Late salary penalties in the UAE: One late payroll,
day by day from the first.

When does a UAE salary count as late?

Under Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, wages for a month are due on the first day of the next Gregorian month, paid through the Wage Protection System. The u.ae page says employers must transfer at least 85 per cent of the total wages due on time, where lawful deductions apply.

The 85 per cent is a test on the total. Some payroll commentary, Darwinbox's for one, reads it per employee as well, with each person receiving at least 85 per cent of their own wage. The ministry's site did not load when we checked, so we could not settle this from the Resolution's own text. Check each employee's transfer as well as the total.

Reaching 85 per cent of the total does not settle what those employees are owed. Article 22 requires wages to be paid on their due dates, so anyone in that AED 50,000 can still complain to MOHRE.

The u.ae summary does not move the due date for a weekend. 1 November 2026 is a Sunday, so ask your bank about its cut-off well before.

What happens on each day after the due date?

Dates below are for October 2026 wages, counting 2 November as the first day after the due date. Each step runs until payment is proven or the next step is taken.

The portal lists day 21 as one step with those three target groups. Its wording on 50 workers varies: the action column says "exceeds fifty" for the Public Prosecution notice, the target column says "fifty or more", and the enforcement order is written for establishments under fifty. If your headcount is close to 50, ask MOHRE how it applies.

How much is the fine, and what is the Third Category?

The resolution points to Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020 for the administrative fine, and the u.ae page does not give the amount. We could not open that resolution, so we leave the figure out here. Ask MOHRE if you need it. The fine applies only to a repeat violation within six months.

The u.ae table names Ministerial Resolution No. 209 of 2022 for the move into the Third Category, which we could not open. The categories themselves are in Cabinet Resolution No. 18 of 2022, under which establishments are sorted into three. An establishment that the ministry has found in breach of the labour law can be placed in the third. The resolution also lets MOHRE move an establishment between categories once it meets the criteria.

The law also has general penalties. Article 63 sets a fine of AED 5,000 to AED 1,000,000 for breaching any provision without a penalty of its own, and Article 62 multiplies a fine by the number of workers affected, up to AED 10 million. We found no official text applying these to one late payroll, so don't read them as a tariff.

Who is outside the WPS check?

• Workers whose wage complaint has gone to the courts
• Workers with a 'work abandonment' report against them
• Workers held by order of an authority, during that time, with MOHRE notified and without affecting what they are owed
• Workers on unpaid leave, if the supporting documents are submitted to MOHRE
• Seafarers on vessels, on the establishment's request and under the ministry's decision
• Foreign workers of foreign establishments or branches paid outside the UAE, on request and with their approval
• Mission work permits of three months or less
• As employers: UAE nationals owning fishing boats or public taxis, banks and financial institutions, and houses of worship

Being outside the check does not remove the wage itself. Keep the documents, because a missing form can leave an excluded worker looking unpaid.

What can an employee do about an unpaid salary?

• Register a salary complaint with MOHRE. The labour claims and advice line is 80084
• On a claim of up to AED 50,000, MOHRE decides if it isn't settled, and the decision can be enforced. Either side has 15 working days to take it to the Court of First Instance (Article 54)
• On a larger claim, MOHRE refers it to court, and an employee's claim of up to AED 100,000 is free of court fees (Article 55)
• Where the dispute has stopped the wages, MOHRE can make the employer pay for up to two months while it runs (Article 54)
• Leave without notice, keeping end-of-service rights, after telling MOHRE 14 working days ahead, if the employer doesn't fix the breach (Article 45)
• Bring a case up to two years after the employment ends (Article 54). The u.ae disputes page still says one year, citing Article 10; in the current law that one-year limit sits in the non-compete clause, and Article 54 has the two years

Money owed to workers also ranks high if the business fails: Article 65 gives it priority over the employer's funds, after amounts due to the public treasury and court-ordered alimony.

Does the timetable cover a late final settlement?

The u.ae table describes monthly wages through WPS and does not set a separate timetable for leavers. A final settlement has its own deadline, 14 days from the end of the contract (Article 53), and a late one usually comes back as an Article 54 complaint.

The two financial free zones write daily penalties into their laws. Under DIFC's Article 19, a day's wage for each day late, where the unpaid sum is over a week's wage. Under ADGM's section 14, the same daily penalty after 21 days, capped at six months' daily wage and open to a court reducing it. See the DIFC and ADGM guide.

How do you keep a payroll off this timetable?

• Move the payroll close so the bank has the file several working days before the first
• Check the 85 per cent figure on the bank's confirmation, for each employee's transfer as well as the total, and treat what is left as still owed
• Handle returned and failed transfers the same day, since they can pull the total below the line
• File the documents for unpaid leave and other exclusions when they arise
• Keep the salary file tied to the approved run, so a rejection can be fixed and resent quickly
• If you know a payment will be late, keep the record of why and when it will reach each employee, and speak to MOHRE early