Key takeaways
- MoHRE is the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation — the federal authority that governs the relationship between private-sector employers and workers in the UAE.
- It controls work permits, employment contracts, wages, working hours, end-of-service, Emiratisation and labour disputes. If it concerns your job rather than your residence, it is almost certainly MoHRE.
- MoHRE is not the immigration authority. Your visa and Emirates ID sit with ICP and GDRFA. For the employer view of all of this, see why UAE companies need PRO services. Confusing the two is the single most common reason people queue at the wrong counter.
- Its powers are real: MoHRE can block an entire company from hiring, impose fines, register labour disputes automatically, and decide claims up to AED 50,000 without going to court.
- For workers, MoHRE is free to use, and filing a complaint costs nothing.
Almost every expatriate in the UAE deals with MoHRE, and most never quite work out what it is. It appears on your labour contract, it is the reason your salary arrives the way it does, it decides whether your employer can hire anyone next month, and it is where you go when something goes wrong at work.
This guide covers what MoHRE actually is, everything it governs, what it does for employees, what it demands of employers, and where its authority stops. It is long because the subject is large. Use the contents to jump to what you need.
What MoHRE stands for, and what it does
MoHRE is the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation — a federal ministry of the United Arab Emirates government. It is frequently written MOHRE, and it was formerly known as the Ministry of Labour, which is why older documents and long-standing residents still call it that.
Its remit is the labour market. In practice that means two connected jobs:
- Regulating the employment relationship in the private sector — who may work, under what contract, for what wage, under what conditions, and what happens when the relationship ends or breaks down.
- Increasing Emirati participation in the private sector, through the Emiratisation programme and the Nafis initiative.
Those two functions explain the ministry’s name, and they explain almost everything it does.
MoHRE governs your job. ICP and GDRFA govern your presence in the country.
Your work permit and labour contract are MoHRE. Your residence visa and Emirates ID are immigration. They are different authorities, different systems and different service centres — and a single employment residence requires both, in sequence.
Who MoHRE covers — and who it does not
This is the first thing to establish, because a great deal of advice that circulates is correct for one group and wrong for another.
| Category | Governed by MoHRE? |
|---|---|
| Mainland private-sector employees | Yes — the core group |
| Free zone employees | Generally administered by the free zone authority, though the federal labour law still applies in most zones |
| DIFC and ADGM | No — these financial free zones have their own employment legislation and their own courts |
| Federal and local government employees | No — separate public-sector rules |
| Domestic workers | A separate regime under its own law, though MoHRE administers it |
| Investors and business owners | Not as employees of their own establishment |
If you are unsure which side you fall on, the practical test is where your employment contract is registered. A MoHRE contract check will not find a free zone contract, and vice versa. Our guide to free zone versus mainland sets out the differences that follow from this.
The legal framework MoHRE administers
MoHRE does not invent rules. It administers legislation, and knowing the instruments by name is genuinely useful because it lets you check any claim at source.
| Instrument | What it governs |
|---|---|
| Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and its amendments | The UAE Labour Law. In force since 2 February 2022. The foundation for everything below. |
| Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 | The Implementing Regulation — the operational detail behind the law |
| Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 | The Wage Protection System |
| Ministerial Decree No. 46 of 2022 | Work permits, job offers and employment contract forms |
| Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022 | Settlement of labour disputes and complaints |
| Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023 | The alternative end-of-service savings scheme |
| Ministerial Resolution No. 455 of 2023 | Emiratisation targets for establishments with 20–49 employees |
The 2021 law replaced Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, and the change was not cosmetic. A large share of the advice still circulating online describes the 1980 regime — unlimited contracts, reduced gratuity for resigning, and other rules that no longer exist.
MoHRE’s core functions, one by one
1. Work permits
Nobody may lawfully work in the UAE without a valid work permit issued by MoHRE, and no employer may engage anyone without one. This is stated in Article 6 of the Labour Law and it is the ministry’s most fundamental control.
MoHRE issues thirteen types of work permit, matched to the nature of the job:
- Recruitment from outside the UAE — the standard route, valid two years
- Transfer between establishments — two years
- Resident on family sponsorship — hiring someone already here on a spouse’s or parent’s visa
- Temporary work permit — a defined task at another company
- Mission work permit — a time-bound project, worker brought from abroad
- Part-time — fewer hours than a full-time counterpart, and more than one employer permitted with Ministry approval
- Juvenile — ages 15 to 18, valid one year, under protective conditions
- Student training and employment — three months
- UAE and GCC national permit — two years
- Golden visa holder permit — two years
- National trainee — 12 months, renewable
- Freelance — independent work with no employer sponsor
- Private teacher — free of charge, two years
Cost runs from AED 250 to AED 3,450, and the variable is not the employee but the company’s classification. Full detail is in our guide to the thirteen UAE work permit types.
The ministry may refuse to issue or renew, or cancel permits outright, where an establishment supplies incorrect documents, is fictitious or not exercising its registered activity, or is non-compliant with the Wages Protection System.
Separately, firms are denied new work permits altogether for four categories of violation: breaches of the service fees and administrative fines rules, failing to provide appropriate labour accommodation, allegations of human trafficking, and abusing access to ministry systems.
For a company, this is the point at which a compliance problem stops being a fine and becomes an inability to operate.
2. Employment contracts
Every private-sector employment contract is registered with MoHRE, and the registered version is the one that governs. This matters more than most employees realise: where an internal company contract differs from the MoHRE-registered one — typically on basic salary or notice — it is the registered document that decides entitlements.
Since February 2022 all contracts are fixed-term. Unlimited contracts were abolished. The term may be extended or renewed, renewals count towards end-of-service, and a contract that expires while both parties carry on working is treated as renewed on the same terms.
Probation may not exceed six months and cannot be extended. Notice during probation runs 14 days if the employer ends it, one month if the employee moves to another UAE employer, and 14 days if the employee is leaving the country. Non-compete restrictions are capped at two years and must be limited in time, place and nature of work.
Full detail: UAE employment contract types, the probation period and notice periods.
3. Wages and the Wage Protection System
The Wage Protection System (WPS) is an electronic salary transfer mechanism run by MoHRE with the UAE Central Bank. Employers transfer wages through approved banks, exchange houses or financial institutions, and the ministry sees whether every worker was paid, in full, on time.
Under Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, wages for the previous month fall due on the first day of each Gregorian month, and employers must transfer at least 85% of total wages due on time. Enforcement then escalates on fixed days:
| After the due date | What MoHRE does |
|---|---|
| From day 1 | Electronic monitoring of the establishment |
| Day 2 | Notifications and alerts |
| Day 5 | New work permits suspended |
| Day 11 | Administrative fine and reclassification to the third category |
| Day 16 | Automatic labour dispute registered — establishments with 25+ workers |
| Day 21 | Attachment, travel ban on the person in charge, Public Prosecution referral — 50+ workers |
The detail, including who is excluded from WPS, is in our guide to the Wage Protection System. If your salary is late, see what to do when salary is not paid.
4. Working hours, overtime and breaks
MoHRE sets the working-time framework for the private sector:
| Rule | Position |
|---|---|
| Standard hours | 8 hours a day, or 48 hours a week |
| Ramadan | Reduced by 2 hours every day |
| Overtime cap | No more than 2 extra hours in one day |
| Overtime pay | Normal remuneration plus 25%, based on basic salary |
| Overtime, 10pm to 4am | Plus 50% |
| Rest break | After 5 consecutive hours, at least 1 hour, not counted in working hours |
| Midday break rule | No work in direct sun or open places between 12:30pm and 3pm, 15 June to 15 September |
The midday break is one of the most visibly enforced rules in the country, and it applies regardless of what an individual worker agrees to.
5. Leave and entitlements
Annual leave, sick leave, maternity and parental leave, and public holidays all sit within MoHRE’s framework. Annual leave in particular is a frequent source of confusion around accrual, carry-over and payment in lieu — covered in our guide to annual leave entitlement in the UAE.
6. End of service
When employment ends, MoHRE’s framework decides what you are owed. End-of-service gratuity is 21 days’ basic salary for each of the first five years and 30 days for each year after, capped at two years’ wage, payable within 14 days of the contract ending.
Two points that are widely misreported: gratuity is calculated on basic salary only, excluding allowances; and resigning no longer reduces it — that rule died with the 1980 law. There is also a voluntary alternative, the Savings Scheme, under which employers contribute 5.83% or 8.33% of basic salary into a regulated investment fund instead.
Full detail: end-of-service gratuity in the UAE, or run your own figures through our gratuity calculator.
7. Emiratisation and Nafis
The second half of the ministry’s name. Emiratisation is the programme requiring private-sector establishments to employ UAE nationals, delivered alongside Nafis, the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, which aims to place 75,000 Emiratis in the private sector.
| Company size | Requirement | Contribution if short |
|---|---|---|
| 50+ employees | Skilled-role Emiratisation rising 2% a year since 2023, reaching 10% by 2026 | Began at AED 6,000 monthly per missing Emirati in 2023, rising AED 1,000 a year — AED 9,000 a month now |
| 20–49 employees, in 14 named sectors | One Emirati by end 2024, a second by end 2025 | AED 96,000 in January 2025; AED 108,000 in January 2026 |
| Under 20 employees | Not currently in scope | — |
Since 1 January 2026 the minimum monthly wage for an Emirati in the private sector is AED 6,000. Employers must also obtain a UAE national work permit, contract them under MoHRE regulations, pay through WPS and register them in the pension scheme. Full detail: Emiratisation rules in the UAE.
8. Labour disputes and complaints
MoHRE is where employment disputes begin. Either party — employer, employee, or the employee’s beneficiary — may file, and filing is free.
The ministry attempts an amicable settlement within 14 days. If that fails, one number decides what happens next: for claims of AED 50,000 or less MoHRE can issue a final decision itself without going to court; above that, the case is referred to the judiciary. Workers are exempt from judicial fees at all stages for claims under AED 100,000.
Two provisions worth knowing. No claim is heard more than one year from the date of the violation. And while a case is before the court, you can apply for a temporary work permit to work for another employer in the meantime.
Full detail: how to file a labour complaint with MoHRE.
9. Occupational safety and labour accommodation
MoHRE sets and inspects standards for worker welfare. Establishments with 50 or more workers must provide accommodation to any worker earning less than AED 1,500 a month. That accommodation must be well lit, air-conditioned and ventilated, with at least three square metres per worker, plus a medical service room, a prayer room and a laundry room.
Failure to provide appropriate accommodation is one of the four violations that stops a company obtaining new work permits entirely.
10. Company classification
MoHRE grades every establishment into category A, B or C, reflecting compliance with the labour law, the Wages Protection System, ministry resolutions, workers’ rights legislation and the policy on cultural and demographic diversity.
The classification is not symbolic. It sets what the company pays for every work permit it issues, across the AED 250 to AED 3,450 range, indefinitely, until the underlying compliance is fixed. A WPS failure in one month can therefore raise hiring costs for years.
11. Unemployment insurance (ILOE)
Participation in the Involuntary Loss of Employment scheme is mandatory for private-sector employees. Non-subscription carries an AED 400 fine, and so does failing to pay the premiums. Unpaid ILOE liabilities block work permit transactions.
See how to subscribe to ILOE and the claim process.
12. Qualification equivalency
MoHRE issues the equivalency certificate that recognises a foreign qualification against UAE standards. Attestation proves a certificate is genuine; equivalency establishes what it is worth here. They are different steps and both are frequently needed — see the MoHRE equivalency certificate.
13. Disciplinary rules and procedures
MoHRE does not leave discipline to employer discretion. The law sets out which penalties may be imposed and, more importantly, the procedure that must be followed before any of them are.
The available penalties escalate from a written notice or warning through temporary suspension to termination. An employer may also deprive a worker of periodic bonuses for up to one year, or of promotion for up to two years. Critically, even termination as a disciplinary penalty preserves the worker’s right to end-of-service benefits.
No disciplinary sanction may be imposed unless the worker has been notified in writing of the violation, their statement heard, their defence reviewed, and the matter documented in their file. The worker must then be notified in writing of the penalty, its type, extent, reasons and the consequences of repetition.
There are also deadlines running against the employer: a worker may not be accused of a violation more than 30 days after it is discovered, and no penalty may be imposed more than 60 days after discovery.
Two forms of suspension exist and they are treated differently. Where an employer wants to conduct a disciplinary investigation, it may suspend the worker for a maximum of 30 days, during which the worker receives half wages. Where a worker is charged with a deliberate crime against life, property, honour or honesty, or with carrying out a strike, suspension is unpaid — but if the worker is cleared or prosecution is dropped, they must be reinstated and paid in full for the suspension period.
14. Work injury and occupational illness
Every worker is protected in the event of a work-related injury or occupational disease, under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and Cabinet Resolution No. 33 of 2022. The employer’s obligations are specific and time-bound.
| Obligation | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Report to MoHRE | Within 48 hours of the incident |
| Medical treatment | Employer covers the full cost until recovery or a disability is confirmed |
| Pay compensation | Within 10 days of receiving the medical report |
| Death compensation | 24 months’ basic wage, not less than AED 18,000 and not more than AED 200,000 |
| Partial disability | A percentage of the death compensation, per the tables annexed to Cabinet Resolution No. 33 of 2022 |
The right to compensation can be lost, but only in defined circumstances: where the injury was deliberately self-inflicted, where the worker was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, where posted safety instructions were intentionally violated, or where the worker refused medical examination or prescribed treatment.
The 48-hour reporting window is the part most often missed, and it sits with the employer rather than the injured worker.
15. Domestic workers — a separate regime
Housemaids, nannies, drivers, cooks and similar roles are not covered by the private-sector labour law. They sit under their own legislation, administered by MoHRE through the Tadbeer service centres.
The practical consequences are real. Contracts, working hours, leave and end-of-service are governed by different rules. Domestic workers are excluded from WPS in the form private-sector employees know. And the recruitment route runs through Tadbeer rather than through a standard work permit.
If you are sponsoring domestic help, applying private-sector rules to that relationship will give you the wrong answer on almost every question.
16. Inspections and enforcement
MoHRE’s rules are backed by an active inspection function. Inspectors visit workplaces and accommodation, and the ministry increasingly detects non-compliance through its own systems rather than by waiting for complaints — WPS breaches, for instance, surface automatically because the wage data is already held.
What inspection typically examines:
- Whether every worker on site holds a valid work permit for that employer and occupation
- Whether wages are being paid through WPS, in full and on time
- Compliance with the midday break during summer months
- Occupational health and safety provision
- Accommodation standards where the employer is required to provide housing
- Whether the occupation performed matches the one on the permit
A worker holding a permit for one occupation while performing another. It is common, it is usually unintentional, and it is a violation for the employer rather than the worker.
It also causes problems later: the occupation on the permit feeds equivalency, family sponsorship eligibility and skill classification, so an inaccurate one propagates quietly into other applications.
17. Protection from labour and visa fraud
MoHRE publishes guidance on avoiding recruitment fraud, and the underlying principle is worth stating plainly because it defeats most scams on its own.
A legitimate employer does not charge you for your own recruitment. Work permit and visa costs are the employer’s to bear. Anyone asking a candidate to pay for a job offer, a work permit or a visa is operating outside the framework, whatever paperwork they produce.
Two further checks cost nothing. Verify that the establishment actually exists and is licensed before accepting an offer. And confirm that the job offer you signed matches the contract subsequently registered with MoHRE — if the salary or role differs, raise it before you start rather than after.
The employer side: labour file, quota and establishment
Before a company can employ anyone, it needs a labour establishment file with MoHRE. That file carries the company’s classification, its compliance record, and its quota — the number of work permits it may hold.
Three separate things can stop a company hiring, and they are fixed in three different places:
The quota is exhausted
A MoHRE matter. See how to check and increase your quota.
The trade licence has a problem
A licensing matter with DED. MoHRE requires a valid licence free of violations before issuing a permit — see trade licence renewal.
The establishment card has lapsed
An immigration matter, not a MoHRE one — see the establishment card explained.
Diagnosing which of the three applies before doing anything is the difference between a two-day fix and a two-month one.
What MoHRE does for employees
Read as a list of rights rather than a list of rules, MoHRE gives every private-sector worker:
- A registered contract that fixes your terms independently of what anyone tells you verbally
- An independent wage record through WPS — evidence you do not have to ask your employer for
- A free complaints route, with fee exemption in court for claims under AED 100,000
- A capped working week, mandatory breaks and paid overtime
- An end-of-service entitlement payable within 14 days, unaffected by resigning
- Protection against arbitrary dismissal, including dismissal for having filed a complaint
- The ability to keep working under a temporary permit while a case is decided
In an unpaid-salary dispute, the argument is usually about what was agreed and what was paid. The WPS record answers the second question independently, and it is held by the ministry rather than by your employer.
That converts a disagreement into a documented fact, which is why these cases are more winnable than people assume.
What MoHRE demands of employers
The same framework read from the other side is a compliance obligation with real teeth:
| Obligation | Exposure if missed |
|---|---|
| Pay wages on time through WPS | Permits suspended day 5; fine day 11; travel ban on the person in charge day 21 |
| Hold a valid work permit for every worker | Illegal employment; permits refused or cancelled |
| Register contracts accurately | The registered version governs in any dispute |
| Meet Emiratisation targets | AED 9,000 per month per missing Emirati, indefinitely |
| Pay end-of-service within 14 days | Labour claim, with the WPS record as evidence |
| Provide compliant accommodation where required | New work permits blocked entirely |
| Maintain classification | Category C pays materially more per permit, indefinitely |
The pattern worth noticing: MoHRE’s most effective sanction is rarely the fine. It is the block. A company that cannot issue or renew work permits cannot grow, cannot replace leavers, and cannot retain staff whose permits are expiring.
How to actually deal with MoHRE
MoHRE app and website
The primary channel for most transactions and enquiries, available around the clock.
Tasheel centres
The approved service centres that lodge MoHRE transactions for the public — the labour equivalent of what Amer is for Dubai immigration. See Amer versus Tasheel.
The Work Bundle
An integrated platform consolidating work permits, residence visas, the medical and Emirates ID biometrics. It has cut onboarding from 30 working days to 5, steps from 15 to 5, and in-person visits from 7 to 2.
Call centre and service centres
For enquiries and cases needing human intervention rather than another submission.
Where MoHRE ends and other authorities begin
A single employment residence touches four authorities. Knowing which owns what is the most practically useful thing in this entire guide:
| Authority | Owns |
|---|---|
| MoHRE | Work permit, labour contract, wages, quota, disputes, Emiratisation |
| GDRFA (Dubai) / ICP (federal) | Entry permit, residence visa, cancellation, establishment card |
| ICP | Emirates ID — always, without exception |
| DHA or the local health authority | Medical fitness test |
| MOFA | Document attestation |
| DED | Trade licence |
When a residence application stalls, the useful first question is not what is wrong but which of these is holding it. See ICP versus GDRFA and GDRFA services explained.
Six things people get wrong about MoHRE
| Assumption | Position |
|---|---|
| MoHRE issues my visa | It issues the work permit. The visa is immigration. |
| Unlimited contracts still exist | Abolished in February 2022. All contracts are fixed-term. |
| Resigning cuts my gratuity | That rule ended with the 1980 law. |
| Leaving a job creates a ban automatically | It does not — see labour bans explained. |
| Filing a complaint costs money | It is free, and court fees are waived under AED 100,000. |
| My HR offer letter is my contract | The MoHRE-registered contract governs. |
Dealing with MoHRE and want it handled properly?
Send us the contract, the licence or the case reference. We will tell you which authority actually holds it, what it is waiting on, and what it costs — before anything is lodged.
MoHRE questions
What is MoHRE?
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation — the UAE federal ministry that regulates private-sector employment and drives Emirati participation in the private workforce. It was formerly the Ministry of Labour.
What does MoHRE do?
It issues work permits, registers employment contracts, runs the Wage Protection System, sets working hours and leave, governs end-of-service benefits, administers Emiratisation, resolves labour disputes, inspects workplaces and accommodation, and classifies every establishment as A, B or C.
Is MoHRE the same as immigration?
No. MoHRE governs your job; ICP and GDRFA govern your residence visa and Emirates ID. An employment residence needs both, and the work permit comes first.
Does MoHRE cover free zone employees?
Most free zones administer employment through their own authority while the federal labour law still applies. DIFC and ADGM are different again — they have their own employment legislation and courts.
How do I file a complaint with MoHRE?
Through the MoHRE app, website, call centre or a service centre. It is free. The ministry attempts settlement within 14 days, and can decide claims of AED 50,000 or less without referring them to court.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
No claim for rights due is heard more than one year from the date of the violation, so do not wait to see whether it resolves itself.
What is a MoHRE company classification?
A grading of A, B or C reflecting your compliance record. It determines what you pay for every work permit, within the published AED 250 to AED 3,450 range.
Can MoHRE stop my company from hiring?
Yes. Work permits are suspended five days after a missed wage payment, and firms are denied new permits entirely for defined violations including inadequate labour accommodation and abuse of ministry systems.
If you have been told you need a “labour card”, see our guide to the MoHRE labour card for employees and companies — what replaced it, and where to find yours.
- Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MoHRE)
- Working in the private sector — UAE Government portal
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and its amendments; Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022; Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026; Ministerial Decree No. 46 of 2022; Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022; Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023; Ministerial Resolution No. 455 of 2023
Please note. Every figure in this guide was verified against MoHRE and the UAE Government portal in August 2026. Labour rules, fees and thresholds are set by the ministry and change regularly — where a figure is not published by the authority, this guide says so rather than estimating it. Your own position depends on your contract, your employer’s status and the authority holding your file. General information, not legal advice.
If you would rather not deal with MoHRE yourself
Everything on this page is something you can do directly, and most people should at least understand it before delegating it. But the volume matters: an active company touches MoHRE for quota, permits, contracts, WPS and renewals, each on its own cycle, and a missed step in one place blocks the others.
That is the work we do. Our PRO services in Dubai cover the MoHRE side end to end — quota approval, work permits, labour contracts, WPS registration and renewals — alongside the immigration side that runs in parallel.
