United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪
Congratulations on your decision to hire employees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)! With its strategic location at the crossroads of East and West, the UAE is an ideal place for expanding your operations. Plane simplifies the hiring process for you by offering automated tax document collection, payroll, benefits administration, and more, while ensuring compliance and maximum efficiency. Still, hiring in a new country can pose certain challenges, so we’ve put together the following guide on how to navigate the process of hiring in the UAE.
Currency
AED
 Onboarding
2.5 to 4 weeks minimum
Employer Cost
16.5%
Pay Frequency
Monthly
Public Holidays
13
5 Considerations Before Hiring in the UAE
As an employer in the UAE, it is important to have a comprehensive employment contract that outlines the terms and conditions of the employment relationship. The contract should include need-to-know info on compensation, benefits, vacation time, and sick leave policies. Before onboarding a new employee in the UAE, take a moment to consider the following:
Getting Started with Hiring in the UAE
Employment Contract
According to UAE labor law, employers must hire employees on fixed-term contracts. The term may be extended or renewed for a similar or shorter duration, with no cap on the number of times employers can renew these contracts. These contracts automatically renew under the same terms for the same duration, unless the employer and employee agree to modify the terms or duration. The contract must be in Arabic, with a translation attached if the employer is a foreigner.
Payroll Timelines and Dates
Pay Frequency: Employee payroll is monthly, with 12 pay periods per year. Pay is distributed on the last business day of the month.Payroll Change Cutoff Dates: To meet payroll deadlines, any changes must be submitted to support@plane.com by the cutoff date. For the UAE, the payroll change cutoff date is on the last business day of the previous month. For example, changes to June payroll would need to be received no later than May 31, if May 31 is a business day.Plane sends payroll summaries to admins at the end of the second week of the month. After that, charges are automatically debited. Payroll summaries are also available to admins in their Plane accounts. Payday may vary based on country requirements.
Working Hours
Full-time working hours in the UAE consist of eight-hour days, with up to 48-hour workweeks, from Sunday through Thursday. During Ramadan, working hours are shortened to six-hour days. Employees must receive a one-hour break per work day over five hours long, and 24 hours of rest on Fridays. According to UAE labor law, if employees work remotely, the employer must stipulate specific working hours. Employers may ask workers to work overtime, as long as the number of extra hours does not exceed two hours per day. If the worker must work beyond normal working hours, they are entitled to 125% pay for those hours, or 150% pay if the overtime is between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Public Holidays
The UAE observes seven national public holidays, totalling 13 days off:
- New Year's Day
- Eid Al Fitr (four days)
- Arafah DayÂ
- Eid Al Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) (three days)
- Hijri New Year (Islamic New Year)
- Prophet Mohammed’s birthday
- National Day (two days)
Compensation
We recommend using Plane's Remote Compensation Tool to check remote salary data in the UAE by job title.It is common practice to split an employee’s monthly salary into their base salary and housing allowance.Bonuses in the UAE are not mandatory. However, many employers commonly provide bonuses to their employees such as 13th/14th month pay, or Eid bonuses. If the employer chooses to offer bonuses, the terms related to the bonus must be written into the employment contract.
Health Insurance Benefits
The UAE requires all employees to receive employer-sponsored private health insurance that complies with minimum coverage requirements set by the Dubai Health Authority.We offer mandatory health insurance to employees in the UAE through BUPA.
Sick Leave
Employees are entitled to up to 90 days per year of sick leave after the end of their probationary period. Sick leave is paid at full pay for the first 15 days, half pay for the next 30 days, and no pay for the remaining 45 days. The employee must notify their employer about their sickness within three days and submit a medical report on their condition, issued by a medical provider.During probation, employees may request to take sick leave without pay, subject to the employer's approval and based on a medical report issued by a medical provider. Employers may not dismiss employees on sick leave. If an employee uses all 90 days of sick leave and still cannot return to work, the employer may terminate the employee.
Annual Leave
Employees who have completed more than six months of service are entitled to paid annual leave. Annual leave consists of:
- 30 days, if the employee has completed one year of service
- Two days per month, if the employee has completed at least six months of service and less than one year of service
Study Leave
After two years of service with an employer, employees who are studying at one of the UAE’s educational institutions are entitled to 10 days’ paid study leave to sit for examinations.Â
Compassionate Leave
Employees are entitled to paid bereavement leave of:
- five days for the death of a spouse
- three days for the death of a parent, child, sibling, grandchild, or grandparent.
Hajj and Umrah Leave
Employees may be granted leave to perform a pilgrimage to Mecca for Hajj or Umrah. Hajj leave is unpaid, may not exceed 30 days, and is only eligible to be granted once during the employee’s duration of service with a company.UAE labor law does not entitle employees to Umrah leave. It is up to the employer’s discretion whether to grant Umrah leave, and whether to deduct it from the employee’s annual leave or consider it unpaid leave.
Sabbatical Leave
Emiratis are entitled to a paid sabbatical leave to perform national service. All male UAE citizens who are medically fit are required to complete national service, which will either last 11 months for male recruits holding a high school diploma, or three years for those without.
Maternity / Paternity / Parental Leave
Maternity leave: Pregnant employees may take 60 days of maternity leave. 45 of these days will be fully paid, and the remaining 15 will be half-paid leave. Workers may apply for maternity leave up to 30 days before the expected delivery date. Employees may take an additional 45 days of unpaid maternity leave if they have an illness as a result of pregnancy or childbirth that prevents them from returning to work. These leave days may be taken consecutively or intermittently.If the baby is sick or suffers from a disability, the mother may take an additional 30-days' fully-paid leave, which can be extended for another 30 days without pay. Working new mothers are entitled to one or two additional paid breaks, up to an hour long, per day for nursing for six months following the child’s birth.Parental leave: Working parents are entitled to paid parental leave of five days, from the day of a child’s birth to six months after. Both mother and father can apply for parental leave.
Employment / Termination
At Plane, we process involuntary offboarding via Mutual Termination Agreement (MTA) as a common practice that enables an employer to terminate an employee while trying to minimize the risk of litigation and cost. It is a separation agreement including unused leave, notice period, severance, and terms negotiated between the parties in exchange for a waiver where an employee waives their right to challenge a termination as unfair or unlawful. The notice period varies based on the length of employment.It is important to note that Plane often cannot facilitate unilateral terminations or dismissals. These types of termination are a potential source of litigation that can expose employers to increased damages and other costs. Also, the reason for these terminations may not be valid for an employer of record. The notice period varies based on the length of employment.We ask that you give us as much notice as possible and involve us right from the beginning of the process so we can better support and guide you through the process. Involuntary termination can take time to negotiate with the employee to mutually agree and end on good terms. Here you can find additional information on how to terminate an employee.Written notice is required to terminate a contract, with a notice period of 30 to 90 days (stipulated in the contract). During the notice period, employers must give employees one unpaid day off per week to search for alternative employment.Upon termination, the employer must pay the employee:Â
- Accrued, unused annual leave
- End of service gratuity (between 21 to 30 days’ salary per year of service for employees with more than one year of service)
- Payment for their repatriation flight
- Any additional payments, including severance
Hire Calculator
Tell us about your employee.
Enter details about your hire to get an estimated employment cost, including taxes.
Annual cost of employment*
0.00BRL
BRL
| Salary | Taxes (32.65%) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | 0BRL | 0BRL | 0BRL |
| Annual | 0BRL | 0BRL | 0BRL |
*rates for: July 23, 2024
Once you have sorted out the details mentioned above, you can add the employee to the Plane platform. We provide a step-by-step workflow that shows what tasks need to be completed, as well as real-time updates and notifications. This way, you can stay on top of the hiring process at all times. With Plane, you can confidently hire, knowing that you have a powerful platform at your disposal to manage the entire process from start to finish. Here are the instructions for adding a new employee to the platform:
How to hire and onboard an employee
Plane offers a guided process for administrators and managers to hire and onboard their new employees...
Learn moreHiring an employee in a new country can be a complex process, but with the right guidance and resources, it can be a smooth and successful transition. At Plane, we're committed to helping you navigate the process of hiring an employee in the UAE. We'll keep you informed and up-to-date with the latest regulations and employment laws.Best of luck with your new hire, and welcome to the UAE!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to some common questions about hiring employees in the UAE with Plane:
6 Best Practices for Successfully Onboarding Remote Employees
Read More →
4 International Hiring Best Practices: How to Speak Globally
Read More →