More than 3,000 establishments have been referred to the Public Prosecution for failure to pay salaries under the Wages Protection System (WPS).
In a resolution issued last year, the government outlined a series of administrative measures against establishments that fail to pay their employees' salaries on time. Wages must be paid through the WPS — an electronic salary transfer system done via approved financial institutions.
Through field visits and e-inspection systems, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre) monitors establishments registered in its database.
More than 612,000 inspections of private sector establishments were completed by the ministry in 2022. Inspectors detected more than 12,000 violations and administrative fines were “imposed accordingly”.
Among the violations were non-compliance with employment requirements, occupational health and safety guidelines, WPS rules, non-compliance with housing/accommodation standards, and failure to follow the mid-day break policy during the summer. In addition, violations included non-compliance with regulations on issuing contracts and work permits, unlicensed employment agencies, fake Emiratisations, and employers holding official documents belonging to domestic workers.
Undersecretary for Human Resources Affairs Khalil Al Khoori said: "As part of the inspection automation process, the Mohre has adopted online channels to ensure efficient, accurate, and transparent inspections."
Acting undersecretary for Emiratisation Affairs and assistant undersecretary for Labour Affairs, Ayesha Belharfia, said in 2022, around 81 percent of labour complaints were resolved amicably, while 19 percent went to the labour courts.
The Mohre is committed to protecting both parties in an employment relationship and ensuring their rights are protected equally. “This strengthens the UAE's reputation as a global destination for living, investing, and working, supported by a robust regulatory ecosystem, in accordance with the nation's co-signing of international labour agreements.
"We also seek to facilitate the process by which specialised legal researchers can submit and deal with complaints in a transparent and unbiased manner. It is also important that these legal researchers reach amicable solutions between the parties involved to save time and effort for both, the complainant as well as the labour court."