Employment rules · 8 min read · Updated October 2026
UAE employment claims: how a claim runs, and the records that answer it
How an employment claim runs on the UAE mainland, from a complaint to the labour ministry to a decision or the court, which records answer each common claim, and what the law asks an employer to keep.
How does an employment claim run in the UAE, and which records answer it?
A claim starts as a complaint to MOHRE, which first tries to settle it. MOHRE decides a claim of AED 50,000 or less itself, and either side can take that decision to court within 15 working days. A larger claim goes to court once 14 days pass without a settlement. No claim is heard more than two years after the employment ends. Records answer most claims: the WPS payments, the contract, attendance and leave, and the gratuity's calculation.
Follow a claim from complaint to decision
This guide describes the mainland, where establishments are registered with MOHRE. Free zones set some rules of their own, and DIFC and ADGM sit outside federal employment law.
A claim under the Labour Law starts at MOHRE, whichever side brings it. It can reach a court only by the route the law sets.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| The complaint | The employee or the employer submits it to MOHRE, through its website or app. MOHRE examines it and tries to settle it between the two sides |
| A claim of AED 50,000 or less | Where no settlement is reached, MOHRE decides the claim itself. It does the same for a dispute over a settlement either side has not kept, whatever its value. Its decision can be enforced as a court judgment can |
| Challenging that decision | Either side can take the dispute to the court of first instance within 15 working days of being told of the decision. The decision is not enforced while the case runs. The court sets a hearing within 3 working days and decides within 30. Its judgment is final |
| A larger claim | Where it is not settled within 14 days, MOHRE refers it to the court. A memo goes with it, setting out the dispute, each side's arguments and MOHRE's recommendation |
| At the court | The court sets a hearing within 3 working days of receiving the claim, and decides it quickly |
A claim taken to court without these steps, or outside their deadlines, is not accepted.
While a dispute runs, MOHRE can require the employer to keep paying a wage the dispute has stopped, for up to two months.
A worker's claim of up to AED 100,000 carries no court fees, at any stage.
Expect a claim for two years after someone leaves
No claim for a right under the Labour Law is heard more than two years after the employment ends. The time runs from the end of the employment, not from the month the claim is about.
Any waiver or settlement that gives up a right the law grants is void. So a release signed on the last day answers a claim only where what was paid matches what the law gives. The records are what show it did.
A claim usually arrives long after the facts it turns on. The month in question may sit years back. The people who approved it may have moved on.
Match each claim to the record that answers it
Most claims turn on a fact the employer already recorded at the time. The question is whether the record can still be found, and whether it agrees with itself.
| The claim | What it turns on | The record that answers it |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid or late wages | Whether each month's wage reached the employee, in full and on time | The WPS record of each payment, the wage in the registered contract, and the basis for every deduction |
| Overtime | The hours worked beyond normal hours, and the rate paid on them | Attendance records, the overtime approved, and the pay for it: basic pay plus at least 25%, or 50% between 10 pm and 4 am except for shift workers |
| Annual leave | The days earned, the days taken and the pay for the days left at the end | Leave requests and their approvals, the running balance, and the leave line in the final settlement |
| The gratuity | The start date, the last basic pay and any time that does not count as service | The contract and its start date, the history of basic pay, the days of unpaid absence, and the calculation itself |
| Notice | Whether notice was given in writing, for the period the contract sets, and paid | The written notice and the date it was received, the contract's notice period, and the pay for any notice not worked |
| Unlawful dismissal | Whether the dismissal was made because of a serious complaint to MOHRE, or a lawsuit, that proved valid | The written reasons for the dismissal, any investigation and warnings, and their dates set against the date of the complaint |
The rules behind each claim sit in our guides to payroll in the UAE and to ending employment in the UAE.
Show what was paid, and for which hours
A wage claim turns on the payment, not the payslip. Each WPS payment shows what reached the employee's account, when, and from which establishment. MOHRE sees the same record.
Keep the basis for each deduction beside the payment. The law allows a deduction only in the cases it lists, within the limits our guide to payroll in the UAE sets out. A loan from the employer is recovered only with the employee's written consent, and without interest.
An overtime claim turns on hours. The premium is worked on basic pay, so the record needs the hours, the basic pay and the rate applied. Hours approved at the time, with the rate paid on them, answer the claim. A total rebuilt afterwards has to be argued for.
Show how the gratuity was worked out
The gratuity is worked out on the last basic pay. Its inputs are the start date, basic pay at the end and any days that do not count as service, such as unpaid absence. A gratuity claim usually turns on one of them.
Take an expatriate from outside the GCC with six years' service. Their contract set basic pay at AED 10,000 a month, and it was raised to AED 11,000 in the final year. A day's basic pay is the month's divided by 30.
| Worked on AED 10,000, the contract's figure | Worked on AED 11,000, the last basic pay | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 days' basic pay for each of the first five years | AED 35,000 | AED 38,500 |
| 30 days' basic pay for each year after | AED 10,000 | AED 11,000 |
| The gratuity | AED 45,000 | AED 49,500 |
The gratuity owed is AED 49,500. Worked on the contract's figure, it falls AED 4,500 short.
Two records settle the claim. The history of basic pay shows the figure at the end. The calculation shows which figure the gratuity was worked on.
Put notice and dismissal in writing
Notice is given in writing, for the period the contract sets: at least 30 days and at most 90. Keep the notice with the date it was received. Notice not given is paid instead, so the record shows which happened.
A dismissal without notice needs a written investigation with the employee first. The decision is in writing, gives its reason and is handed to the employee. Those papers answer a claim that the dismissal needed notice.
A dismissal is unlawful when it was made because the employee filed a serious complaint with MOHRE, or a lawsuit against the employer, that proved valid. The court then sets compensation of up to three months' wage, on top of notice and the gratuity. Our guide to ending employment in the UAE sets it out. What answers such a claim is the dismissal's own record: its written reasons and its dates, set against the date of the complaint.
Keep each file for as long as a claim can come
The Labour Law asks you to keep workers' files and records as MOHRE's rules set. Each worker's file is kept for at least two years after their service ends. A claim can be brought for two years after the employment ends, so the two periods match.
Arabic is the approved language of every record, file and form the Labour Law calls for.
A leaver's file that answers the claims above holds the contract and its renewals, each month's pay with its WPS payment, and the hours, overtime and leave approved. It also holds any warnings and investigations, the notice or the dismissal decision, and the final settlement with its calculation.
Where a claim is still open when the two years end, keep the file until it is decided.
Answer a claim from the record payroll already keeps
A claim asks for years of facts at once: what was paid, for which hours, on which basic pay, and when the leave was taken. Where those facts sit in different systems, the answer has to be rebuilt before it can be given.
On our payroll, each establishment's WPS salary file is built from the approved run. Where your people work in the platform, leave and timesheets are approved and locked before payroll reads them.
We calculate each expatriate's gratuity every month, on the UAE's rule, so the figure is ready when someone leaves. The full calculation history and audit trail behind every figure stays open to you.
Your entity answers the claim, and pays what is owed.
Common questions.
How long does an employee have to bring a claim in the UAE?
Does every employment claim in the UAE go to court?
Does a settlement the employee signed stop a later claim?
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