The United Arab Emirates will introduce stricter salary payment rules for private sector employers from June 1, 2026, requiring companies to pay wages by the first day of every month through the approved Wage Protection System (WPS) or other authorised payment channels.
According to a report by Gulf News, payments made after the first day of the month will be treated as delayed under the revised compliance framework issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE).
At present, employers can process salaries by the 15th day of the month for the previous month’s wages. The new rule shortens the payment timeline and is expected to affect payroll operations across businesses in the UAE.
Higher wage transfer threshold
The UAE will also raise the wage transfer compliance threshold to 85% from the current 80%. Employees will be considered paid if they receive at least 85% of their entitled wages, provided deductions comply with UAE labour regulations.
The updated rules will also introduce a new dispute resolution escalation mechanism for delayed salary payments, though detailed procedures have not yet been outlined.
The changes are expected to push companies to speed up payroll processing and improve coordination between human resources, finance teams and payroll providers.
The Wage Protection System is an electronic salary transfer system used in the UAE to monitor timely payment of wages to private sector employees.
