Companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will face fines for not paying their employees on time under the new amendments made to the Wages Protection System (WPS).
In the UAE, it is mandatory for employers registered with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) to subscribe to a Wages Protection System and the new amendments specify a series of administrative procedures against establishments that do not pay workers’ salaries on time.
The penalties would depend on the duration of the delay in paying workers’ salaries, the size of the establishment and the number of employees that have not been paid while the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has said that it will not deal with companies that are not registered under the Wages Protection System.
Dr. Abdulrahman Abdulmannan Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, issued a ministerial resolution stating that MoHRE will monitor establishments registered in its database to ensure salaries are paid on time.
Field visits and electronic monitoring will be undertaken and the ministry will issue reminders and notifications to non-compliant establishments and for non compliance work permits of establishments will be suspended.
The ministry will notify the public prosecution against the establishment for legal action.
“All non-compliant establishments, regardless of size, that fail to pay wages four months after the due date will face a suspension on new work permits. If the owner operates other establishments listed with the WPS in the UAE, similar penalties will apply to each of them. This will be done after notifying the affected establishments about the suspension of work permits,” the ministry said.
Repeat of the violation within six months will incur an administrative and the establishment will be downgraded to tier three level under the MoHRE’s classification system.
