UAE has recently tightened the salary payment timeline in the UAE to become firstly day of each calendar month as per Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 where wages for the respective month can be paid under Wage Protection System (WPS). Noncomplying employers may be subject to increasingly higher penalties, such as suspension of workforce credentials and labor dispute referrals, and other enforcement actions.
The new rules enforce new worker protections, but not every worker is subject to the mandatory compliance under WPS. According to the resolution, Article 4 provides seven worker groups that can refuse to be processed by WPS under certain conditions.
Workers Involved in Wage Disputes
When an employee has reported a salary issue and the formal process (WPS) has been undertaken, to the competent court it was referred to, they are not obliged to undertake WPS for the period of the reported salary issue or the wages. The exemption also covers cases where a government order has been issued by executive instead of formal orders.
2. Workers Reported as Absent
A valid work abandonment or absconding report will exclude those employees covered by that report from the requirements of WPS for the duration of the report. At this time, they will not be included in monthly salary applications.
3. Workers Whose Liberty Has Been Restricted
Workers will not be subject to the WPS if in detention/prison or otherwise unable to work when the restriction period occurs because of an order from a judge. The MoHRE needs to be told of the employer’s change and they must submit supporting documents. It is important to note that this exemption does NOT remove any wages paid prior to entry into detention.
4. Staff on Approved Unpaid Leave
An officially approved unpaid leave may also exclude workers from reporting for WPS for the length of the leave time. If the employers do not register the leave period and do not keep the corresponding documentation, it is possible that potential compliance problems will arise.
5. Onboarding the new employee in their first 30 days
The resolution will give new hires a grace period. Employers don’t need to pay salaries via WPS in the first 30 days from the first salary due. It gives time to onboard and set up bank accounts.
6. Seafarers working on ships
Exemptions may pertain to maritime workers and crew members serving aboard ships from WPS obligations. Employers are however required to make a formal request and gain MoHRE approval for the exemption to be in play.
7. Foreign workers are paid overseas better than in the UAE
Some foreign nationals working at foreign workplaces or branches of foreign companies in UAE, may get their salary from the excluding country outside the UAE. The workers may be exempt from WPS processing provided that they obtain WPS ministry approval and enlist documented employee consent.
Other Exemptions
The 2026 framework will also cover workers with mission work permits for up to three months. Some others have no WPS requirements at all such as banks, financial institutions and citizen owned fishing boats, places of worship and citizen owned fishing taxis.
Some free zones also have their own payroll monitoring systems in lieu of the Federal payroll monitoring framework, WPS.
Why Does It Matters?
The exclusion from WPS does not eradicate the rights to salary of the employee. The exemption normally presumes that a particular legal, operational, or employment situation exists in which a typical payroll procedure doesn’t apply.
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