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Working in the United Arab Emirates

The basic rules on hours, pay, leave, your passport, and changing jobs — and where to get help when they are broken.

The basics at a glance

These are the minimums in the UAE's Labour Law for people who work for a company. If you work in a household, different rules apply — see Domestic workers.

Working hours
Up to 8 hours a day, or 48 hours a week. Overtime is limited to 2 hours a day.
Overtime
Your pay for those hours plus at least 25% — or plus 50% for work between 10pm and 4am (this higher rate does not apply to shift workers).Overtime is worked out from your basic wage, which can be much lower than your total pay.
Weekly day off
At least one paid day off a week.
Paid leave
30 days a year once you have worked one year. Between 6 and 12 months of work, 2 days for each month.
End-of-service pay
After at least one year: 21 days of basic wage for each of your first 5 years, then 30 days for each year after that — up to a total of 2 years' wages.Resigning does not reduce it.
Fees
Your employer may not charge you recruitment fees.
How you are paid
Most company workers are paid into an account through the Wage Protection System (WPS).
Summer heat
No outdoor work in the sun from 12:30 to 15:00, from 15 June to 15 September.

Your passport is yours

UAE law says an employer may not keep a worker's official documents, including the passport — and may not force a worker to leave the country. Even so, it still happens often, and it is usually dealt with through fines rather than criminal cases.

If your passport has been taken: write down when it happened and who has it, keep a photo or copy of it if you can, and tell the Migrant Workers Office.

Your contract and your pay

Before you left the Philippines, you signed an employment contract approved by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). If your employer gives you a worse contract after you arrive — less pay, a different job, longer hours — that is called contract substitution, and it is illegal under Philippine law. Keep a copy of the contract you signed at home.

If you are a domestic worker: your DMW-approved contract must pay at least US$400 a month. (DMW encourages US$500, but in the Gulf it is not required.) A recruitment agency may not charge you a placement fee.

If you are not being paid, keep a record of every missed payday — the dates and the amounts — and any messages about your pay.

Domestic workers: different rules

If you work in a household, you are covered by the UAE's separate law for domestic workers, not the main Labour Law. The main points:

Rest
At least 12 hours of rest a day, including at least 8 hours in a row.
Weekly day off
One paid day off a week.
Paid leave
30 days of paid leave a year.
Your documents
You have the right to keep your own passport and identity documents.
Recruitment
Only through licensed agencies (Tadbeer centres), and you may not be charged recruitment fees.
How you are paid
For most household jobs, paying through the Wage Protection System is optional — so keep your own record of every payment.

Your deadline is much shorter: a domestic worker has only 3 months after the job ends to bring a claim in court. Get help early.

Changing jobs and leaving the country

You can move to a new employer after giving the notice in your contract (usually 30 to 90 days). There is no automatic ban on working for someone else.

But if you leave your job before your contract ends “without a legitimate reason,” you can be banned from getting a new work permit for one year. Leaving during probation also has notice rules.

You do not need your employer's permission to leave the UAE. A travel ban — for example over a debt or a court case — or an absconding report can still stop you.

⚠ Important warning

Before you leave your employer — read this first

Leaving your employer may be treated as “absconding.” In this country there's an absconding-report risk. It's safer to talk to a person before you leave.

Where complaints go

Start with the Migrant Workers Office (MWO). It is where OFW work cases go — wages, contracts, passports, and abuse — and it can tell you which UAE office applies to you.

On the UAE side, work complaints — including domestic workers' complaints — go to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). MOHRE can decide smaller claims itself; larger ones go to court.

Don't wait. For company workers, a claim must be brought within 2 years after the job ends. For domestic workers, it is only 3 months. Some steps have even shorter limits, so act as early as you can.

In the Philippines, you can also bring a money claim against your recruitment agency, which is responsible together with your employer. That claim must be brought within 3 years, and it usually starts with a conciliation step at the DMW.

Philippine offices in the United Arab Emirates

For a work problem, go to a Migrant Workers Office first. The embassy and consulate handle passports, documents, and concerns that are not about work.

Phone numbers, addresses, and the date we last checked each one are in the Handa app preview — open it and tap Offices.

Open the Handa app preview

What to keep

A copy of your contract, any proof of non-payment, messages with your employer, and a photo of your passport if you have one.

What this guide is based on

Handa's plain-language summary of the sources below. It has not yet been checked by a lawyer.

Last updated 14 September 2026.

Something here out of date or wrong? Tell us at contact@handahelp.org.