Your helper's first week: an onboarding checklist and house rules

In your helper's first week, help her settle in, go through her contract, day off, pay and insurance with her, agree your house rules and leave her documents with her. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker has the right to keep all their official documents, including their passport and ID, and an employer may not hold them.

MOHRE is the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, which issues domestic workers' work permits, and the Domestic Workers Decree-Law is Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 (opens in a new tab). This guide assumes MOHRE has already issued her work permit for the job with you, as the Decree-Law requires. Employing a domestic worker without a work permit for that job is punishable by a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 200,000.

What should you do on your new maid's first day?

Help her settle in: show her round, cover safety and keep the day light. This checklist is our advice:

1. Welcome her. Introduce everyone who lives in the home, children included, and tell her what to call each of you.
2. If she lives in, show her her room. Show her where to keep her things, and how the air conditioning and her bathroom work. Our guide to maid room requirements has a setup checklist.
3. Walk her round the home. Show her the kitchen, the appliances and where the cleaning products are kept, and point out anything she shouldn't use or move.
4. Cover safety. Write down your full address, your phone numbers and the emergency numbers, and show her the first-aid kit, the way out in a fire and how the locks work.
5. Agree how you'll stay in touch. Save each other's numbers, and tell her who to call if she can't reach you.
6. Show her the food. Tell her what she can help herself to and when the family eats, and ask whether there's anything she doesn't eat.
7. Help her call home. Give her the Wi-Fi password so she can tell her family she has arrived safely.
8. Keep it short. Leave the full routine for later in the week, and let her rest early, especially after a long journey.

The Domestic Workers Decree-Law also has rules on her accommodation, meals and work clothing. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, the employer must provide a domestic worker with suitable accommodation. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, the employer must provide a full-time domestic worker with meals and work clothing, unless they agree otherwise. We found no official page that defines 'suitable' or sets a room size for a domestic worker, and no official amount for meals or clothing, so agree with her in the first week what she eats and what she wears for work.

What else should you cover in her first week?

Her contract, her day off and routine, her documents, her pay, her insurance and your house rules. The law sets some of this, and the rest is for the two of you to agree:

One way to spread it over the week, again as our advice:

1. Days 2 and 3: the routine. Work alongside her, show her how you like things done, and write down the daily routine, including the children's meals, naps and bedtimes.
2. By day 3: the paperwork. Read her contract through together, agree payday and how you'll record her pay, and make sure she has her insurance details.
3. Within the week: her day off. Agree which day it is, so that her first day off falls in her first week.
4. Days 4 and 5: house rules. Go through a short written list together (see below).
5. End of the week: a review. Sit down together, ask how she is finding things, and adjust the routine.

What should you check in your maid's contract?

That it matches what you agreed with her, starting with the job and the pay. The Domestic Workers Decree-Law sets the rules. A domestic worker's contract must be on MOHRE's standard form and state, among other terms, the nature and place of the work and the worker's total pay and how it is paid.

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. So read it through together in the version she understands, and ask her whether anything is unclear.

The Decree-Law's full list is longer. 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.

Our advice: check each of those terms against what you agreed, and make sure she has her copy. Our guide to the domestic worker contract, clause by clause has more.

When is your maid's day off, and how much rest does she get?

The Domestic Workers Decree-Law sets both. A domestic worker is entitled to one paid day off a week. A domestic worker is entitled to at least 12 hours of rest a day, of which at least 8 must be consecutive.

The Decree-Law also covers work on her day off. 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 day in the Decree-Law, so plan her day around her rest.

Our suggestions for the first week:

• Agree the day. Agree which day is her day off, if you haven't already, and write it down.
• Write down her routine. Include her start and finish times and her breaks, and plan it so that her rest is kept.
• Plan any night-time care. If she will help with a baby, or with someone who needs care at night, agree how that fits with her rest before the first night.
• Keep her day off hers. If you ever need her to work on it, ask her first, and follow the rule above.

Our guide to her day off, working hours and public holidays has more.

Can you keep your maid's passport?

No. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker has the right to keep all their official documents, including their passport and ID, and an employer may not hold them.

Our advice: look at her passport and visa with her in the first week, and keep any copies you made for her permit application with your own records. If she would like somewhere safe for her documents, give her a lockable drawer or a small safe in her room, and let her keep the key or code. If an agency or anyone else handed you her passport, give it back to her.

When and how should you pay your maid?

On time every month, with proof of each payment. The Domestic Workers Decree-Law and a MOHRE resolution set the rules:

• Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker's wages are owed from the day the worker enters the UAE or changes status.
• Ministerial Resolution No. 675 of 2022 defines the due date for a domestic worker's wages as the first day of the month after the pay period. A domestic worker's wages must be paid monthly in UAE dirhams, within 10 days of the due date.
• Payment of a domestic worker's wages must be proven by a written receipt or another method MOHRE approves. We found no official page that lists the other methods MOHRE approves.
• Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, recruitment agencies must give families wage-receipt booklets. If an agency placed her, ask it for one if you don't have it.

Our advice: in the first week, agree a payday that falls within those legal limits, and keep to it. A written receipt is the method the Decree-Law names, so write one for every payment, however you pay her, and give her a copy.

Whether you must pay her through MOHRE's Wage Protection System (WPS) depends on her job. MOHRE's employer guide sets out the split, as of September 2026. Paying a domestic worker through the Wage Protection System is mandatory for private trainers, private tutors, personal healthcare providers, personal PROs and private agricultural engineers, and optional for housemaids, nannies, cooks, drivers, housekeepers, gardeners, security guards and similar roles. Our guide to paying your maid through WPS has the detail.

Two more rules in the Decree-Law matter if something gets broken or a cost comes up:

• Deductions. 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.
• Costs. An employer may not charge a domestic worker any cost, directly or indirectly, unless the law, the regulations, MOHRE decisions or the approved contract allow it.

What insurance does your maid need?

The domestic worker insurance policy MOHRE requires, and health insurance under your emirate's rules. MOHRE's employer guide sets the first. 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.

Health insurance depends on your emirate. As of September 2026:

• Dubai. The rule is in Dubai Law No. 11 of 2013 on health insurance. 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. MOHRE's page on its Basic Health Insurance Scheme sets the rule. 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.
• Abu Dhabi. MOHRE's renewal service says that in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, employers are required to provide adequate medical insurance to their domestic workers. The Domestic Workers Decree-Law's federal rule applies there too. 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.

Our advice: once you have her policy details or card, give them to her, show her where to go if she feels unwell, and tell her what to do if she falls ill on her day off. Our health insurance guide covers each emirate's rules in more detail.

What if she has just arrived in the UAE?

Then her residence steps are still ahead. After she arrives, MOHRE's employer guide lists her Emirates ID biometrics and medical fitness test, then her residence permit.

ICP, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, handles residence. As of September 2026, its general residence page sets a deadline, and says that for domestic workers its service is provided through the Domestic Workers Package. ICP requires a foreign national who enters the UAE to complete the residence issuance procedures within 60 days of entry. The government's Work Bundle portal sends Dubai employers to the DubaiNow app for domestic-worker services, and links the other emirates to ICP's smart services.

Our advice: apply for her medical fitness test and Emirates ID biometrics soon after she arrives, and go with her the first time if you can. Our guide to the maid visa process covers each step. If she moved to you from another sponsor inside the UAE, our guide to hiring a helper who is already in the UAE covers her change of status.

What house rules should you set for your maid?

A short list about how your home runs, written down and agreed with her in the first week. What goes on it is up to you, within the law. Our suggestions:

• Her working day. Start and finish times, breaks and when she's off duty, in line with her rest.
• Phones. When she's free to use her phone, and when you'd rather she didn't, such as while she's looking after the children.
• Photos. Ask her not to post photos of your children or your home online.
• Visitors. Whether friends may visit her, and when.
• The children. Your rules on screens, snacks and bedtimes, and what she should do if a child is hurt or unwell.
• Money. How she pays for household shopping, and keeping the receipts.
• The front door. Who she may let in, and how she locks up when she goes out.
• Her room. Treat it as her private space, and knock before you go in.
• Problems. How she can tell you if something is wrong, and a regular time to talk.

Write the list in a language she understands, keep it to a page and review it after the first week. Don't use it to take away anything the law gives her, such as her weekly day off or keeping her own documents.

The Domestic Workers Decree-Law also sets duties on both sides:

• Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker's duties include doing the contracted work carefully, not being absent without a valid reason, following lawful instructions, respecting the family's privacy and keeping household matters confidential, and looking after the employer's property and not taking work items out of the home without permission.
• Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, an employer must treat a domestic worker with respect and protect their dignity and safety, and the law prohibits sexual harassment, forced labour and human trafficking.
• The Decree-Law's Executive Regulations are Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2022, whose official text we couldn't read. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker may not work for anyone other than their employer, except as its Executive Regulations or MOHRE decisions allow. We found no official page that lists those exceptions, so don't ask her to work at anyone else's home without checking with MOHRE on 600 590000 first.
• An employer may not give a domestic worker a different kind of work from the contracted job unless the worker explicitly agrees and the new job is one of the listed domestic occupations. So agree her main tasks in the first week, in line with the job in her contract.

Our employer's checklist to the domestic worker law covers the rest of your duties.

What if the first week doesn't go well?

Talk to her first, and give it time: a new home and a new routine take a while to learn. Be specific about what you'd like done differently, and ask her what would help.

If it still isn't working, check the probation period in her contract. The Decree-Law sets a limit. A domestic worker's probation may not last more than six months from the start of employment. If a licensed recruitment office placed her, MOHRE's rules can entitle you to a replacement or a refund; if you hired her yourself, those office rules don't apply. Our guide to probation, replacement and refunds explains when each applies.

If you do part ways, our guide to ending a contract and final dues covers what the Decree-Law says about her dues and her flight home.

How can MaidMatch help?

Mostly before the first week, by helping you find the right helper. 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 hire, agree the basics with her, such as her day off, her main tasks and her salary, so the first week brings fewer surprises. Each helper lists her own salary range on her profile.