Wage Protection System for Domestic Workers

Wage Protection System or WPS for domestic workers in the U.A.E. is being rolled out gradually.

At present, WPS applies to 5 out of 19 categories of domestic workers, which are: 1) Private agricultural engineers, 2) Private tutors, 3) Personal trainers, 4) Home nurses and 5) Personal assistants.

The objective of the Wage Protection System is to ensure that salaries for these categories of domestic workers are paid through the WPS.

And paid timely, on the 1st day of the month.

Salaries are considered late, if they are paid 1 month after the due date.

Employers are deemed in default if they pay less than 80% of the domestic worker’s salary through the WPS.

If only 75% to 79% of the domestic workers’ salary is being paid, employers are required to justify the deductions.

Employers, who fail to pay their domestic workers’ salary for more than 2 months, will have their files suspended, until the salary is paid.

This, in turn, will prevent them from recruiting any additional workers.

The deadline to register and pay domestic workers salaries, through the WPS is April 1, 2023.

After that, a fine of AED 100, per domestic worker, will apply.

Notably, the WPS requirement applies to only those domestic workers, who have been employed for more than 30 days.

The overseeing authority to ensure that WPS is implemented is MOHRE.

This is in line with the latest Cabinet Resolution №675 of 2022 on Payment of Some Domestic Workers’ Salaries through the Wage Protection System.

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