Labour guides · United Arab Emirates
Domestic work under the MOHRE contract
Domestic workers are covered by Federal Decree-Law 9 of 2022, as amended, rather than by the private-sector labour law. The wage in the MOHRE standard contract is the wage HousePay keeps.
Figures and rules loaded on 8 October 2026.
The law that applies
A household that employs a domestic worker follows the domestic-worker decree, not the rules written for private-sector companies. HousePay's UAE checks are built on that decree: the contract wage, the permit, the insurance, the leave, and the weekly rest.
The wage
There is no statutory minimum wage in the rules HousePay loads. The wage in the MOHRE standard contract is the wage, including any amount the household agrees above a figure it has already written down. Pay is recorded in dirhams.
For the employer, the contract is the source of the number, so a later payslip can be checked against it. For the employee, the amount on the contract is the amount the record will carry forward.
How pay is made
Pay goes through the Wage Protection System by the 10th of the month. HousePay records the wage and the proof. It does not itself send the dirhams.
The employer holds insurance for unpaid dues up to AED 20,000. That insurance is a document the household keeps with the permit, not a deduction from the worker.
No wage tax is deducted on the payslip.
Leave and rest
Annual leave is at least 30 days after one year. When service is more than six months and less than a year, it is two days a month. Sick leave is not more than 30 days a year. One paid rest day is due each week.
The law sets rest, not an overtime premium. A premium has to be written into the contract. If overtime minutes are recorded and the contract has no premium, HousePay warns that the premium is a contract term.
End of service
Article 22 says the Cabinet sets end-of-service gratuity. No Cabinet formula is loaded, so the engine does not invent a number of days. The contract term is the record. A household that has a written gratuity keeps it in the contract PDF, where both sides can open it.
The work permit
A foreign domestic worker needs a MOHRE work permit before the work starts. A missing or expired permit blocks the payslip. A permit with no end date can be stored. The employee's country is chosen from the full list, and the country code is filled from that choice.
Repairs
A maintenance company is a supplier. The cost is household spend and carries no wage tax. The UAE does not tax a household on this repair. More than AED 10,000 is the full-invoice line only when the recipient is VAT-registered. A private household may receive a simplified invoice, under the VAT Executive Regulation. The invoice, the proof, and the warranty stay on the job.
Documents the record can hold
- The work permit and the insurance for unpaid dues.
- The MOHRE standard contract.
- The wage payment record, with proof.
Other countries: South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.