishment counts as paying once 85% of the wages due reach its workers. Late wages bring measures counted from the due date.
| Counted from the due date | What follows |
|---|---|
| From the 2nd day | Alerts and notifications, until the wages are paid |
| The 5th day | New work permits stop for the establishment |
| The 11th day | Where the delay repeats within six months, a fine and a move to the third category |
| The 16th day | Labour disputes opened automatically, where the establishment has 25 workers or more |
| The 21st day | An order to pay, or a collective dispute from 50 workers, with attachment and a travel ban on the person in charge |
The labour law sets no minimum wage. Since 1 January 2026, an Emirati national in the private sector must be paid at least AED 6,000 a month. From 1 July 2026, an Emirati national paid less no longer counts towards your Emiratisation target. The Emiratisation guide sets out the targets in full.
Deductions from pay are limited. Recovering an overpayment takes no more than 20% of the wage. A disciplinary fine takes no more than 5%. All deductions together stay within 50% of the wage.
See what changed this year, and what is next
| When | What changes |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2026 | An Emirati national in the private sector must be paid at least AED 6,000 a month |
| 1 June 2026 | A month's wages fall due on the 1st of the next month, under a new WPS resolution, with measures counted in days from then |
| 1 July 2026 | An Emirati national paid less than AED 6,000 a month no longer counts towards an Emiratisation target |
| 31 December 2026 | The Emiratisation target for companies with 50 or more employees reaches 10% of skilled jobs |
No change to the pension rates, the gratuity or unemployment insurance had been scheduled by October 2026.
Run the month from one record
A UAE month brings together a WPS salary file for each establishment, two pension schemes on two sets of rates, a gratuity for each expatriate and wages due on the 1st. A payroll fed from several places struggles to keep them in step.
On our payroll, each comes from one record, on an engine we build and maintain for the UAE's law. Your entity submits the salary files and pays its people.
Common questions.
When are GPSSA contributions due?
When are wages due through WPS?
Do expatriates pay into a pension in the UAE?
See how a payroll month runs with us.
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