Probation, replacement and refunds when you hire a domestic worker

A domestic worker's probation may not last more than six months from the start of employment, under Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022. If a licensed recruitment office recruited her, it must replace her or refund you in the cases MOHRE lists. If you hired her yourself, no office is involved, so those rules don't apply.

Two sets of rules matter here. The law is Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, the Domestic Workers Decree-Law. MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, licenses recruitment offices (agencies) and sets out their duties to families in its operations manual and employer guide; many of its approved domestic worker service centres use the name Tadbeer.

What an office owes you depends on the package you choose. MOHRE recognises three packages from licensed recruitment offices: Traditional, where the worker is on the family's own file and lives with the family; Temporary, where a worker registered with the office works for the family; and Flexible, where a worker registered with the office works for the family by the hour, day, week, month, six months or year.

How long is a maid's probation period in the UAE?

Probation is the trial period at the start of her employment, and the Domestic Workers Decree-Law caps it. A domestic worker's probation may not last more than six months from the start of employment, as of September 2026.

Her contract states the actual period, which can't run past that limit. 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 Decree-Law also lets the Cabinet change the time periods it sets without a new law, so a limit like this one can change. If in doubt, ask MOHRE on 600 590000.

What happens if a new maid doesn't work out?

It depends on how you hired her. MOHRE's replacement and refund rules are written for licensed recruitment offices, so they cover an office's packages, not a helper you hired yourself.

Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, the agency sponsors the worker in the Temporary package and holds the worker's visa in the Flexible package, and in both it pays the worker's salary, legal entitlements and medical costs. In the Temporary package, the manual also has the office replace her when needed, and if she is returned, you are refunded for the time she did not work.

If an office places a helper who is already in the UAE with you, the manual adds this. Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, when a family takes on a worker who is already in the UAE through an agency, the worker's file must be free of fines, it moves to the family after probation, and from then on the family is liable for fines on it. We found no official page that says how MOHRE's refund rules apply in that case, so ask the office and get its answer in writing.

When must a recruitment office replace her or refund you?

In a Traditional package, in the cases MOHRE lists: during probation, and in some cases after it. MOHRE's employer guide and its operations manual for recruitment agencies set them out:

• During probation, a recruitment agency must replace the worker or refund the family if the worker is professionally or behaviourally unsuitable, is medically unfit, or ends the contract or refuses to work without a legitimate reason, or if the agency did not meet the recruitment conditions agreed with the family.
• Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, after probation and until the contract ends, an agency must refund part of the recruitment fee if the worker refuses to work, absconds or ends the contract without a legitimate reason.

The duty rests on the Decree-Law, which makes an office provide a replacement or refund under MOHRE's rules and pay for a returned worker's flight home.

What if she stops coming to work?

Tell MOHRE, and tell the office. 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. Our guide to when your helper stops coming to work sets out what to do first.

Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, once an absence report is filed for a worker an agency recruited, the agency must refund the family: in full or pro-rata during probation, and pro-rata after it.

What does an office's two-year warranty cover?

We found no official page that defines it beyond the refund rules above. MOHRE's employer guide says its approved recruitment offices offer a two-year warranty on domestic workers, and MOHRE ties a two-year guarantee to the Traditional package.

The warranty isn't a visa. MOHRE issues a domestic worker's permit for one year when the sponsor is an expatriate resident without a Golden Visa, so if an office advertises a two-year visa, ask who will sponsor her.

How much does the office refund?

MOHRE sets the amount, and it depends on when the hire fails and why. When a refund is due, a recruitment agency repays the full recruitment fee in the first month, the full fee plus government fees if the worker is medically unfit during probation, and otherwise a pro-rata share for the months left on the contract.

MOHRE's employer guide gives this example of a pro-rata refund: a recruitment cost of AED 12,000, divided by a 24-month contract and multiplied by the 10 months remaining, gives a refund of AED 5,000. That's MOHRE's illustration, not a price: we found no official page that publishes package prices.

MOHRE's texts also give the office a deadline to pay, but word it in two different ways, so we don't quote one. Ask the office when it will pay, and get the date in writing.

We found no official page that says whether you or the office chooses between a replacement and a refund, or whether a replacement can cost extra. Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, an agency must use MOHRE-approved package prices, display them, and not charge anything extra. Agree the replacement terms in writing before you sign.

What if the office breaks its contract or doesn't deliver her?

The Decree-Law and MOHRE's manual both set out what you can do, starting from your contract with the office. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a family that recruits through an agency signs a MOHRE standard contract with the agency covering the worker requirements, the worker's rights, the costs the family pays and the recruitment timeline.

Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, if a recruitment agency breaches its contract with a family, the family may refuse the worker and get a replacement or a refund of recruitment fees, and can claim compensation for any damage.

Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, if an agency does not deliver a worker recruited from abroad within the agreed time, or within 30 days of getting the entry permit, the family may cancel and reclaim the recruitment and government costs. That deadline covers a worker the office recruits from abroad, not one who is already in the UAE.

What does probation mean if you hired her yourself?

It limits how long her trial period can last, but no office owes you a replacement or refund, and we found no separate rule for ending the contract during probation. Here is what it means under the Decree-Law:

• A time limit. A domestic worker's probation may not last more than six months from the start of employment, and her contract states the period.
• Her pay. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker's wages are owed from the day the worker enters the UAE or changes status. A domestic worker's wages must be paid monthly in UAE dirhams, within 10 days of the due date.
• The flight home. 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.

It doesn't give you a replacement or refund, because no office recruited her. We also found no general notice period in the Decree-Law, and no official text that sets special rules for ending a contract during probation.

The Decree-Law's general rules on ending a contract still apply. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, the cases in which a domestic worker's contract ends include its expiry without extension, both sides' agreement, the worker's death or total disability, the employer's death (unless the family and the worker agree to continue until the contract expires), the worker's conviction or imprisonment for a felony or misdemeanour, and the worker using up all sick leave or being medically unfit.

Either side can also end it 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. If you end it for her breach, see the flight-home point above. Her contract must also state the cases in which it can be ended, so read it, and ask MOHRE on 600 590000 before you act.

When a job ends, you deal with her final dues and her permit: our guides to final dues and the flight home and cancelling a maid visa cover both.

She may also be able to move to another family instead. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker may move to a new employer if the contract's conditions are met and the original employer's rights are respected, following MOHRE's procedures. Our guide to hiring a helper already in the UAE explains the move from the new family's side, and our employer's checklist to the domestic worker law covers the rest of your duties.

Can you try out a helper before you hire her?

Not by having her work for you first. Probation is the trial period the Decree-Law provides for, and it runs from the start of her employment, which needs a MOHRE work permit for the job.

She may not start work on a visit or tourist visa. Employing a domestic worker without a work permit for that job is punishable by a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 200,000.

To get to know her first, interview her, on a video call if you like, and check her references and documents. Our guides to interview questions and checking references and documents show how, and our guide to own-visa, visit-visa and part-time help explains what is legal.

What should you do if it isn't working out?

Act early, and keep a record of each step. In order:

1. Note the dates. Probation runs from the start of her employment, so write down when she started and what isn't working.
2. Talk to her. Say clearly what isn't working, and give her a fair chance to put it right.
3. Read the contracts. Her employment contract states the probation period and the cases in which it can be ended. If an office recruited her, your contract with the office sets out the worker requirements and the recruitment timeline it agreed to.
4. If an office recruited her, tell it in writing. Ask whether it will replace her or refund you under MOHRE's rules, and when.
5. If she stops coming to work, report it in time. The Decree-Law's deadline for telling MOHRE is set out above.
6. If you agree to part, put it in writing. Then settle her dues, check who pays her flight home (see above), and deal with her permit.
7. Keep every receipt. The Decree-Law says how her pay must be proven. Payment of a domestic worker's wages must be proven by a written receipt or another method MOHRE approves.

What if an office won't replace her or refund you?

Complain to MOHRE. 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.

MOHRE said in September 2023 that it fines offices that fail to return recruitment fees, and that repeat violations can lead to an office's services being suspended or its licence cancelled. Have your contract with the office, its receipts and your messages ready.

MOHRE's rules bind licensed offices, so check that an office is on MOHRE's list of approved domestic worker service centres (opens in a new tab) before you pay it anything. Our guides to Tadbeer centres and choosing between an agency and a direct hire compare the routes.

How can MaidMatch help if a hire doesn't work out?

By helping you find your next helper. Most helpers listed on MaidMatch are already in the UAE and ready to work. 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. Before you agree anything, ask each helper who would sponsor her and whether an office is involved, so you know which of the rules above would apply.

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, what the two years cover and what happens if the hire doesn't work out. Our partners page has the details and the current price.