HR and payroll glossary for the UAE and GCC: Every term a GCC
HR team runs into.
Wage protection, gratuity, comp-off, Iqama, GOSI and the rest, defined by someone who has had to implement them rather than describe them.
Glossary terms
39 of 39 terms
- HRMS (Human Resource Management System) People
Software that holds a company's employee records and runs the processes built on them: attendance, leave, payroll, hiring and reviews. Also written as human resource management software. The point of one is that an event recorded once, such as an approved leave day, updates everything that depends on it.
What an HRMS is- HRIS (Human Resource Information System) People
An older and narrower term than HRMS: a system of record for employee data and the reports drawn from it. Vendors now use HRIS and HRMS almost interchangeably, so ask what the product does with the records it keeps.
What an HRMS is- HCM (Human Capital Management) People
The widest of the three terms. An HCM suite covers what an HRMS does and adds the talent side: recruitment, performance, succession and workforce planning.
Every DenwaysHR feature- WPS (Wage Protection System) Payroll
A government system requiring employers to pay salaries through approved channels so payments can be monitored. Employers submit a file each pay period listing employees and the amounts transferred. The UAE and Qatar use a SIF file; Saudi Arabia uses Mudad.
UAE payroll with the WPS file- SIF file Payroll
The Salary Information File submitted to the wage protection system in the UAE and Qatar. It lists each employee, their identifiers and the amount paid for the period, and is generated from the approved payroll run.
UAE payroll with the WPS file- Mudad Payroll
The Saudi platform through which employers submit wage files for wage protection. It plays the same role there that SIF submission plays in the UAE.
DenwaysHR in Saudi Arabia- End-of-service gratuity Payroll
A lump sum an employer owes an employee when employment ends, earned across their service. The rate and the salary it is calculated on differ by country, and entitlement usually begins after one completed year.
The gratuity calculator- EOSB (End-of-Service Benefit) Payroll
The Saudi term for end-of-service gratuity. It is calculated on the last wage including allowances, and is reduced on resignation depending on length of service.
DenwaysHR in Saudi Arabia- Basic salary Payroll
The core salary figure excluding allowances such as housing and transport. It matters because several statutory calculations, including UAE gratuity and overtime, are based on basic salary rather than the total package.
UAE payroll with the WPS file- Gross vs net pay Payroll
Gross pay is the full amount earned before deductions. Net pay is what reaches the employee's account after deductions such as loan repayments or advances.
- Payroll register Payroll
The record of a completed payroll run showing each employee, their earnings, deductions and net pay. It is what a finance team reconciles against the bank file.
HR reports in DenwaysHR- Full and final settlement Payroll
The closing calculation when someone leaves, bringing together final salary, unused leave, gratuity and any outstanding deductions into one payment.
The employee record in DenwaysHR- Arrears Payroll
Pay owed for a past period that was not included in the run at the time, typically because a salary revision was approved after that month closed. It is detected and paid in a later run.
UAE payroll with the WPS file- FBP (Flexible Benefits Plan) Payroll
A structure letting employees allocate part of their package across configurable benefit components rather than receiving it all as salary.
UAE payroll with the WPS file- Geofencing Attendance
Defining a geographic zone around a workplace so a check-in can be validated against the employee's location. It is how site-based attendance is verified without a supervisor watching a gate.
Attendance in DenwaysHR- Selfie verification Attendance
Capturing a geo-tagged photograph at check-in to confirm who is clocking in. Used for field and remote teams where a shared device would otherwise make buddy punching easy.
Attendance in DenwaysHR- Buddy punching Attendance
One employee clocking in on behalf of another. It is the problem selfie verification and biometric terminals exist to solve.
Attendance in DenwaysHR- Regularization Attendance
The process of correcting an attendance record after the fact, usually a missed punch. The employee raises the request and it moves through the approval chain, leaving a record of who approved it.
Attendance in DenwaysHR- Shift allowance Attendance
Additional pay for working a particular shift pattern, such as nights. Configured as a rule so it is applied consistently rather than calculated by hand.
Attendance in DenwaysHR- Overtime uplift Attendance
The percentage added to the normal hourly rate for hours worked beyond standard hours. The uplift differs for ordinary overtime, night work and rest days.
The overtime calculator- Biometric terminal Attendance
A fingerprint or face recognition device at a workplace entrance that records attendance directly, including devices on a local network with no internet route.
Attendance in DenwaysHR- Comp-off People
Compensatory time off earned for working on a rest day or beyond normal hours, redeemed later like other leave. Tracking it on a ledger is what stops it becoming an informal promise.
Leave management in DenwaysHR- Leave encashment People
Converting unused leave into a cash payment, usually through an approval flow, with the approved amount paid through payroll.
Leave management in DenwaysHR- Leave accrual People
The gradual earning of leave across a period of service rather than a full allowance granted upfront. The first year often accrues differently from later years.
The leave calculator- Probation period People
An initial period during which either side can end employment on shorter terms. Letting it lapse unconfirmed creates a legal problem discovered much later.
Compliance in DenwaysHR- Onboarding checklist People
A configurable list of the tasks a new hire and the business must complete, each with an owner and a due date, so nothing depends on one person remembering.
The employee record in DenwaysHR- Offboarding People
The process when someone leaves: resignation approval, clearance tracking, asset return, exit interview and final settlement.
The employee record in DenwaysHR- Org chart People
The reporting hierarchy of a company. In an HR system it is more than a diagram, because it usually decides who can approve what and who can see whose record.
The employee record in DenwaysHR- ATS (Applicant Tracking System) People
Software for managing hiring: job requisitions, candidate records, a pipeline of stages and interview scheduling, usually with a public careers page attached.
Recruitment in DenwaysHR- Job requisition People
The formal record of an approved open role, which the hiring process runs against. It is what separates a genuinely open position from a manager's intention to hire.
Recruitment in DenwaysHR- Emirates ID Compliance
The UAE national identity card issued to citizens and residents. Employers hold the number on the employee record, where it should be encrypted rather than sitting in a spreadsheet.
DenwaysHR in the UAE- Labour card Compliance
A UAE work permit document linking an employee to their employer. It is one of the identifiers an inspection expects to find on file.
DenwaysHR in the UAE- Iqama Compliance
The Saudi residency permit held by expatriate employees. Its details belong on the employee record with the same protection as other government identifiers.
DenwaysHR in Saudi Arabia- GOSI Compliance
The General Organization for Social Insurance in Saudi Arabia. Contributions depend on how a salary is broken into components, which is why salary structure design matters there.
DenwaysHR in Saudi Arabia- MOHRE Compliance
The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, the authority behind wage protection submission and much of the employment framework employers work within.
DenwaysHR in the UAE- Multi-tenancy Compliance
One software platform serving many customer organizations while keeping each one's data completely separate. Done properly the separation is enforced by the database itself, not only by application code.
How DenwaysHR protects HR data- Audit trail Compliance
A record of sensitive actions showing who acted, what they touched and when. It turns a dispute months later into a lookup rather than an investigation.
How DenwaysHR protects HR data- RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) Compliance
Granting permissions by role rather than to individuals, so what somebody can see and do follows the job they hold rather than a list maintained by hand.
How DenwaysHR protects HR data- Encryption at rest Compliance
Encrypting stored data so it stays unreadable outside the application, protecting fields such as bank details and government identifiers even if the storage layer is reached.
How DenwaysHR protects HR data
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See how DenwaysHR handles HR, attendance and leave across the GCC, and payroll with the WPS file in the UAE.
