Hire employees in
the United Arab Emirates, hassle-free
Hire employees in the United Arab Emirates, hassle-free
With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in the United Arab Emirates. No more worrying about local laws, complex tax systems, or managing international payroll. Deel takes care of everything in 150+ countries.
The average onboarding time frame in the United Arab Emirates is 20 days with Deel.
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Currency
United Arab Emirates Dirham

Capital
Abu Dhabi
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Official Language
Arabic
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Payroll Cycle
Monthly
Hire employees in the United Arab Emirates. No entity needed.
Usually, to hire in the United Arab Emirates, your business needs an entity. That means a local office, an address registered as a subsidiary, and an account with a local bank. All of this, plus navigating regional benefits, payroll, tax, and HR laws, can take months.
the United Arab Emirates also treats contractors differently than full-time employees, so misclassifying a contractor could lead to fines. Deel lets you hire employees in the United Arab Emirates quickly, easily, and compliantly. We even automate tax document collection, payroll, benefits, and more.
All the necessary benefits for the United Arab Emirates
built right in
Deel allows you to provide localized benefits for employees in the United Arab Emirates within minutes. All in one manageable online dashboard.
- Gratuity Payment
- Health Insurance
- Private Health Insurance (ADNIC)
Our quickstart guide to hiring in the United Arab Emirates
Navigate the tabs below to learn everything you need to know about hiring an employee in the United Arab Emirates
Minimum Wage Requirements
Individual Income Tax
Employer Cost
For UAE nationals,
- Social security contributions
- 12.5% nationally
- 15% Abu Dhabi
- GCC nationals, social security ins determined by regulations in the home country
For expatriated in the UAE, the employer cost is dependent on visa requirements.
- Medical Insurance - 0.00 (Paid a year in advance)
- End of Service Benefit Accrual - This is not charged directly to the client but is a provision that they need to be aware of in the case of termination or end of year
- Visa - one-off payment dependent on the employee's skill level
Overtime Pay & Maximum Hours
Standard working hours are 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week. The standard workweek is from Sunday to Thursday. During Ramadan work hours are reduced to 6 hours per day.
Overtime payment is not mandatory and may be included in the salary. Hours outside of standard work hours are considered overtime. Employees can not work more than a maximum of 2 hours of overtime per day or 144 hours in total over a 3 week period. For additional hours, employees are paid:
- 125% of the hourly rate for general overtime
- 150% of the hourly rate for work between 10 pm and 4 am
- 150% of the hourly rate for work on rest days and weekends
Maternity Leave
Paternity Leave
Parental Leave
Sick Leave
Employees are entitled to paid sick leave for up to 90 days. The requirement to grant this leave is that the employee worked at least 3 months for the employer after the probation period has ended. This leave is paid at different rates and by the employer:
Period | Pay | Payer |
---|---|---|
0 - 15 days | 100% of base salary | Employer |
15 - 45 days | 50% | Employer |
45 - 90 days | 0% | N/A |
Termination Requirements
Employers can unilaterally terminate contracts at any time as long as proper legal notice requirements and compensation are followed. Terminations without notice must be for cause.
Compliant terminations include:
- Voluntarily by the employee
- By mutual agreement
- Unilaterally by the employer:
- Without cause providing notice and required compensation
- For cause without notice
- Probation period
- Objective grounds
- Disciplinary dismissal
- Performance due to unsuitability for the job
- By the expiration of the contract
Notice Period
Severance for Employees
Paid Time Off
Public Holidays
The UAE celebrates 7 national holidays for a total of 14 days.
National public holidays include:
- Eid al-Fitr Holiday (5 days)
- Arafat Day
- Eid al-Adha (3 days)
- Islamic New Year
- Prophet Muhammad's Birthday
- Commemoration Day
- National Day (2 days)
Onboarding
Employment Contract Details
Contracts must be in English and can be bilingual. They must be in writing and signed by both parties.
A contract must include:
- Name
- Start date
- Length of the employment
- Job description
- Termination conditions
All employees on a fixed-term contract must be employed on fixed-term employment contracts not exceeding three years, which may be extended for the same period. Employers will have 12 months from Feb. 2, 2022, to transition all their employees onto new contracts.
Probation Period
Hiring in the United Arab Emirates, hassle-free
With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in the United Arab Emirates. No more worrying about local laws, complex tax systems, or managing
international payroll. Deel takes care of everything in 150+ countries.
599 USD
Management fee
9,000
Estimate Employer Cost
*of employee salary
Want to learn the cost of hiring an employee in the United Arab Emirates?
View our Employee Cost CalculatorWe have a 4.9 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot
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"This has by far the singular tool that made my contracting work amazing. It used to be that contract management and payouts was a nightmare — Deel makes everything so easy especially with its Transferwise integration. Everyone gets paid on time and kept happy. I also contacted their support a couple of times for some small questions and they’ve been nothing short of amazing. If you’re a contractor or someone who hires contractors then definitely give Deel a go."
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