The UAE Wages Protection System (WPS) is a mandatory payroll compliance framework for all UAE private sector employers. Here is a complete guide to WPS compliance in 2025.
What Is WPS?
WPS (Wages Protection System) is a UAE Central Bank-supervised electronic salary transfer system. It requires all private sector employers registered with MOHRE to pay their employees’ salaries through approved financial institutions (banks, exchange houses) via the WPS network. Purpose: ensures employees receive their full agreed salaries on time. It creates a digital record of every salary payment, enabling MOHRE to detect wage theft, salary delays, and partial payment violations.
WPS Requirements
All employers with 1+ MOHRE-registered employees must use WPS. Salary must be transferred within 14 days of the due date (per the employment contract). If salary is delayed beyond 14 days: MOHRE alerts are triggered. If delayed beyond 30 days: the employer’s ability to hire new staff (work permits) is blocked. If delayed beyond 60 days: the employer faces investigation and potential licence suspension. WPS-approved transfer channels: any UAE-licensed bank, exchange houses (Western Union, Al Ansari Exchange etc.), and fintech WPS operators. Employees must receive their full salary via WPS: deductions (loans, advances) must be pre-authorised and declared on the WPS portal.
WPS for Domestic Workers
Domestic workers (housemaids, drivers, cooks) sponsored under a personal (not company) visa are technically not subject to WPS. However: paying domestic workers by bank transfer is strongly recommended to maintain a payment record, and the new domestic worker law requires employers to pay domestic workers on time. Violating domestic worker wage obligations: MOHRE complaint, potential ban on employing domestic workers.