Guide · updated 16.08.2026 · 14 min read · Lucent Legal team

Labour Dispute in the UAE: Unpaid Salary, MOHRE Complaints, and Gratuity — 2026

Your salary is late for the second month, your employer keeps stalling on the final settlement, or someone dangled a "we'll cancel your visa" if you complain. You're far from the first, and the UAE runs a channel that genuinely works: the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). This guide walks through how a complaint moves, what MOHRE settles itself versus what a court takes, how gratuity is calculated, and why none of it applies the same way to a company registered in DIFC, ADGM, or certain free zones.

Your Rights Under UAE Labour Law

Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 "On the Regulation of Labour Relations" (in force since 2 February 2022) is the core statute, and it retired the old 1980 law. It also killed off the "limited" versus "unlimited" contract split — every new employment contract is fixed-term now, capped at 3 years and renewable.

Where the law works in your favour: - your salary must move through WPS (Wage Protection System), a government transfer channel that records the payment and its date straight to MOHRE, not merely on your employer's say-so; - once you've served at least a year, ending the job either way earns you gratuity (an end-of-service benefit), and the formula sits further down; - the notice period binds both sides, and a termination lacking valid cause or proper procedure can be ruled "arbitrary," which attaches compensation; - filing a complaint with MOHRE costs nothing, and the law forbids your employer from punishing you for having filed.

From here, take each problem in turn.

Unpaid Salary: First Steps

Your monthly salary has to reach your account by a fixed WPS deadline, and 1 June 2026 tightened that deadline hard. Ministerial Resolution No. 340/2026 now requires WPS salary no later than the 1st of the following month, scrapping the old 15-day buffer that used to let a delay merely register as a violation. So July's salary is due by 1 August, with nothing extra on top.

After that, penalties on the employer step up (in force since 1 June 2026): - day 2 past the deadline — MOHRE issues the employer an official notice; - day 5 — the ministry may freeze the company's new work permits; - day 11 — administrative fines land (usually around AED 1,000 per affected employee, up to AED 20,000), and a repeat within six months drops the company a category; - day 16, for firms of 25+ employees — an automatic labour dispute opens, plus wider permit limits; - day 21, for firms of 50+ employees — possible asset freezes, a travel ban on the person in charge, and referral to the public prosecutor.

Your move, in order: 1. Record the delay with banking-app screenshots and any HR or accounting exchange about the reason. 2. Put a written reminder to your employer — even an email works, since it stamps a date and leaves a trail. 3. If nothing comes back within a few days to a week, or delays are becoming a habit, go to MOHRE without waiting for the problem to fix itself. Unpaid wages only get harder to claw back the longer they stack up against a company that may be running dry.

Filing a MOHRE Complaint Step by Step

Several routes exist, and every one is free for the employee: - The MOHRE app (Google Play / App Store): sign in through UAE Pass or a transaction number and Emirates ID, go Dashboard → Service → Employees → the complaint icon, lay out the issue, choose a complaint type, and submit. - In person at any MOHRE office (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and the other emirates). - The ministry's contact centre (the number on mohre.gov.ae): advice, or a complaint registered by phone.

After you file: 1. Mediation (up to 14 days). MOHRE reaches both sides and tries to land a settlement — a mandatory first step under Federal Decree-Law No. 33/2021. 2. Both sides agree — MOHRE logs the settlement and closes the case. 3. Mediation fails — the next step tracks the amount claimed: - claims up to AED 50,000 let MOHRE issue its own final decision on the merits; - claims over AED 50,000, or a dispute over the ministry's decision, move to labour court, where you normally register the lawsuit within 14 days of MOHRE approving the referral.

MOHRE runs filing as a protected channel: your employer can't fire or otherwise punish you simply for filing. The relationship can still sour in practice, so keep it all in writing.

Track your complaint through the app or website ("My Complaints") — it beats taking HR's word for where things stand.

Gratuity: How It's Calculated

Articles 51–53 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33/2021 govern gratuity (the end-of-service benefit). The rules that matter:

• Eligibility starts at 1 full year of continuous service with the same employer. Below a year, nothing is owed.
• The formula:
• 21 days of basic salary per year within the first 5 years of service;
• 30 days of basic salary per year past 5 years.
• Basic salary is the only base — housing, transport, and other allowances drop out.
• A cap of 2 years' salary applies, no matter how long you stayed.
• Resignation vs. termination. Fixed-term contracts under the 2022 reform generally drop the old "let go" versus "quit" distinction: with a year or more of service, gratuity comes out the same whoever ended it. Still on a pre-reform unlimited contract that was never converted? The old reduced rates for resignation at 1–5 years may still bite, so check your contract's actual date and type instead of trusting general figures online.
• Partial years usually prorate by days worked, and for a contested end date, confirm the exact number with the official MOHRE calculator or a lawyer, since a handful of days shifts the total.

A practical tip: before you argue the figure, lock down your exact start and end dates and the basic salary from your contract (not take-home pay with allowances), then run the formula. Most fights trace back to an employer computing gratuity off take-home pay rather than basic salary. Our full gratuity guide with worked examples carries the math in detail.

Termination and Notice Period

• The statutory notice period floor is usually 30 days, but your own contract sets the real number (30 to 90 days in practice), so read it before leaning on general figures.
• End the contract without serving the full notice, and the party who did it owes compensation in lieu for the unworked days.
• Federal Decree-Law No. 33/2021 broadly permits either party to end the relationship anytime for any reason, as long as notice and the other obligations (gratuity, unpaid sums, and the rest) are settled. That trimmed fights over the "right to terminate," though not over procedure.
• Arbitrary dismissal stands apart. Believe you were fired without valid cause or proper procedure — say, straight after a complaint rather than for cause — and you can file with MOHRE. A finding of arbitrary dismissal by MOHRE or a court can order the employer to pay, with sources citing figures up to 3 months' salary and the amount left to the court's discretion.
• Arbitrary-dismissal compensation stacks on top of your gratuity, unworked notice, and anything else owed, rather than replacing them — these are separate, non-exclusive claims.
• Some grounds let you resign without serving notice — working conditions that endanger your health or safety, or the employer materially changing your job without consent. Support these with evidence and consult a lawyer first, so you don't forfeit compensation you'd otherwise get.

Free Zones — Different Rules

A "free zone" doesn't automatically mean MOHRE — and this is exactly where people trip.

• DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) and ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market) are financial free zones with fully independent jurisdiction. Each carries its own employment law and courts (DIFC Employment Law with its own Employment Tribunal; separate employment regulations and courts at ADGM), built along common-law lines. A contract with a DIFC- or ADGM-registered company usually keeps MOHRE out of your case entirely — your route runs through the DIFC Courts or ADGM, not the mainland labour court.
• Most other free zones (JAFZA, DAFZA, Dubai Silicon Oasis, and the like) still route employment disputes through the standard MOHRE and mainland labour court, whatever their "free zone" label for ownership and tax.
• Practical takeaway: pin down where your employer is actually registered before you file anywhere — DIFC/ADGM, or a regular free zone/mainland setup. That single fact fixes your whole route: not MOHRE but the zone's own court, its own deadlines, its own procedure. When it's murky — the company sits physically in DIFC but your contract reads mainland — get a lawyer to confirm jurisdiction. Guess wrong and you burn time filing with the wrong authority.

Common Mistakes

• Hoping it resolves itself. Unpaid salary rarely does, and silence only makes the timeline harder to prove and the money harder to recover from a company shedding assets.
• Taking HR's verbal promises with nothing on paper. "We'll pay next week," unsigned and undated, means nothing to MOHRE.
• Signing termination paperwork that's backdated or lowballs your salary just to wrap up faster — it directly guts your gratuity, which rides on whatever figure the paperwork records.
• Mixing up a labour ban (no new employer can hire you) with a travel ban — different mechanisms, different authorities; a MOHRE dispute alone won't stop you leaving the country unless an absconding case or another restriction was filed separately.
• Skipping the jurisdiction check (DIFC/ADGM vs. MOHRE) before filing — that mistake can cost you weeks on a complaint to the wrong body.
• Basing gratuity on take-home pay instead of basic salary — it nearly always inflates the number, and the employer will fight it.
• Dragging your feet on the court filing after MOHRE approves the referral — there's a deadline, and a miss can tangle things further.

When You Need a Lawyer

You can run a MOHRE complaint and mediation solo — the process is designed for employees to handle directly. Bring a lawyer in when: - the claim tops AED 50,000 and is plainly court-bound; - the employer contests the gratuity figure, invoking "old rules" or a different take on basic salary; - arbitrary dismissal is in play (fired right after a complaint, say) and you need to prove the link; - your employer sits in DIFC/ADGM and you must sort out which court applies and under what rules; - the employer has gone dark, or the company is winding up, where speed and claim order count.

We don't promise outcomes or timelines — the result rides on the court, the specific evidence, and the employer's stance. A lawyer's value is keeping you from losing time or fumbling procedure, so your real claims (salary, gratuity, notice compensation) land in full and with the right authority.

Topic: UAE Labour Law 2026

This material is for information only and is not legal advice. UAE law changes — a lawyer will assess how it applies to your situation.