Absconding in the UAE: An Employer's Guide to MOHRE Reporting, WPS and Final Settlement

A worker stops showing up. The phone rings out. WhatsApp goes to a single grey tick. A week passes, then ten days, and the accommodation supervisor confirms the room has been cleared. Somewhere in a Dubai or Sharjah office, a manager types “how to file absconding case UAE” into a search bar, convinced that this one report will make the problem — and the salary owed — disappear.

It will not. And getting the sequence wrong here is one of the more expensive payroll errors a UAE employer can make, because it touches labour law, immigration status, the Wage Protection System, and end-of-service liability all at once.

This guide walks through what “absconding” actually means under the current UAE framework, when a report can and cannot be filed with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), how it interacts with dismissal for absence, and — the part employers most often get wrong — what you still owe the worker even after they have vanished. We work with businesses across the Emirates on exactly this, and the same misconceptions come up in almost every case. Let us clear them.

The word “absconding” is out of date

Start with the vocabulary, because it tells you how much has changed.

Under the old regime — Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 — “absconding” was a formal, punitive category with real teeth, including automatic forfeiture of end-of-service benefits. That law is gone. The private sector across the UAE mainland and most free zones is now governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relationships, in force since 2 February 2022, together with its Executive Regulation, Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022.

Alongside those, MOHRE issued Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022, which sets out the procedures for what it calls an “Unexpected Work Abandonment” (UWA) complaint. That is the official term. The public — and plenty of HR managers — still say “absconding,” and MOHRE’s own systems retained the concept, but the legal label and the mechanics both changed. If you file thinking about the 1980 rules, you will make decisions that no longer hold.

The distinction is not pedantic. It changes when you may report, what happens to the worker, and — critically — what you must still pay. Treat “absconding in the UAE” and “Unexpected Work Abandonment” as the same real-world event described by two different rulebooks, and always act under the newer one.

The framework at a glance

Instrument	What it governs	In force
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021	The UAE Labour Law — private sector employment relationships	2 February 2022
Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022	Executive (Implementing) Regulation of FDL 33/2021	With the Labour Law
Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022	Procedure to file and cancel a UWA (“absconding”) report	2022
Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026	Wage Protection System rules (repealed MR 598/2022)	1 June 2026

Sources: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (uaelegislation.gov.ae legislation #1541; mohre.gov.ae); Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 (uaelegislation.gov.ae legislation #1547); Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022 (government-hosted text on u.ae); Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 (MOHRE; Morgan Lewis client alert, May 2026).

Everything below sits on top of these four instruments. Keep them straight and the rest follows.

When you may file a UWA report — and when you cannot

This is where most employers move too fast. A UWA report is not a same-day reaction to a missed shift. MOHRE built specific gates into the process precisely to stop it being used as a pressure tactic against workers.

Under Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022, an employer may register a UWA report only when both of these are true:

• the worker has been absent for more than seven consecutive days without a lawful reason; and
• the employer does not know the worker’s whereabouts and cannot communicate with them.

Both conditions matter. Seven days of silence is not enough on its own if you actually know where the person is — say, they told you they were leaving and went home to their country, or they are sitting in a labour dispute with you. Equally, being unable to reach someone on day three does not open the door; the clock has to run past seven consecutive days first.

There is a further gate that catches employers off guard. You cannot file a UWA report against a worker who already has a labour complaint or lawsuit pending against you with MOHRE or the courts. This is widely reported across UAE legal practice and is consistent with the resolution’s structure — treat it as authoritative even though the precise article wording sits in a government PDF rather than a clean online clause. The logic is straightforward: MOHRE will not let a UWA report be used to bury a live dispute the worker has raised.

The filing test, condition by condition

Condition	Requirement	Employer trap
Duration of absence	More than 7 consecutive days, no lawful reason	Counting non-consecutive days, or filing on day 3–6
Contact	Genuinely cannot locate or reach the worker	Filing when you know they are on leave or abroad
No pending case	No labour complaint/lawsuit already lodged by the worker	Filing to pre-empt or bury the worker’s own claim
Lawful reason	Absence not covered by approved leave or illness	Overlooking approved sick, maternity or annual leave

Source: Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022 (procedures for filing a UWA report), government-hosted text on u.ae; article-level detail corroborated across UAE legal-practice sources.

If any row fails, you do not have a UWA case yet. Filing anyway invites cancellation and, worse, hands the worker grounds to argue you acted in bad faith.

How the seven days are counted

“More than seven consecutive days” sounds simple until you have to point at a start date.

The count runs from the worker’s last actual working day or, where relevant, the end of an authorised absence — the day their approved annual leave, sick leave or maternity leave ended and they were due back. If a worker was signed off sick until the 10th and does not return, you count from the 11th, not from the day you last saw them. Get the anchor date wrong and the whole report is vulnerable to cancellation on the ground that seven consecutive days had not, in fact, elapsed.

Because that anchor date is the pivot on which the entire report turns, document it before you do anything else: the last timesheet entry, the last WPS-paid working day, the return-from-leave date on the approved leave form. In a UAE labour context, contemporaneous records beat recollection every time.

Scenario	Where the count starts	Earliest you could file
Ordinary no-show	Last actual working day	After 7 consecutive days pass
Return from annual leave	Day leave ended and worker was due back	After 7 consecutive days from that date
Return from sick leave	Day the medical sign-off ended	After 7 consecutive days from that date
Worker on maternity leave	End of the protected leave period	Not while leave is still running

Source: Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022, cancellation grounds (a report may be cancelled where 7 consecutive days had not elapsed from the last working day or end of leave); government-hosted text on u.ae.

Cancelling a UWA report

A UWA report is not irreversible, and either side can move to unwind it. Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022 gives MOHRE the power to cancel a report in defined circumstances, and both the employer and the worker may request cancellation.

The recognised grounds for cancellation include:

• the seven consecutive days had not actually elapsed since the last working day or the end of leave when the report was filed;
• the absence was for a legitimate reason — the worker was on authorised sick, maternity or annual leave, for instance; or
• the worker was in fact present and the report was mistaken.

For employers this cuts two ways. If a “vanished” worker resurfaces with a valid explanation — they were hospitalised, or a family emergency took them away and communication genuinely failed — you can and should move to cancel rather than let a wrongful report stand. A report you know to be baseless is a liability, not a shield.

Cancellation ground	Who typically raises it	Effect
7 days had not elapsed	Worker	Report cancelled; permit/status restored
Absence was for a legitimate reason	Worker or employer	Report cancelled
Worker was present all along	Either party	Report cancelled
Employer error / resolved matter	Employer	Report withdrawn

Source: Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022, cancellation provisions; government-hosted text on u.ae, corroborated across UAE legal-practice commentary.

What actually happens to the worker

Employers often overestimate what a UWA report does. It is not a criminal complaint and it does not, by itself, brand someone for life.

On MOHRE approval of a valid report, two things follow. First, the worker’s work permit is cancelled. Second, the worker may be barred from obtaining a new work permit for one year. That one-year bar is the practical consequence that gives the process its bite — but it is not universal. Exemptions exist, and they matter: certain skilled workers, holders of Golden Residency, and other categories approved at Cabinet level can fall outside the one-year ban. The exact reach of those exemptions sits within the MOHRE framework and Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, and it is worth checking a specific worker’s category rather than assuming the ban always applies.

What a UWA report does not do is erase the money. This is the single most important point in this entire guide, so it gets its own section below. A cancelled permit and a one-year hiring bar are immigration and labour consequences for the worker. They say nothing about the wages, gratuity and other entitlements the employer still owes.

Consequence of an approved UWA report	Nature	Not affected
Work permit cancelled	Labour/immigration status	Wages already earned
Possible one-year new-permit bar (with exemptions)	Labour restriction on the worker	Gratuity, where due
—	—	Employer’s Article 53 settlement duty

Source: MOHRE framework; Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022; u.ae. One-year bar and its exemptions corroborated across multiple UAE sources.

The distinction that trips employers: UWA report vs Article 44 dismissal

Here is a subtlety that costs employers real money. Reporting a worker for Unexpected Work Abandonment and dismissing a worker for absence are two separate legal actions, under two different instruments, with different thresholds. They can overlap in a single case, but they are not the same thing, and you cannot use one to do the job of the other.

The UWA report lives in Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022 and is about immigration status and the work permit. Dismissal for absence lives in Article 44 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and is about ending the employment contract.

Article 44 lets an employer dismiss a worker without notice for absence without a legitimate reason in two situations:

• more than 20 intermittent (non-consecutive) days in a single year; or
• more than seven consecutive days.

But Article 44 is not a free pass to sack someone the moment those day-counts are hit. The article builds in a procedural safeguard: the dismissal requires a written investigation with the worker and a written, reasoned dismissal decision. Skip the paperwork and you have an Article 44 dismissal that may not survive a challenge — even where the underlying absence was real.

Feature	UWA report (MR 47/2022)	Article 44 dismissal (FDL 33/2021)
Purpose	Cancel work permit; flag abandonment	Terminate the employment contract without notice
Consecutive-absence trigger	More than 7 consecutive days	More than 7 consecutive days
Intermittent-absence trigger	Not the basis	More than 20 non-consecutive days in a year
Contact requirement	Cannot locate/reach worker	Not required
Procedural safeguard	Filing + cancellation rules	Written investigation + reasoned written decision
Primary consequence	Permit cancelled; possible 1-year bar	Contract ends without notice

Sources: Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022; Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 44 (grounds for dismissal without notice; investigation and reasoned-decision requirements). Article 44 procedural safeguards corroborated by Al Tamimi & Co and multiple UAE firms.

In practice a genuine absconding case often runs both tracks: an Article 44 dismissal to close the contract properly, and a UWA report to deal with the permit. But run each on its own rules. And note that the Article 44 investigation requirement does not evaporate just because the worker has disappeared — you still document the attempt to investigate, the notices sent, and the reasoning, because that is the file MOHRE or a court will read later.

Final settlement: you still owe, and the clock is 14 days

Now the part employers least want to hear. Absconding does not switch off your payment obligations. It arguably makes documenting them more important, not less.

Article 53 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 requires the employer to pay all wages and other entitlements due to the worker within 14 days from the date the contract ends — whether it ended by expiry, resignation or termination. The law does not carve out an exception for workers who abandoned their post. A UWA report cancels a permit; it does not extinguish owed wages or accrued entitlements.

That reframes the whole exercise. The question is not “how do I avoid paying someone who walked out?” It is “what do I actually owe, and how do I settle it cleanly within 14 days so this cannot come back on me?”

What typically sits in a final settlement:

• unpaid basic wage for days actually worked up to the last working day;
• accrued but untaken annual leave, paid out;
• any other contractual entitlements earned but unpaid;
• end-of-service gratuity, where the worker qualifies (see below);
• less any amounts the worker genuinely owes you and that you can prove — advances, documented losses, and so on.

That last line is where an employer can legitimately protect itself. You can deduct proven, quantified amounts a worker owes. What you cannot do is treat the whole final settlement as forfeited punishment for absconding. The deductions have to be real and evidenced, not a round number chosen to zero out the balance.

Final-settlement element	Owed on absconding?	Basis
Wages for days worked	Yes	Article 53, FDL 33/2021
Payout of accrued annual leave	Yes, where accrued	FDL 33/2021
End-of-service gratuity (1+ year service)	Yes, subject to proven deductions	Article 51, FDL 33/2021
Payment deadline	Within 14 days of contract end	Article 53, FDL 33/2021
Deduction of proven amounts owed	Permitted	General principle; must be evidenced

Source: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Articles 51 and 53; corroborated across UAE sources including u.ae.

Notice period, for completeness

Where a case runs as an ordinary termination rather than a straight Article 44 no-notice dismissal, remember the notice-period rule. Under Article 43 of FDL 33/2021, the notice period must be not less than 30 and not more than 90 days, and a clause purporting to cut it below 30 days is invalid. It rarely governs a genuine absconding scenario — the whole point of Article 44 is dismissal without notice — but it frames what “properly ending a contract” looks like when the facts are messier than a clean walk-out.

Gratuity survives absconding — the forfeiture trap

If you remember one thing beyond the 14-day rule, make it this. Under the old Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, dismissal for certain misconduct — including the old absconding provisions — could wipe out a worker’s gratuity entirely. Many UAE employers still operate on that assumption. It is wrong under the current law.

The new Labour Law removed the automatic forfeiture that the 1980 law contained. Under Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, a full-time foreign worker with one or more years of continuous service is entitled to end-of-service gratuity, and that entitlement is not automatically forfeited simply because the worker was dismissed under Article 44 for absence. Gratuity remains payable; the employer’s protection is the right to deduct proven amounts the worker owes, not a right to cancel the benefit as a penalty. This shift is well-corroborated across UAE legal practice, including Al Tamimi & Co.

The gratuity calculation itself, under Article 51:

• 21 days’ basic wage for each of the first five years of service;
• 30 days’ basic wage for each year thereafter;
• total capped at two years’ remuneration;
• calculated on basic wage only — housing, transport and other allowances are excluded.

That “basic wage only” point matters in the UAE, where salary packages are often heavily weighted toward allowances. A worker on AED 3,000 basic plus AED 5,000 in allowances accrues gratuity on the AED 3,000, not the AED 8,000.

Service length	Gratuity accrual (per year)	Basis
First 5 years	21 days’ basic wage per year	Article 51, FDL 33/2021
Each year after 5 years	30 days’ basic wage per year	Article 51, FDL 33/2021
Overall cap	Two years’ total remuneration	Article 51, FDL 33/2021
Calculation base	Basic wage only (excludes allowances)	Article 51, FDL 33/2021
Effect of Article 44 dismissal	No automatic forfeiture	FDL 33/2021 (1980-law forfeiture removed)

Source: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51; removal of the old forfeiture rule corroborated by Al Tamimi & Co and multiple UAE firms.

The practical takeaway: build the final settlement as if you will have to justify every figure to MOHRE, because you might. A worker with over a year of service who abandoned their post is still, in most cases, owed gratuity. Withholding it as punishment is the error that turns a manageable situation into a losing dispute.

WPS is your best defence

Everything above assumes you can prove what you paid and when. That is what the Wage Protection System is for, and in an absconding dispute it quietly becomes your strongest asset.

The WPS is the mechanism MOHRE uses to police wage payment across the UAE. It routes salaries through approved channels so that MOHRE has a real-time record of who paid whom, how much, and when. When an absconding dispute later turns into a “you never paid me properly” claim from the worker, a clean WPS history is what protects your standing — and undermines the claim. Conversely, a patchy WPS record hands the worker ammunition, regardless of how they behaved.

So the counter-intuitive discipline is this: keep paying wages on time through WPS right up to the last working day, even for a worker you suspect is about to walk. Do not stop salary the moment someone looks like a flight risk. Pay what is owed for days worked, on time, through the system — and let the record speak for you.

The WPS rules themselves were tightened in 2026. Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, in force 1 June 2026, repealed Ministerial Resolution No. 598 of 2022 and reset the timing rules. Under the new regime:

• wages for the preceding Gregorian month must be paid on the 1st day of each Gregorian month;
• any payment after that date is treated as “delayed”;
• compliance is met when the employer transfers at least 85% of total wages due by the due date.

In effect, the fixed first-of-month due date removes the informal breathing room employers used to rely on. Treat the 1st as a hard deadline and the 85%-transferred threshold as the compliance floor, not a target.

WPS rule under MR 340/2026	Requirement
Instrument	Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 (repealed MR 598/2022)
In force	1 June 2026
Pay date	1st day of each Gregorian month (for the prior month)
Late definition	Any payment after the 1st is “delayed”
Compliance threshold	At least 85% of total wages due transferred by the due date

Source: Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 (MOHRE); Morgan Lewis client alert, May 2026 (authoritative-secondary summary of the primary resolution).

What non-payment triggers — the escalation ladder

The reason WPS discipline matters so much in absconding cases is that late or missing wage payments now trigger a fast, automated escalation across the UAE labour system. Based on the Morgan Lewis reading of Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, non-payment escalates roughly as follows:

Timing after due date	Consequence (per MR 340/2026, as read by Morgan Lewis)
Day 1	Electronic monitoring of the delay
Day 2 onward	Notifications and warnings issued to the employer
Day 5	Suspension of new work permits
Day 11	Administrative fines and establishment reclassification
Day 16	Suspension of work permits
Day 21	Precautionary attachment, travel bans, referral to Public Prosecution

Source: Morgan Lewis client alert (May 2026) summarising Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 — authoritative-secondary. Press summaries have described some steps differently; the primary resolution governs.

Two honest caveats. First, on the administrative fines: the legal basis is Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020, which sets the schedule of administrative penalties — but we do not publish a specific AED-per-worker figure here because we could not verify one from a primary source, and inventing a number would be worse than omitting it. The point stands qualitatively: administrative fines apply, and they escalate. Second, some UAE press coverage framed MR 340/2026 as “abolishing the 15-day grace period.” The primary resolution and the Morgan Lewis summary describe a fixed first-of-month due date with enforcement from Day 2 — not a quoted “grace period” clause. The practical effect may feel like the loss of a grace window, but treat that as the effect, not the wording.

The connection back to absconding is direct. An employer who was already sloppy on WPS, and who then tries to fight an absconding worker’s wage claim, is fighting on two fronts — the worker’s claim and MOHRE’s own enforcement against the late payments. The employer who paid clean and on time has almost no exposure on the wage side and can focus entirely on the abandonment itself.

A practical playbook when a worker disappears

Pulling it together, here is the sequence we would walk a UAE employer through.

1. Fix the anchor date. Identify the last actual working day, or the end of any approved leave. Everything counts from there.
2. Attempt contact, and document it. Calls, messages, emails, a letter to the registered address, contact with the accommodation. Keep the evidence. This supports both the “cannot reach” limb of a UWA report and the Article 44 investigation record.
3. Do not stop WPS wages for days already worked. Pay what is owed for time worked, on time, through the system. Your clean record is your defence.
4. Wait out the seven consecutive days. No UWA report before that threshold, no matter how obvious the abandonment looks.
5. Check the bars. Confirm there is no pending labour complaint or lawsuit from the worker, and confirm the absence is not covered by leave or illness.
6. Run the two tracks deliberately. If you are ending the contract, follow the Article 44 procedure — written investigation, reasoned written decision — and file the UWA report under its own rules.
7. Build the final settlement. Calculate wages for days worked, accrued leave payout and gratuity where due under Article 51, less any proven amounts owed. Do not treat the balance as forfeited.
8. Pay within 14 days. Article 53 does not pause for absconding. Settle within the window even if the worker is unreachable, and keep proof of the attempt to pay.

Step	Governing rule	Why it protects you
Anchor date	MR 47/2022 (7-day count)	Prevents premature, cancellable filing
Contact log	MR 47/2022 + Article 44	Evidences “cannot reach” and the investigation
Keep paying WPS	MR 340/2026	Neutralises later wage claims
Wait 7 days	MR 47/2022	Meets the filing threshold
Check bars	MR 47/2022	Avoids a report that will be cancelled
Article 44 process	FDL 33/2021, Art. 44	Makes the dismissal defensible
Final settlement	FDL 33/2021, Arts. 51 & 53	Discharges your legal duty
Pay in 14 days	FDL 33/2021, Art. 53	Closes off the money dispute

Sources: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (Articles 44, 51, 53); Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022; Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026.

The mistakes we see most often

A short list, because these repeat across UAE employers of every size:

• Filing too early. A UWA report before seven consecutive days have passed is exposed to immediate cancellation.
• Filing when you actually know where the worker is. The “cannot communicate” limb is real. Filing anyway looks like bad faith.
• Stopping salary as a first move. Withholding WPS wages for days already worked damages the very record that would have protected you.
• Confusing the UWA report with the dismissal. They are different actions. Doing one does not do the other.
• Assuming gratuity is forfeited. It is not automatic under the current law. This is the single most expensive misconception.
• Blowing the 14-day settlement deadline. Article 53 runs regardless of the worker’s conduct.
• Skipping the Article 44 paperwork. No written investigation and no reasoned decision means a dismissal that may not stand.

None of these are exotic. They come from applying old instincts — or the 1980 law — to a framework that was rewritten in 2021 and 2022 and tightened again in 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “absconding” mean under UAE law now?

The formal concept is Unexpected Work Abandonment (UWA) under Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022. “Absconding” is the older, informal term. The event — a worker leaving without notice — is the same, but the governing rules are those of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and its resolutions, not the repealed 1980 law.

How many days before I can file an absconding (UWA) report in the UAE?

More than seven consecutive days of absence without a lawful reason, and only when you genuinely cannot locate or contact the worker. Both conditions must be met before you file, per Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022.

Can I file a UWA report if the worker has already complained against me?

No. An employer cannot file a UWA report against a worker who has an existing labour complaint or lawsuit pending with MOHRE or the courts. This is consistent with the structure of Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022 and is applied in UAE practice.

Does filing an absconding report cancel what I owe the worker?

No. A UWA report cancels the worker’s work permit; it does not extinguish wages or entitlements. Under Article 53 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 you must still pay all wages and other entitlements due within 14 days of the contract ending.

Is gratuity forfeited if a worker absconds?

Not automatically. The old forfeiture rule from Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 was removed. Under Article 51 of FDL 33/2021, a worker with one or more years of continuous service remains entitled to gratuity even on an Article 44 dismissal for absence. You may deduct proven amounts the worker owes, but you cannot cancel the benefit as a penalty.

How is UAE gratuity calculated?

On basic wage only (allowances excluded): 21 days’ basic wage per year for the first five years, 30 days’ basic wage per year thereafter, capped at two years’ total remuneration — per Article 51 of FDL 33/2021.

What is the difference between a UWA report and an Article 44 dismissal?

A UWA report (MR 47/2022) deals with the work permit and immigration status. An Article 44 dismissal (FDL 33/2021) ends the employment contract without notice. Article 44 allows dismissal for more than 20 non-consecutive days’ absence in a year, or more than 7 consecutive days — but requires a written investigation and a reasoned written decision.

Do I still have to run an investigation if the worker has vanished?

Yes, to the extent possible. Article 44 requires a written investigation and a reasoned written decision. Document your attempts to contact and investigate, the notices sent, and your reasoning — that file is what MOHRE or a court will examine later.

When must I pay the final settlement?

Within 14 days of the date the contract ends, under Article 53 of FDL 33/2021 — whether the contract ended by expiry, resignation or termination, and regardless of whether the worker absconded.

What happens to the worker after an approved UWA report?

The work permit is cancelled and the worker may face a one-year bar on a new work permit. Exemptions exist for certain skilled workers, Golden Residency holders and Cabinet-approved categories, so the ban is not universal.

Should I stop paying salary once I suspect a worker will abscond?

No. Keep paying wages owed for days actually worked, on time, through the Wage Protection System. A clean WPS record is your strongest defence if the worker later claims non-payment; stopping salary damages that record.

What changed for WPS in 2026?

Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, in force 1 June 2026, repealed MR 598/2022. Wages for the prior Gregorian month are due on the 1st of each month; anything later is “delayed”; and compliance means at least 85% of total wages due are transferred by the due date, with escalating enforcement thereafter.

Are there fines for late wage payment?

Yes — administrative fines apply under the penalties framework (Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020), and non-payment escalates through work-permit suspensions and, ultimately, precautionary attachment, travel bans and referral to Public Prosecution. We do not quote a specific AED figure here because we could not verify one from a primary source; confirm current amounts with MOHRE before relying on any number.

Can I cancel a UWA report if the worker comes back with a good reason?

Yes. Under Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022, either party may request cancellation, and MOHRE may cancel where the seven days had not elapsed, the absence had a legitimate reason, or the worker was actually present.

---

This guide is general advisory information on UAE labour and payroll practice, not legal advice on any specific case. Absconding matters turn on their exact facts, and figures and procedures change. Verify the current position with MOHRE and the primary instruments — Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022 and Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 — before acting. Velmont Crest supports UAE employers with payroll compliance, WPS and end-of-service calculations; we do not act as legal representatives.