UAE domestic worker law: an employer's checklist

Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 is the main law. It requires you to give your helper a contract, rest, paid leave and suitable accommodation, to cover her medical care, to pay her on time with proof, and to let her keep her documents. MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, issues domestic workers' work permits.

The Decree-Law was signed on 5 September 2022 and replaced Federal Law No. 10 of 2017, so a page that still cites the 2017 law as current is out of date. Its Executive Regulations, which set out more detail, are Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2022, and ministerial resolutions add rules such as those for the Wage Protection System (WPS). MOHRE publishes the Decree-Law in English (opens in a new tab), in a version it describes as a third-party translation.

The Decree-Law covers the domestic occupations listed in its Executive Regulations. MOHRE's employer guide lists nanny/babysitter and personal healthcare provider (home nurse) among the domestic occupations, and the list also covers housemaids, cooks, housekeepers, drivers, gardeners, security guards, farmers and private tutors, among others. The rights in the Domestic Workers Decree-Law are minimums: better terms in a contract or another law prevail, and any term that is worse for the worker is void.

What does UAE law require of a domestic worker's employer?

A contract, pay on time with proof, rest and leave, accommodation, medical care and letting her keep her documents, among others. Here is each duty as it stands in September 2026. Where we have a detailed guide, the duty links to it.

Do you need a written contract with your helper?

Yes. The checklist says it goes on MOHRE's standard form, and the Decree-Law lists what it must contain. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker's contract must state both parties' names, the contract date and start date, the nature and place of the work, the contract's duration, the total pay and how it is paid, the leave, probation and rest periods, and the cases in which it can be ended; the employer must give the worker a copy.

The law adds a language rule. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker's contract must be in Arabic with a translation into a language the worker understands, and if the two versions conflict, the Arabic prevails.

We haven't been able to read the text of MOHRE's standard contract, so we don't describe its clauses here. Our guide to the domestic worker contract goes further.

Probation is the trial period at the start of the job, and the Decree-Law caps it. A domestic worker's probation may not last more than six months from the start of employment. What it means when an agency placed her, including replacements and refunds, is in our guide to probation, replacement and refunds.

What are the rules on your helper's pay?

You agree her salary with her, but the Decree-Law sets when pay is owed and limits what you can deduct. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker's wages are owed from the day the worker enters the UAE or changes status.

The UAE sets no statutory minimum wage for domestic workers, according to the May 2024 summary of UAE rules by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Any floor comes from her home country and applies only to contracts verified through that country's system: see our guide to minimum salaries by nationality.

The Decree-Law also limits deductions from her pay. A court-ordered debt can be deducted from a domestic worker's wage up to a quarter of the wage, and the repair cost of loss or damage the worker caused can be deducted only with the worker's consent, or with MOHRE's approval if the worker refuses, and never more than a quarter of the salary.

As of 28 September 2026, MOHRE's WPS page (opens in a new tab) still showed WPS as optional for all but the five occupations in the checklist. Our WPS guide explains how it works.

Those five have stricter rules. For the domestic occupations where the Wage Protection System is mandatory, Ministerial Resolution No. 675 of 2022 treats wages not paid within one month of the due date as late, and the employer's MOHRE file is suspended if wages are not paid through the system within two months. That month is when the resolution counts pay as late, not extra time to pay: the Decree-Law's deadline in the checklist still applies.

How much rest and leave does a domestic worker get?

A paid weekly day off, daily rest and paid annual leave, as the checklist shows, plus sick leave. The Decree-Law also covers a day off she works. If a domestic worker works on the weekly day off, the employer must give another day off or pay cash instead.

We found no maximum working hours or overtime rate in the Decree-Law, so agree her hours with her and keep to the daily rest rule. Our guide to her day off and working hours goes into the detail.

Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker is entitled to 30 days' sick leave for each year of service, taken at once or in parts, with a medical report from an approved health authority, and the first 15 days are on full pay. MOHRE's own texts disagree about pay for the remaining days, so we don't quote it. Ask MOHRE on 600 590000 before you work out her pay for them.

Do you have to give your helper health insurance?

Yes, though the rules differ by emirate. As of September 2026:

• Dubai. You pay, under Dubai's health insurance law. In Dubai, employers must enrol their employees in health insurance, and sponsors must enrol the people they sponsor who have no employer cover; employers and sponsors pay the cost, may not charge it to the insured person, and must produce the policy when a residence permit is issued or renewed.
• The northern emirates. In Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, health insurance for domestic workers has been mandatory since 1 January 2025, paid by the employer; the basic package costs AED 320 a year, according to MOHRE's health insurance scheme page.
• Abu Dhabi. The Decree-Law's federal rule applies. In Abu Dhabi, as in every emirate, the employer must pay for a domestic worker's medical care under the UAE health system or provide health insurance under the applicable health laws. MOHRE's renewal service says that in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, employers are required to provide adequate medical insurance to their domestic workers.

MOHRE doesn't say what adequate cover means, so in Abu Dhabi, ask the Department of Health (DOH) or your insurer what she needs.

MOHRE's employer guide adds a separate policy, a condition of her work permit. Before a work permit is issued, the employer must buy a domestic worker insurance policy that covers the worker's unpaid dues up to AED 20,000. Our health insurance guide compares what each emirate requires.

What do you owe your helper when the contract ends?

Her dues on time and, in general, her flight home. The checklist gives the deadline for her dues and the rule on unused leave.

Either side can end the contract early for a breach. Repatriation here means her journey home. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, either side may end a domestic worker's contract alone if the other breaches its obligations under the law, and if the termination is not the worker's fault, the employer pays the worker's dues and the cost of repatriation.

The Decree-Law also sets who pays for the flight. The employer pays for a domestic worker's flight home, except that the agency pays when an agency-recruited worker is returned, a directly recruited worker who quits after probation without a valid reason pays their own unless they cannot, and the original employer does not pay when the worker moves to a new employer. We found no official page that says how these rules apply when the contract ends for her breach, or after she stops coming to work; ask MOHRE on 600 590000.

Gratuity is a payment at the end of service. The Domestic Workers Decree-Law (No. 9 of 2022) does not itself set an end-of-service gratuity; Article 22 leaves the rules to the Cabinet. We found no Cabinet decision setting those rules, so we give no gratuity formula, and the figures quoted on other websites have no official source that we could find. Check with MOHRE on 600 590000 before her contract ends.

If she stops coming to work, try to reach her first, then report it in time. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, an employer must notify MOHRE within five days if a domestic worker abandons work. MOHRE's documents call this an absconding or absence report. We found no official page on how a family files one, so ask MOHRE on 600 590000.

A long absence has a second consequence. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker's contract ends if the worker is absent without a valid reason for more than 10 consecutive days, or 15 separate days, in a year. Ask MOHRE on 600 590000 before you treat the contract as over. Our guide to when your helper stops coming to work goes through the rest.

We found no general notice period in the Decree-Law, and we haven't been able to read MOHRE's standard contract, so check what yours says. Our guides to final dues and gratuity and cancelling her visa cover the steps, and if you're leaving the UAE, see what to do about your helper.

What are the penalties for breaking the domestic worker law?

Mainly fines, set out in Article 27 of the Decree-Law (Article 17 in MOHRE's English translation). The checklist gives the fine for employing a helper without a work permit.

The Domestic Workers Decree-Law's penalties article lists offences with their own penalties, and sets a fine of AED 5,000 to AED 1,000,000 for any other violation. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, fines are multiplied by the number of workers involved, up to AED 10 million, and doubled for a repeat offence within a year.

In Dubai, the health insurance law has fines of its own. Dubai Law No. 11 of 2013 on health insurance sets fines of AED 500 to AED 150,000 for violations.

MOHRE also warns that hiring from unauthorised sources can make a family liable for employing and illegally sheltering a worker who is in breach of the rules. We couldn't read the official text of the Executive Regulations, so we don't quote any fines they may set.

Where can you or your helper complain?

To MOHRE. A dispute between you and your helper goes there first, as the checklist shows, and a complaint about a recruitment office has its own channels.

MOHRE's employer guide lists these channels for a complaint against a domestic worker recruitment office: MOHRE's website, the MOHRE UAE app, the Labour Claims and Advisory Call Centre on 80084 and the MOHRE call centre on 600 590000. For anything else, including a question about your own duties, use the same call centre.

How can MaidMatch help?

By helping you find a helper, and by connecting you with a visa partner if you'd like help with the paperwork. MaidMatch is a free platform for families: they can browse every profile at no cost, with no registration or subscription required. Families contact helpers directly on WhatsApp, through the Hire button on each profile, so you can agree her salary, day off and duties with her before anything is signed.

Each helper lists her own salary range on her profile. Sponsorship is the employer's responsibility; families can manage the visa themselves or ask MaidMatch to connect them with its visa partners. MaidMatch's visa partner offers a two-year employment visa, with the visa, medical test, Emirates ID and insurance handled end to end. Ask the partner who sponsors her on that visa and what the two years cover. Our partners page has the details and the current price.