HRMS software for Sharjah
and the northern emirates.
HR and payroll for companies in Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah: WPS files per establishment, gratuity at exit, the health cover employers have owed since January 2025, and attendance that works at the site gate.
What it does for northern-emirates employers
- MOHRE WPS SIF Files
- Gratuity Under Decree-Law 33
- Medical Cover Tracking
- Geofenced Site Check-In
- Biometric Terminals
- Overtime at 125% and 150%
- Visa Steps and Expiry
- Arabic Payslips
One law, five emirates.
North of Dubai the rules are federal almost everywhere. What changed most recently is who pays for health cover.
| The rule | Where it comes from | |
|---|---|---|
| Employment law | The federal labour law, on the mainland and in the free zones (SAIF Zone, Hamriyah, Ajman Free Zone, RAKEZ and others) | Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 |
| Work permit | MOHRE on the mainland, the zone authority in a free zone | MOHRE or the free zone |
| Residence visa | Issued by ICP in all five emirates | ICP |
| Health insurance | Employer-paid cover for every private-sector employee, required to issue or renew residence; the basic package is AED 320 a year for ages 1 to 64 | Federal rule in force since 1 January 2025 |
| Wage protection | Salaries through WPS, due by the 1st of the next month | Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 |
| Midday break | No outdoor work in direct sun from 12:30 to 3 pm, 15 June to 15 September | Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 |
| Weekend | Each company chooses; Sharjah's four-day week applies to government only | The company's contract and policy |
Employing people in the north, briefly.
Health cover became the employer's in 2025
Until 2025 Dubai and Abu Dhabi were the only emirates where employers had to insure their staff. Since 1 January 2025 the same is true in Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah. A residence visa is not issued or renewed without cover, and the cheapest compliant option is a basic package of AED 320 a year for anyone aged 1 to 64, with co-payments capped per visit and per year. Employees whose work permits were issued before 1 January 2024 and are still valid need cover when their residence permit next comes up for renewal, which means the obligation is still arriving, one renewal date at a time.
Sites, heat and the midday break
Sharjah, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah have large industrial areas, and for the construction, manufacturing and logistics companies in them HR runs on site attendance rather than office hours. From 15 June to 15 September no one may work outdoors in direct sun between 12:30 and 3 pm. A roster has to leave that window out from the start.
Overtime on these sites is where payroll errors accumulate. The law allows two hours of overtime a day, caps total working hours at 144 in any three weeks, and pays at least a quarter more on basic pay, or half more for hours between 10 pm and 4 am.
Sharjah's four-day week is the government's
Sharjah's government works Monday to Thursday, which leads to a recurring question from staff in the private sector. The four-day week does not apply to private companies. The law requires at least one paid rest day a week and leaves the choice of days to the employer, so a company in Sharjah can keep a Saturday and Sunday weekend, a Friday, or a rotation by shift.
Emirati staff: GPSSA, or the Sharjah fund
Emiratis are covered by a pension fund rather than by gratuity, and for most private-sector nationals that is the federal fund, GPSSA. Sharjah also has its own, the Sharjah Social Security Fund (SSSF). Its law sets 5 per cent from the insured person and 15 from the employer. A private company headquartered in the emirate joins it by choice. The fund says it is open to Emirati citizens, and children of Emirati mothers, holding Sharjah registration. Where a company has not joined, its Emirati staff stay on GPSSA.
Salaries are due on the 1st
Since 1 June 2026 a month's wages have to be paid through WPS by the first day of the next month, with no grace period. For a contractor whose attendance closes on the 25th, that leaves a few days to approve overtime, run payroll and send the file.
What DenwaysHR does in the northern emirates.
The work above that a system can carry, done from the employee record, from the site gate to the WPS file.
Attendance at the gate, not the desk
Each site gets a geofence drawn on the map, so a check-in from a phone counts only inside it, and biometric terminals on the site network feed the same record.
- Geofenced phone check-in with a geo-tagged selfie
- ZKTeco, eSSL and Hikvision terminals, including on local networks
- Missed punches corrected through the approval chain
- Hours and overtime ready for payroll when attendance locks
Overtime and Ramadan hours, at the statutory rates
Approved overtime is priced from basic pay at the rates the law sets as a floor, and a dated Ramadan rule takes two hours off the working day for the people it covers.
- 1.25 times the hourly rate, and 1.5 times between 10 pm and 4 am
- 1.5 times for hours worked on a rest day or a public holiday
- Your own overtime rule wins wherever it pays more, with daily and monthly caps
- Ramadan rules shorten the day's target and start overtime earlier
Health cover, one renewal at a time
Every employee's policy sits on their record, so the people still without cover, or with cover about to lapse, are a list rather than a surprise at visa renewal.
- Insurer, policy, plan and cover dates for each employee
- Who is covered, who has lapsed and who has no policy at all
- Expiry alerts at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days, then reminders
- Dependants covered recorded on the same policy
A WPS file per establishment, from Sharjah to Fujairah
Each establishment in the account carries its own WPS employer ID, MOHRE establishment ID and bank routing code, and the salary file is built from the approved payroll run for that establishment alone.
- SIF file generated from the approved run, with nothing re-keyed
- A run that mixes two establishments is refused before a file is built
- Missing IBANs and MOHRE person codes named before the file goes out
- Each payment recorded once the upload is confirmed
A northern-emirates final settlement inside the 14 days
When someone leaves, the settlement is worked out line by line from the record: final salary, untaken leave on basic pay, gratuity, notice pay and anything owed back to the company.
- Gratuity at 21 days of basic for each of the first five years and 30 after, capped at two years
- Loan, advance and unreturned-asset recoveries shown as their own lines
- A signable settlement statement in English, Arabic or both
- Paid through its own WPS file once approved
Where DenwaysHR stops in the northern emirates.
What is built in for a northern emirates team, and what stays outside the product.
Built in
- WPS salary files per establishment
- Geofenced and biometric attendance
- Medical cover and expiry alerts on every record
Set up by you
- Shifts that leave out the summer midday break
- Your weekend, branch by branch
- Eid and other moon-sighted holidays, as they are announced
Not built
- A rule that stops outdoor shifts during the midday break by itself
- Buying or renewing insurance: the policy is recorded, not purchased
- SSSF sign-off on every detail: some rules are read from the law, so check them against your registration
- Filing with ICP or MOHRE: your PRO still submits
Questions
Northern emirates questions, answered.
Do we have to insure employees in Sharjah and the northern emirates?
Yes. Since 1 January 2025 private-sector employers in Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah have to provide health cover for their employees, and a residence visa is not issued or renewed without it. The basic package costs AED 320 a year. DenwaysHR records each policy and warns before it lapses; it does not sell insurance.
Does attendance work on construction sites without good internet?
Biometric terminals can sit on the site's local network and are mapped to employees, and phone check-ins are tied to a geofence drawn around the site. Corrections for missed punches go through the approval chain rather than being edited quietly.
Does the private sector get Sharjah's four-day week?
No. The four-day week is for Sharjah's government. Private employers must give at least one paid rest day a week and choose the days themselves. In DenwaysHR the weekend is set for the company and can differ by branch.
Does DenwaysHR support the Sharjah Social Security Fund?
Yes, if your company has joined it. HR can choose SSSF for an Emirati employee at a Sharjah branch. It is offered as an option and never suggested or required, because a private company joins the fund by choice. Payroll takes 5 per cent from the employee and adds 15 from the employer, with a pension line on the payslip and SSSF rows in the monthly schedule. Some details are not yet confirmed with the fund: which contract amounts count, the private-sector maximum (no floor or ceiling is set for now), and how joining and leaving months and unpaid leave are treated. Check them against your SSSF registration.
Can we run branches in several northern emirates?
Yes. Each branch has its own weekend, holidays and managers under one account, and each establishment's WPS file is built separately, so a company in Sharjah with a site in Ras Al Khaimah keeps them apart where it matters.
When do salaries have to be paid now?
By the first day of the following month. Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 took effect on 1 June 2026 and removed the old fifteen-day grace period. The UAE Government portal says employers must transfer at least 85 per cent of the total wages due on time through the Wage Protection System.
Can payslips be issued in Arabic?
Yes. Payslips and settlement statements can be printed in English, in Arabic laid out right to left, in both, or in each employee's own language, and the web app itself has a full Arabic interface.
Sources
- UAE Government portal: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, English text (PDF, not an official translation)
- UAE Government portal: Payment of salaries and wages
- UAE Government portal: Getting a health insurance
- UAE Government portal: Working hours and overtime
- Sharjah Social Security Fund: the Fund's law
- Sharjah Social Security Fund: frequently asked questions
Official pages, read on 2 November 2026. The law is the authority; check it, or ask your adviser, before acting on a figure.
Northern emirates reading
Elsewhere in the UAE
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