Insights Payroll
Domestic Worker UAE Payroll: What Housemaid and Driver Employers Owe in 2026
How to pay a housemaid or driver legally under the 2022 Domestic Workers Law — the WPS salary card, gratuity, leave, and what MoHRE expects on file.
Key takeaways
- Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 covers the occupations listed in its Implementing Regulation — 19 of them, from housemaid and family driver to falcon care-taker and jockey.
- Wages are due within 10 days of the maturity date under Article 15, and Ministerial Resolution 675 of 2022 routes five professions through the Wage Protection System.
- End-of-service gratuity is not fixed in the Decree-Law — Article 22 leaves the rules to the Cabinet, so confirm the current figure with MoHRE.
- 30 days annual leave, 30 days sick leave, one paid weekly rest day and 12 hours' daily rest are mandatory for full-time domestic workers.
- Tadbeer service centres are the licensed channel for domestic-worker recruitment, contract management and dispute resolution under MoHRE oversight.
- Sponsor obligations under Article 11 include accommodation, meals and clothing, medical care or health insurance, and repatriation costs.
Domestic worker UAE rules under Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, the Domestic Workers Law in force since December 2022, extend formal payroll, WPS-equivalent wage payment and end-of-service protections to housemaids, drivers, nannies, gardeners, cooks and similar roles. For sponsor families and businesses operating Tadbeer service centres, the practical compliance covers MoHRE registration, monthly wage payment through the WPS-extension scheme, gratuity calculation, leave entitlements and the documentation an MoHRE inspection will request.
This guide is written for UAE families sponsoring domestic workers, businesses operating Tadbeer service centres and HR teams setting up household-worker management frameworks. What the 2022 Domestic Workers Law actually requires, where the common errors hide, whether a domestic workers payroll app exists to handle any of it, and how to stay compliant.
What the 2022 law actually changed
Before the 2022 law, domestic-worker employment in the UAE ran under Law No. 10 of 2017, which Article 31 of the new Decree-Law repealed outright. Article 31(2) keeps decisions and regulations made under the old framework alive only until substitutes are promulgated, which is why a few figures still in circulation trace back to a repealed statute rather than to current law.
Here is what the Decree-Law itself fixes, article by article. Every figure below is read from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s published English text, checked 4 August 2026.
| Entitlement | Position | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic work occupations covered | Those listed in the Implementing Regulation; the Minister may amend the list to meet market demand | Article 3 |
| Probation period | No more than 6 months from the date the domestic worker starts | Article 8 |
| Weekly rest | One paid rest day for the domestic worker; if worked, an alternate day off or cash in lieu | Article 9(1) |
| Daily rest | At least 12 hours per day, of which at least 8 are consecutive | Article 9(2) |
| Annual leave | Not less than 30 days per year of service, paid in full before departure on leave; 2 days per month for service over 6 months but under a year | Article 10(1) |
| Working during annual leave | Wage plus cash in lieu for days worked; prohibited more than once in two consecutive years | Article 10(2) |
| Return ticket for home leave | Employer bears the cost once every two years | Article 10(4) |
| Unused leave on exit | Encashed on the basis of the last remuneration received | Article 10(5) |
| Sick leave | 30 days per year of service, continuous or intermittent — first 15 at full pay, next 15 at half pay, on an approved medical report | Article 10(6) |
| Sick leave the worker caused | No payment during the leave | Article 10(7) |
| Domestic worker wage payment | In UAE dirhams, within a period not exceeding 10 days from the maturity date | Article 15(1) |
| Wage on arrival or status change | Due immediately, confirmed by written receipt or another means MoHRE determines | Article 15(2) |
| Abandonment reporting | Employer notifies MoHRE within 5 days; worker within 2 days | Article 18(2) and 18(3) |
| Settlement on contract expiry | Compensation paid within 10 days of the expiry date | Article 19(9) |
| End-of-service gratuity | Rules for calculation and payment to be adopted by the Cabinet on the Minister’s recommendation — no figure in the Decree-Law | Article 22 |
The shift is bigger than it looks on paper. The housemaid or driver is now an employee with statutory rights, the household or Tadbeer centre is the employer carrying statutory obligations, and the whole relationship is documented, traceable and open to inspection. Sponsors coming to this cold usually want what is WPS in UAE first — the mainstream employer version of the same wage-transfer regime.
19 categories
Domestic workers formally recognised under Federal Decree-Law 9 of 2022 — housemaid, driver, nanny, cook, gardener, private nurse, tutor and others with full statutory employment protection
Tadbeer centres, the regulated channel
Tadbeer service centres are MoHRE-licensed businesses that recruit, place, manage and pay domestic workers on behalf of UAE families. The model formalises the previously informal agency chain and provides a regulated channel for:
- Recruitment from source countries (Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Nepal, India and others) with vetted agency partners.
- Employment contracts in the MoHRE-prescribed template with standardised terms.
- Visa processing through the GDRFA-Tadbeer integrated pathway — the maid visa, nanny visa or driver’s permit that lets the worker live and work in the household lawfully.
- WPS-equivalent wage payment with bank-traceable monthly records.
- Dispute resolution through MoHRE-mediated channels, with the Tadbeer centre as buffer.
Two sponsorship models sit inside the Tadbeer framework:
- Direct sponsorship with Tadbeer support. The family is the legal sponsor and employer. Tadbeer handles recruitment, contract administration, WPS submission and dispute support on a service-fee basis.
- Tadbeer-as-employer. The Tadbeer centre is the legal employer. The worker is placed with the family on a service contract. Tadbeer handles all employment obligations directly.
The second model costs more, because the centre is carrying the employment obligations, but it takes the family’s direct employment-law exposure off the table. The first is cheaper and leaves the family as the legal employer, which means Articles 11, 15, 19 and 20 point at the household rather than at the centre. Ask for both quotes in writing and compare them against that difference in liability rather than against the monthly fee alone.
One point that trips families up: whichever model you use, the domestic worker visa is what makes the arrangement lawful, and it ties the worker to a named employer. A housemaid visa held through a Tadbeer centre does not permit a private household to employ that worker directly, and a maid sponsored by one family cannot lawfully work in another. The same logic applies to part-time help. If you want a part-time maid rather than a live-in worker, check the permitted route with MoHRE or a licensed centre before anyone starts, because the visa the worker holds decides who may lawfully engage them — and the liability for getting it wrong sits with the household, not the worker.
Paying through the WPS extension
The instrument that actually does this is Ministerial Resolution No. 675 of 2022, issued on 20 December 2022, on the coverage of certain domestic work professions under the Wage Protection System. It is short and specific, and it is the document to work from rather than a general article about WPS.
| Provision | What it says | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Due date | The first day of the month following the end of the period specified in the employment contract | Article 1 |
| Voluntary registration | Open to employers from 1 January 2023 | Article 2(a) |
| Mandatory registration and payment | From 1 April 2023 for the private agricultural engineer, private messenger, home care provider, private tutor and private trainer | Article 2(b) |
| Late payment | Payment not made within one month of the due date is treated as late, and the employer is notified | Article 2(c) |
| File suspension | The employer’s file is suspended if payment is not made through the system within two months of the due date | Article 2(d) |
| Compliance threshold, listed professions | Paying at least 80% of registered domestic worker wages counts as compliance | Article 3(1) |
| Compliance threshold, other domestic workers | Paying at least 75% of registered wages counts as compliance, with evidence of any deduction on request | Article 3(2) |
| Exceptions | A domestic worker who is party to a labour complaint and not working; a reported absconding domestic worker; a new domestic worker within 30 days of the contract starting | Article 4 |
| Reminders and alerts | Notifications on the second and eighth days following the due date | Article 6(2) |
One caveat worth stating plainly. Ministerial Resolution 675 of 2022 was issued alongside Ministerial Resolution 598 of 2022, and Article 7 of Ministerial Resolution 340 of 2026 repealed 598 outright together with any provision conflicting with it. The 1st-of-the-month due date carries across unchanged, but if you are testing a borderline month against the 80% or 75% threshold rather than the 85% figure in the 2026 resolution, confirm the current position with MoHRE before you rely on it.
Payment can run through a bank transfer, an authorised digital wage channel or a Central Bank-approved financial institution or exchange house. The mechanics differ from federal WPS for private-sector employees but the principle is the same: on-time, full-amount payment with a record behind it.
If you sponsor directly, you pay by bank transfer into the worker’s UAE bank account, with the transfer descriptor naming the wage and the period, and that bank statement becomes your wage-payment evidence if a dispute ever lands. Where the worker is Tadbeer-employed, the centre runs its own WPS-equivalent system instead, submitting a salary file to a partner bank, crediting each worker’s individual account, issuing monthly payslips and reconciling back to the sponsor invoice.
Even where cash remains permitted through an approved channel, undocumented cash is no longer the safe default. Disputes about unpaid or short-paid wages are decided on the payment records, and absence of records typically goes against the sponsor. For sponsor families, this means:
- Opening or confirming the worker has a UAE bank account.
- Setting up a recurring monthly bank transfer with consistent timing.
- Keeping bank statements or transfer confirmations for at least three years.
- Documenting any wage changes (raises, bonuses) with a signed addendum to the contract.
The domestic workers payroll card and WPS wage account
The domestic workers payroll card is the piece most sponsor families ask about once they move off cash. Under the WPS extension, wages have to reach the worker through a traceable electronic channel, and there are two common routes. The first is an ordinary UAE bank account in the worker’s own name that the monthly transfer credits. The second is a salary card (sometimes called a wage card or payroll card): a prepaid card issued by a bank or a MoHRE-approved exchange house that the worker uses at ATMs and shops like any debit card.
The card route exists for a practical reason. A domestic worker who has just arrived may not yet hold a full bank account, and the payroll card gives them an account to be paid into from day one. Where a Tadbeer centre is the employer, it usually arranges the card or account during onboarding, credits it each month through its WPS-equivalent system and issues a payslip against it. Where you sponsor directly, you open the account or card and keep the monthly transfer records yourself.
Whichever route you use, the point is the same. The wage lands in the worker’s own account, on time and in full, with a bank record to prove it. For the wider mechanics of traceable wage payment, see our monthly payroll processing in the UAE service.
Is there a domestic workers payroll app?
Sponsors who have just moved off cash almost always ask the same follow-up: is there a domestic workers payroll app that handles the transfer, the payslip and the gratuity in one place? Not as a single official product, no. The UAE does not publish one consumer app that runs household payroll end to end, and any third-party app you find is a private product, not a MoHRE channel — treat the two very differently, because only the payment channel is regulated, not the software wrapped around it.
What actually exists splits into three layers, and it is worth knowing which one you are shopping for.
- The payment channel. This is the regulated part. Under the WPS extension the wage has to reach the worker through a traceable route — a bank transfer to an account in the worker’s own name, a salary card, or a Central Bank-approved financial institution or exchange house. Your bank’s own app schedules this perfectly well; no specialist software is required.
- The Tadbeer centre’s system. Where a Tadbeer centre is the legal employer, its WPS-equivalent platform is the payroll system. It submits the salary file, credits each worker’s account, issues the payslip and reconciles back to your invoice. For a family with one worker, this is the closest thing to a domestic workers payroll app that carries any regulatory standing, and you access it through the centre rather than downloading it.
- General payroll software. Businesses running a Tadbeer centre, or any employer with a real headcount of domestic workers, use ordinary payroll software for the calculation layer — leave balances, gratuity accrual on whatever basis the contract records, the 10-day final-settlement clock in Article 19(9) — and keep the WPS-extension payment separate.
For official service listings and the current MoHRE digital channels, work from mohre.gov.ae directly rather than from an app-store listing, and confirm anything a third-party tool claims about MoHRE integration before you rely on it.
The practical answer for a household, then, is unglamorous: a standing monthly bank transfer with a consistent descriptor, a folder of statements kept for at least three years, a signed contract addendum whenever the wage changes, and a simple sheet tracking leave taken and gratuity accrued. That is the whole system. Where a business runs this at scale, our monthly payroll processing in the UAE team builds the calculation and record layer around it.
Basic salary for domestic workers in the UAE
There is no single federal figure that fixes the basic salary for domestic workers in the UAE. This is why searches for a housemaid salary in Dubai, or a domestic helper salary, return such a wide spread of numbers: none of them is a legal minimum. Rather than one nationwide minimum wage, the floor is generally set by the bilateral labour agreement between the UAE and the worker’s home country, so the same role can carry a different minimum for a Filipino, Indonesian, Sri Lankan or Indian worker. Some source countries publish a monthly minimum their nationals may be recruited at through their own labour offices; others leave it to the contract. Because these figures change, confirm the current position with the relevant Tadbeer centre or the worker’s embassy before you agree a wage.
What matters for compliance is the split between basic salary and the rest of the package. Basic salary is the cash amount named in the MoHRE contract. Accommodation, food, a food allowance, transport and other in-kind benefits sit outside it. That distinction is not cosmetic: basic salary is the number that drives end-of-service gratuity — you can check the workings in our gratuity calculator and formula guide — and it sets the daily rate used to encash unused leave. Understating it on paper to save on allowances tends to backfire when the worker leaves.
Set the basic salary honestly in the contract, pay it through the worker’s account or payroll card each month, and record any raise with a signed addendum. That one figure follows the worker through gratuity, leave encashment and any dispute.
Domestic worker gratuity — read Article 22 before you budget
This is the figure sponsors most often take on trust, and it is the one where the published guidance is weakest. Article 22 of Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 reads, in full: “On the Minister’s recommendation, the UAE Cabinet shall adopt the rules and regulations for calculation and payment of end of service gratuity for domestic workers.”
That is the whole article. It fixes no number of days, no wage base and no qualifying period. What it does is delegate all three to a Cabinet instrument.
| Question | What the Decree-Law says |
|---|---|
| How many days per year of service? | Not stated — delegated to the Cabinet by Article 22 |
| Which wage base? | Not stated in Article 22 |
| Minimum qualifying service? | Not stated in Article 22 |
| When is the settlement due? | Within 10 days of contract expiry, under Article 19(9) |
| Is unused leave separate? | Yes — encashed on the last remuneration received, Article 10(5) |
| Does the old law still supply the figure? | Article 31(1) repealed Law 10 of 2017; Article 31(2) keeps earlier decisions in force only until substitutes are promulgated |
The figure quoted almost everywhere online is 14 days of pay per year of service, and it originates in the 2017 law that Article 31 repealed. We could not confirm from a primary government source, in this review, that a current Cabinet instrument restates it. So the honest instruction is: budget for a gratuity, write the agreed calculation basis into the MoHRE contract so it is not argued about later, and confirm the operative rule with MoHRE or your Tadbeer centre before you make the final payment. Our gratuity calculator and formula guide sets out the general private-sector workings under Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021, which are on a different statutory footing.
One thing Article 22 does not change: whatever the gratuity turns out to be, it is paid inside the 10-day window in Article 19(9), alongside unpaid wages and encashed annual leave. The Tadbeer centre, where engaged, typically processes the calculation and settlement on behalf of the sponsor family.
Leave: 30 annual, 30 sick, one weekly rest day
Full-time domestic workers are entitled to:
- 30 calendar days of paid annual leave per year for workers who have completed one year of service, accruing on a pro-rata basis through the first year.
- 30 days of sick leave per year: 15 days at full pay and 15 days at half pay, supported by a medical certificate.
- One paid weekly rest day, typically Friday but the contract may specify an alternative.
- Beyond annual and sick leave, any further leave (such as compassionate or religious leave) is set by the employment contract and current MoHRE rules rather than a fixed federal entitlement — agree it in writing before it is needed.
- Pregnancy / maternity leave in line with the federal framework where applicable.
Annual leave can be taken in the worker’s home country with the return air ticket funded by the sponsor (or at intervals of two years, depending on the contract). Unused annual leave on departure is encashed at the daily rate of basic wage.
A common sponsor error: treating “available 24/7” as the normal expectation. The federal law requires the weekly rest day and the annual leave. Sponsors cannot contract out of these entitlements, even by mutual agreement.
Domestic worker annual leave in the UAE, in practice
Domestic worker annual leave in the UAE is 30 calendar days a year once the worker has completed twelve months of service, accruing on a pro-rata basis through the first year. The entitlement itself is settled. Where sponsors trip up is the practical side: scheduling the leave and paying it out correctly.
Two points come up again and again. First, many domestic workers prefer to take their annual leave in one block so they can travel home, which lines up with the return air ticket the sponsor funds every two years. Agreeing the timing in advance, in writing, avoids the awkward stand-off where the household needs cover and the worker wants to fly. Second, any leave the worker has not taken by the time they leave is not lost. It is encashed at the daily rate of basic salary and added to the final settlement, alongside gratuity, unpaid wages and the air ticket.
Keep a plain leave register: days accrued, days taken, running balance. It costs nothing to maintain and it is the first document MoHRE or a Tadbeer centre asks for if the leave figure is ever questioned. For the accrual mechanics and payroll treatment in full, see our annual leave accrual guide.
What the sponsor owes beyond the salary
Article 11 of Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 is a numbered list of employer obligations, and it is worth reading against your own arrangement line by line.
| Article 11 clause | Obligation |
|---|---|
| 1 | Provide all facilities the domestic worker needs to perform their duties effectively |
| 2 | Prepare appropriate accommodation for the domestic worker |
| 3 | Provide meals and clothing necessary for the duties, for full-time workers unless otherwise agreed |
| 4 | Pay remuneration on time under the contract, the Decree-Law and MoHRE decisions |
| 5 | Bear the costs of medical care under the state health system, or provide appropriate health insurance |
| 6 | Treat the worker with respect and courtesy, and maintain their dignity and safety |
| 7 | Not employ the worker for any other person outside the Implementing Regulation |
| 8 | Not hire a worker who does not hold a valid licence to work |
| 9 | Provide work-injury and occupational-disease compensation under Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021 |
| 10 | Not assign duties different from the nature of the work without the worker’s explicit consent |
| 11 | Allow the domestic worker to retain all their official documents |
| 12 | On death in service, pay the heirs the month’s wages plus other entitlements due |
| 13 | Charge the worker no cost, directly or indirectly, outside the law and the approved contract |
| 15 | Bear the cost of repatriating the domestic worker to their country of origin |
None of these can be deducted from the worker’s wage. Article 11(13) makes that explicit, and Article 16 separately limits what may come out of pay at all: debts under a court judgment are capped at a quarter of the pay, and damage the worker caused to tools, machines, equipment or products is also capped at a quarter, and needs either the worker’s consent or MoHRE’s approval if the worker refuses.
Note how much narrower that is than the general labour law. Article 25 of Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021 runs to eight permitted deduction categories with an aggregate ceiling of 50%. The domestic workers regime allows two, each capped at a quarter.
When MoHRE knocks
Article 24 of the Decree-Law gives MoHRE inspectors statutory powers, and Article 25 leaves the schedule of violations and administrative penalties to the Implementing Regulation. What that means in practice is that the file you keep is the file you are judged on.
| Document | Which obligation it evidences |
|---|---|
| Employment contract on the MoHRE template, signed by both parties | Article 7 |
| Wage payment records — bank statements or Tadbeer confirmations | Article 15(1), and the written receipt required by Article 15(2) |
| Visa and residency documentation, passport copy, Emirates ID | Article 11(8), that the domestic worker holds a valid licence to work |
| Medical insurance policy or evidence of medical costs borne | Article 11(5) |
| Air ticket booking confirmations for home leave | Article 10(4) |
| Leave register showing annual leave accrued, taken and remaining | Article 10(1) and 10(5) |
| Sick leave records with the approved medical reports | Article 10(6) |
| Weekly rest day and daily rest records for live-in domestic workers | Article 9 |
| Record of the settlement paid and the date it was paid | Article 19(9), the 10-day window |
For Tadbeer-engaged workers, the centre keeps most of this documentation. For direct-sponsor families, the sponsor is responsible. Absence of any document typically goes against the sponsor in a dispute or inspection.
The 2022 Domestic Workers Law is not optional. It applies to every UAE family employing a housemaid, driver, nanny or similar domestic worker, with the same enforcement framework MoHRE applies to private-sector employment. The compliance cost is modest. The non-compliance cost (wrongful-dismissal claims, gratuity disputes, MoHRE penalties) is not.
Termination and the 10-day settlement window
A domestic worker dismissed without notice and for reasons not amounting to gross misconduct is entitled to:
- Pay in lieu of notice for the notice period set in the contract, where notice was not served.
- End-of-service gratuity on the basis recorded in the MoHRE contract, confirmed against the current Cabinet rules.
- Encashment of unused annual leave at the daily rate of basic wage.
- Return air ticket to the home country.
- Unpaid wages up to the dismissal date.
The settlement must be paid within 10 days of the end of employment. Failure to settle triggers MoHRE-mediated dispute resolution and potential penalties for the sponsor.
The sponsor’s contractual right to terminate for gross misconduct (theft, serious dishonesty, violence) is preserved under the federal law. The burden of proof sits with the sponsor and disputed terminations typically resolve in the worker’s favour absent clear evidence.
Free zone and mainland employers
Tadbeer centres themselves are licensed MoHRE-regulated entities operating on the mainland or in specific free zones authorised for domestic-worker services. Businesses considering operating in this space should:
- Engage a licensed Tadbeer consultant for the licensing pathway.
- Plan for capital requirements, premises requirements and personnel licensing.
- Set up payroll, WPS-extension submission, gratuity provisioning and dispute-resolution processes.
- Implement bookkeeping and management reporting that can carry the worker population a centre reaches at maturity, which is an order of magnitude above a single household.
Velmont Crest’s UAE accounting specialists provide accounting, payroll and management reporting for Tadbeer centres and similar businesses operating domestic-worker employment at scale. The standard engagement covers monthly bookkeeping, payroll processing for the worker population, WPS-extension submission support, gratuity and leave-accrual tracking and quarterly management reporting.
How Velmont Crest helps
Velmont Crest’s UAE accounting specialists provide outsourced payroll processing and accounting for Tadbeer centres and businesses operating registered domestic-worker employment arrangements at scale. The standard engagement covers monthly payroll processing, WPS-extension submission support, gratuity and leave-accrual tracking, payslip generation, integration with the client’s accounting software (Xero, Zoho, QuickBooks) and quarterly management reporting.
We coordinate with the client’s PRO for visa-related work and with the client’s HR adviser on compliance strategy where requested. Get a quote for the scope you actually need.
We do not provide direct sponsorship advice for individual families employing one or two domestic workers — for that, engage a licensed Tadbeer centre. We are not a MoHRE-licensed PRO or visa-services agency.
If you sponsor a domestic worker, do this now
Domestic-worker employment in the UAE is now a formal framework with statutory rights and obligations on both sides. The 2022 Domestic Workers Law extends MoHRE-equivalent protections to housemaids, drivers, nannies and 16 other categories of household worker, with a 10-day wage deadline in Article 15, annual and sick leave entitlements in Article 10, and the sponsor obligations in Article 11 for accommodation, meals, medical care and repatriation.
Three actions clean up most of the exposure:
- Switch from cash to bank-transfer wage payment for direct-sponsor employment, or engage a Tadbeer centre for managed employment.
- Document the employment with the MoHRE-prescribed contract, medical-insurance enrolment, leave-balance register and gratuity provision.
- Plan for the end. The 10-day final-settlement window includes severance, gratuity, leave encashment and air ticket. Underfunding any of these creates dispute exposure.
For deeper coverage of related payroll topics, see our payroll outsourcing UAE buyer guide, our gratuity calculator and formula guide for the private-sector workings under Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021, our annual leave accrual and encashment guide, our MoHRE payroll compliance checklist and our accounting and bookkeeping service page.
Disclaimer: Velmont Crest is a DED-licensed accounting and advisory firm. We provide outsourced payroll processing, WPS submission support, gratuity and leave-accrual tracking and supporting bookkeeping for UAE businesses including Tadbeer centres. We are not a Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE)-licensed PRO, a Tadbeer service centre or a visa-services agency. We are not a Federal Tax Authority registered tax agent. Fees, regulatory requirements, Tadbeer rules and domestic-worker employment law change — verify the current position with the relevant authority and take advice from a licensed professional for matters specific to your circumstances.
References
Frequently asked questions
- Who counts as a domestic worker in the UAE?
- Article 3 of [Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022](https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law) does not list the occupations itself — it applies to the occupations set out in the Implementing Regulation, and gives the Minister power to amend that list as the market changes. There are 19 of them: housemaid, sailor, guard, shepherd, jockey, tamer, falcon care-taker, worker, housekeeper, cook, nanny or babysitter, farm worker or grower, gardener, personal trainer or coach, private tutor, home nurse, personal assistant, private agricultural engineer, and personal or family driver. It covers full-time live-in and live-out workers sponsored either by an individual UAE national or resident, or by a business running a Tadbeer service centre.
- What is Tadbeer and how does it relate to domestic workers?
- [Tadbeer service centres](https://www.mohre.gov.ae/en/services/tadbeer.aspx) are MoHRE-licensed businesses that recruit, place, manage and pay domestic workers on behalf of UAE families. Think of them as the regulated replacement for the old informal agency model. They issue contracts on the MoHRE template, run WPS-equivalent wage payments and route any dispute through MoHRE channels. You can use one in two ways: sponsor the worker yourself with the centre's help, or let the centre be the legal employer and place the worker with you.
- Is there a domestic workers payroll app in the UAE?
- Not as a single official product. The UAE does not publish one consumer app that runs household payroll end to end, and any third-party app you find is a private tool rather than a MoHRE channel. What is regulated is the payment route: under the WPS extension the wage must reach the worker through a bank transfer to an account in their own name, a salary card, or a Central Bank-approved institution or exchange house. Where a Tadbeer centre is the legal employer, its own WPS-equivalent platform is effectively the payroll app — you access it through the centre. For a family sponsoring directly, a scheduled bank transfer plus kept statements does the job. Businesses running domestic workers at scale use ordinary payroll software for gratuity and leave accrual.
- Is WPS mandatory for domestic workers in the UAE?
- For five professions it has been mandatory since 1 April 2023. Ministerial Resolution 675 of 2022 opened voluntary WPS registration for domestic workers on 1 January 2023 and then made registration and payment through the system compulsory for the private agricultural engineer, private messenger, home care provider, private tutor and private trainer. For the remaining occupations the resolution sets a compliance expectation rather than compulsory registration. If you sponsor directly, you pay by bank transfer into the worker's UAE account, or through an approved channel, and keep the monthly records. Either way, undocumented cash is no longer the safe default: a wage dispute is decided on the payment records.
- How is gratuity calculated for a domestic worker in the UAE?
- Carefully, and not from the Decree-Law. Article 22 of [Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022](https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law) says only that the Cabinet shall adopt the rules for calculating and paying end-of-service gratuity for domestic workers, on the Minister's recommendation. It fixes no number. Article 31 repealed Law 10 of 2017, which is where the widely quoted 14-days-per-year figure originated, and Article 31(2) keeps earlier decisions in force only until substitutes are issued. We could not confirm a current Cabinet instrument restating that figure from a primary source, so treat any number you read as needing confirmation with MoHRE or your Tadbeer centre before you settle.
- How much annual leave does a UAE domestic worker get?
- 30 calendar days of paid annual leave a year for full-time workers under [Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022](https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law), the same as the federal standard for other employees. On top of that: one paid weekly rest day, 30 days of sick leave split 15 full pay and 15 half pay, and a daily rest period of at least 12 hours. Anything left unused when they leave gets paid out at the daily basic-wage rate.
- What does a sponsor owe a UAE domestic worker?
- More than the salary. Article 11 of [Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022](https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law) lists the employer's obligations: the facilities needed to do the job, appropriate accommodation, meals and clothing for full-time workers, timely payment, the costs of medical care or appropriate health insurance, respectful treatment, work-injury compensation under Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021, letting the worker keep their official documents, and repatriation costs. Article 11(13) forbids charging the worker any cost, directly or indirectly. Article 10(4) adds the return ticket home once every two years where leave is spent in the home country.
- Can a UAE family sponsor a housemaid directly without Tadbeer?
- Yes, direct sponsorship by a UAE national or resident family is allowed. In practice though, most of it now runs through Tadbeer centres anyway, because that standardises the contract, formalises wage payment and gives you a dispute channel. A centre charges a service fee and in return takes the admin off your plate — contract drafting, WPS submission, leave tracking, settlement calculation — and sits between you and any dispute. You can go without one; you will just carry more of the compliance work yourself. Fees vary by centre and by whether the centre or the family is the legal employer, so get the quote in writing before you commit.
- How do you sponsor a maid visa in Dubai?
- The practical route runs through a MoHRE-licensed Tadbeer centre, which handles recruitment, the MoHRE contract and the GDRFA visa file. Either the family becomes the legal sponsor with Tadbeer administering the paperwork, or the Tadbeer centre sponsors the worker and places her with the household on a service contract. Sponsors have to meet an income condition and provide suitable accommodation, and the requirements for a maid visa in Dubai also include medical testing, Emirates ID registration and health insurance. Fees and the income threshold are revised periodically, so confirm the current figures with GDRFA or the Tadbeer centre rather than working from an old quote.
- When does a domestic worker's visa need renewing?
- A maid visa renewal is due before the residence permit expires, and the validity period is set by the immigration authority rather than by the employment contract, so the two dates rarely line up. Late renewal attracts overstay fines that fall on the sponsor. The renewal file typically needs the current passport, the existing residence permit, a renewed medical fitness certificate, valid health insurance and the renewed employment contract. Because both the validity period and the document list are updated from time to time, confirm the current requirements with GDRFA or your Tadbeer centre. Diary the renewal at least a month ahead — medical testing and insurance renewal both take time.
- What happens if a UAE domestic worker is dismissed without notice?
- Article 20(1) of [Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022](https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law) lets either party terminate unilaterally where the other fails to meet its Article 11 or Article 12 obligations. Where the termination is for reasons not attributable to the worker, Article 20(2) makes the employer liable for the worker's due compensation plus the cost of repatriating them home. Article 19(9) sets the clock: compensation is paid within 10 days of the contract expiry date. Unused annual leave is encashed on the last remuneration under Article 10(5). Where a Tadbeer centre is engaged, it usually handles the whole settlement for the family.
- Are medical insurance and air tickets mandatory for UAE domestic workers?
- Both are. Article 11(5) of [Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022](https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law) requires the employer to bear the cost of the worker's medical care under the state health system, or alternatively to provide appropriate health insurance under the emirate's health rules — the [DHA](https://www.dha.gov.ae/) framework in Dubai, [DOH](https://doh.gov.ae/) in Abu Dhabi. Article 10(4) makes the employer bear the cost of the return ticket once every two years where the worker spends annual leave in their home country, and Article 11(15) puts repatriation costs on the employer at the end. Article 11(13) closes the obvious loophole: no cost may be charged to the worker directly or indirectly.
- Can Velmont Crest help businesses with domestic-worker payroll compliance?
- Yes, where it's a business, a Tadbeer centre or another registered domestic-worker employment arrangement. [Velmont Crest's UAE accounting specialists](/) handle outsourced payroll, WPS-extension submission support, gratuity and leave-accrual tracking and the supporting bookkeeping for employers running this at scale. What we don't do is advise individual families sponsoring one or two workers, that's a job for a licensed Tadbeer centre. We're also not a MoHRE-licensed PRO, so any visa work goes through the client's own agent.
Filed under: domestic worker uae, housemaid uae, tadbeer, wps extension, mohre domestic worker, federal decree law 9 of 2022
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