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Payroll and labour compliance

UAE payroll and labour rules, built in

The UAE country pack adds WPS salary files, pension contributions for UAE nationals, gratuity and the leave and working-time defaults from the labour law. There is no personal income tax to calculate. Rates ship as a starting point that you can override and should confirm with your adviser.

  • WPS (SIF file)
  • GPSSA
  • ADPF
  • End-of-service gratuity
  • DIFC DEWS
  • Ramadan hours
Start free HR software in the UAE
BusinessHRM Country and compliance overview for the United Arab Emirates with rule counts, 8 hours a day, 48 hours a week, 1.25 times overtime and 30 days of annual leave

Does BusinessHRM support UAE payroll compliance?

Yes. The UAE pack builds a WPS salary information file (SIF) from each pay run, works out GPSSA pension for UAE nationals at 11% employee and 12.5% employer on basic plus housing within AED 3,000 to 70,000 (ADPF at 5% and 15% for Abu Dhabi nationals), calculates end-of-service gratuity at 21 days' basic pay per year for five years and 30 days after, and applies the labour law's leave, overtime and Ramadan hours. There is no income tax to withhold. Files are uploaded by you through your bank or exchange house.

Emirates and free zones

All seven emirates are loaded, plus the DIFC and ADGM free zones with their own leave sets. In the DIFC, the DEWS employer contribution (5.83% of basic, 8.33% after five years) is shown in place of gratuity.

United Arab Emirates at a glance

Income tax
None on salaries
GPSSA (nationals)
11% employee, 12.5% employer, 2.5% government
ADPF (Abu Dhabi nationals)
5% employee, 15% employer
Pension salary band
AED 3,000 to 70,000 a month
Gratuity
21 days a year for 5 years, then 30; cap 2 years' pay
Overtime
1.25x; 1.5x at night and on rest days
Ramadan
2 hours less a day
Regions
7 emirates, DIFC and ADGM

What the United Arab Emirates pack covers

Tax, contributions and labour rules on every pay run

  • WPS salary information file

    Each payroll run can produce a WPS SIF file with employee detail records and the salary control record, named with your employer ID, ready to hand to your bank or exchange house.

  • GPSSA for UAE nationals

    For Emirati employees, pension is worked out at 11% employee and 12.5% employer on basic plus housing, kept between AED 3,000 and AED 70,000 a month, with the 2.5% government share shown. Abu Dhabi nationals working in Abu Dhabi use the ADPF rates (5% and 15%).

  • End-of-service gratuity

    21 days' basic pay per year for the first five years and 30 days after that, capped at two years' pay, with at least one year of service and unpaid leave left out. ADGM uses the same formula; for DIFC the DEWS rates are shown for information.

  • Working time and Ramadan hours

    Defaults of 8 hours a day and 48 a week, two hours less a day in Ramadan, overtime at 1.25 times, night work (10 pm to 4 am) and rest-day work at 1.5 times, checked against attendance.

  • Leave entitlements

    30 days' annual leave, 90 days' sick leave (15 full pay, 30 half pay, 45 unpaid), 60 days' maternity, 5 days' paternity, plus bereavement and study leave.

  • IDs with the record

    Emirates ID, labour card, MOHRE person code, visa, medical insurance, ILOE policy and GPSSA number are kept on the employee profile and masked for anyone without permission.

Leave entitlements loaded for the UAE (mainland)
LeaveEntitlement
Annual30 calendar days a year
Sick90 days: 15 full pay, 30 half pay, 45 unpaid
Maternity60 days
Paternity5 working days
Also loadedBereavement and study leave

Figures as loaded in the app on 3 November 2026. Each rule carries its effective dates and source, and you can override any figure from a date of your choice. Confirm them with your adviser.

Where you set it up, and what it produces

Real screens from a demo workspace. Settings live under Settings, Country and compliance and under Payroll settings, Tax and contributions.

BusinessHRM Country and compliance overview for the United Arab Emirates with rule counts, 8 hours a day, 48 hours a week, 1.25 times overtime and 30 days of annual leave
Country and compliance for the UAERule counts, working hours, overtime rate and the 30-day annual leave rule, with the source of each.
BusinessHRM working time rules settings: warn when attendance exceeds daily or weekly limits, check overtime requests, optionally block requests above the legal cap, and reduced Ramadan hours
Working time and Ramadan hoursWarn when attendance runs past daily or weekly limits, check overtime requests, optionally block them above the legal cap, and apply reduced Ramadan hours.
BusinessHRM payroll Exports page listing bank and statutory files by country, including Australia ABA and STP and Pakistan IBFT, FBR section 149, Annex-C, EOBI and PESSI files
WPS SIF exportChoose the UAE WPS salary file and BusinessHRM builds the employee and salary control records from the locked run.

Statutory IDs on each employee profile

  • Emirates ID
  • Work permit or labour card number
  • MOHRE person code
  • UAE residence visa
  • Health insurance policy
  • ILOE subscription
  • GPSSA registration
  • Passport

Stored encrypted, format-checked and masked for anyone without permission to reveal them.

Files BusinessHRM builds for a UAE payroll run

  • WPS SIF salary file (AED)
  • PDF payslips with pension lines for UAE nationals
  • Contribution register for GPSSA and ADPF

Files are built from a locked pay run on the Exports page. A contribution register of employee and employer amounts per scheme exports to CSV.

How to switch on the UAE pack

  1. 1Open Settings, then Country and compliance, and choose UAE (and the province, state or emirate) for the company or for each office.
  2. 2In Payroll settings, open Tax and contributions and switch the calculations on. They stay off until you do.
  3. 3Add each employee's tax inputs and statutory IDs on their profile, and override any rate the pack ships with if your adviser tells you to.
  4. 4Run payroll in AED. Every payslip shows the tax and contribution lines, and the export screen builds the bank and statutory files for that run.

Not included for the UAE

Direct connections to MOHRE, ICP or Nafis, any Emiratisation quota calculation, a GPSSA upload file, and deduction of ILOE unemployment insurance (it is shown as a note).

Not legal advice. Rules marked to verify in the app have not yet been checked against the official source.

Other country packs

All compliance by country How the compliance engine works Payroll HR software in the UAE

United Arab Emirates payroll compliance questions

Can BusinessHRM produce a WPS SIF file?

Yes. With the UAE pack on and payroll in AED, each run can export a WPS salary information file with employee detail records and the salary control record, which you send through your bank or exchange house.

Does it calculate gratuity for UAE employees?

Yes. The separation wizard works out end-of-service gratuity at 21 days' basic pay per year for the first five years and 30 days after, capped at two years' pay.

Is GPSSA pension calculated?

Yes, for UAE nationals: 11% employee and 12.5% employer on basic plus housing within the AED 3,000 to 70,000 band, with ADPF rates for Abu Dhabi nationals.

Does the ILOE unemployment insurance come off payroll?

No. ILOE, mandatory health insurance and Emiratisation are stored as notes in the pack and are not deducted or calculated. The ILOE subscription can be recorded on each employee's statutory IDs.

Are UAE nationals detected automatically for GPSSA?

Yes, from nationality, and you can override it for any employee. Abu Dhabi nationals working in Abu Dhabi use the ADPF rates instead of GPSSA.

Run the UAE payroll with the rules built in

Start free, choose your country and region, switch on tax and contributions, and preview a pay run before anything is paid or filed.

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