When must private-sector salaries be paid in the UAE?
By the first day of each month, for the previous month. Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, in force from 1 June 2026, made the first of the month the single due date for private-sector wages, paid through the Wage Protection System. Any payment after that date counts as late.
What changed in 2026
Resolution 340 replaced Ministerial Resolution No. 598 of 2022 and sets one due date for every establishment registered with MOHRE, which makes late payment visible to the Ministry from the 2nd of the month.
Establishments must also submit the documents and data the Ministry requires to prove payment.
What a contractor should plan for
Payroll has to close before month end: attendance, overtime approvals, leave and deductions must be final in time for the bank or exchange house to move the money by the 1st. Projects that wait for a client payment before running payroll carry the risk, not the workers.
How SupaJack Construct helps
Attendance spans, approved overtime and leave flow into the payroll run, which produces payslips, the journal entry and the SIF file for the bank in one step, so the file can go out before the due date.
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
September 2026 wages for a contractor's 120 workers are due by 1 October 2026. If the transfer leaves on 3 October, the establishment is late from 2 October and the escalation in Resolution 340 starts.
Questions people ask
Does the due date depend on the contract?
Not since 1 June 2026. The 1st of the month applies to all establishments.
Which resolution did 340 replace?
Ministerial Resolution No. 598 of 2022.
Is paying in cash allowed?
Wages must go through WPS or another system the Ministry adopts.