UAE tightens actions against establishments delaying employee wages

UAE tightens actions against establishments delaying employee wages

To protect employees’ earnings, the Wages Protection System (WPS) in the UAE has been modified by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MoHRE). As per the new resolution, there will be a range of administrative actions against businesses that do not adhere to the WPS’s rules based on the duration of the salary late payments, the size of the business, and the number of unpaid employees.

Khalil Al Khoori, Acting Under-Secretary for Human Resources Affairs at MoHRE said “the changes aim to enhance long-term balance and stability of the relationship between employers and employees, in line with the rights and responsibilities outlined in the contracts between both parties.”

In the given below two situations, the revisions also let enterprises to request exemptions from transferring their earnings through the WPS:

Seamen/sailors employed on board vessels/ships.
Workers of foreign companies or their branches functioning in the nation who get their salaries from outside the nation, with the workers’ permission.
The issuance of new work permits will be suspended for any non-compliant businesses, irrespective of size, that continue to withhold salaries four months after the due date. After informing the impacted businesses of the suspension of work permits, comparable fines will be imposed on each of the owner’s other UAE businesses that are registered with the WPS.

The new resolution’s revisions also include steps that will be slowly implemented against businesses with 50 or more employees, where the relevant Public Prosecution will be informed and the business information will be forwarded to the appropriate local and federal officials for future legal measures.