What happens if a UAE company pays salaries late?
MOHRE escalates on a fixed timetable. Under Resolution 340 of 2026, alerts start on the second day after the due date, new work permits are suspended on the fifth, repeat offenders are fined and downgraded on the eleventh, disputes are registered for larger employers on the sixteenth, and travel bans and prosecution can follow on the twenty-first.
The timetable in Annex 1
From the due date: electronic monitoring of every establishment. From day 2: notifications and alerts. Day 5: new work permits suspended. Day 11: the fine under Cabinet Resolution 21 of 2020 and reclassification to the third category, for a repeat within six months. Day 16: automatic labour dispute registration and permit suspension for establishments with 25 or more workers. Day 21: an executive instrument for wages or a collective dispute, precautionary attachment, a travel ban on the person in charge, and referral to prosecution for repeat cases over 50 workers.
Construction is named specifically
Days 16 and 21 also apply when establishments owned by the same employer together leave 25, or 50, workers unpaid, if their activity is construction, transport and storage, security, cleaning or recruitment. A contractor with several small companies cannot avoid the thresholds by splitting the workforce.
How SupaJack Construct helps
Payroll runs produce the bank SIF file and keep a record of each batch and its payment, so the finance team can see which run is unpaid before the 1st rather than after the alerts start.
Related tools and guides
See payroll and WPS in SupaJack Construct, the WPS SIF file checker, the answer on what a WPS SIF file is, the UAE labour law guide for contractors, the final settlement calculator, the unpaid leave deduction calculator, the answer on salary deduction limits and the meaning of WPS.
Worked example
A contractor with 60 workers pays October wages on 18 November, not 1 November. By then new work permits were suspended on day 5, and on day 16 MOHRE could register disputes for the workers. Had it reached day 21, an executive instrument and a travel ban on the person in charge were possible.
Questions people ask
When do work permits stop?
On the fifth day after the due date.
Are construction groups treated differently?
Yes. Unpaid workers across companies with the same owner are added together for construction.
Is there a fine?
Yes, on day 11 for a repeat within six months, under Cabinet Resolution 21 of 2020.