UAE Domestic Worker Labour Law Rights Guide
Current UAE rules for nannies, housekeepers, domestic drivers, cooks and other covered domestic workers, including working time, weekly rest, leave, wages, medical care, passport rights, transfers and complaints.
Primary framework: Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 and Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2022, together with current MoHRE decisions and service guidance.
Who is covered?
Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 establishes the federal legal framework for domestic workers. It covers a defined group of household occupations and provides rules on contracts, recruitment, working and rest arrangements, wages, leave, medical care, termination, transfers, complaints and employer obligations.
Examples include housemaids, nannies or babysitters, personal drivers, cooks, housekeepers, gardeners, farmers, domestic security guards and several other listed household occupations.
The domestic-worker law is a separate framework from the general private-sector Labour Relations Law. It should therefore not be assumed that every private-sector entitlement or formula applies automatically to domestic workers.
Domestic-worker compliance evaluator
This evaluator deliberately checks several separate obligations. It does not label an employer “fully compliant” merely because two items are satisfied.
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Result
The selections indicate that the listed baseline domestic-worker obligations are being met. This is not a legal certification and does not check every contractual or statutory requirement.
Working hours and daily rest
| Rule | Current requirement |
|---|---|
| Daily rest | At least 12 hours per day |
| Consecutive rest | At least 8 consecutive hours within the daily rest period |
| Weekly rest | One day per week, with the day determined by agreement |
| Work on rest day | Alternative rest day or compensation equivalent to the wage for that day |
The executive regulation allows the employer to arrange working hours over the day according to the nature of household work, but the minimum daily-rest rule must still be respected. Breaks, food periods and time when the worker is not working are not treated as actual working hours under the executive regulation.
Weekly rest is not “just a Sunday off”
The weekly rest day is determined by agreement between the domestic worker and employer. It does not have to be a specific weekday.
Annual leave and airfare
| Service period | Leave entitlement | Pay / travel rule |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year or more | At least 30 days paid annual leave for each year | Leave pay is due in accordance with the law and contract; return-ticket rule applies when the worker travels home. |
| More than 6 months but less than 1 year | 2 days of leave for each month of service | Statutory proportional entitlement |
| Home-country travel | Worker can choose to travel to their country during annual leave | Employer bears the return-ticket price once every 2 years |
| Working during leave | Restricted under the domestic-worker law | Compensation rules apply when the statutory conditions for working during leave are met |
Medical care and health protection
Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 requires the employer to bear the cost of medical treatment for the domestic worker in accordance with the health system in force in the UAE or to provide health insurance in accordance with applicable legislation.
Other employer obligations
- Suitable accommodation must be provided.
- For full-time work, meals and appropriate work clothing must be provided unless otherwise agreed where the law permits.
- The employer must pay the contracted wage according to the law and approved Ministry procedures.
- The worker must be treated in a manner preserving dignity and physical safety.
- The worker cannot simply be required to work for another person outside the legally permitted arrangements.
Wages and the Domestic Workers WPS
MoHRE guidance says the domestic worker's contractual wage is due at the end of the month and can be paid within a period not exceeding 10 days from the date of entitlement. This does not mean “10 days after every late-payment event”; it describes the permitted payment window from the wage due date.
| Issue | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Wage due date | End of the month under the MoHRE domestic-worker guidance, with payment within no more than 10 days from entitlement. |
| WPS mandatory occupations | Certain domestic-worker professions are subject to mandatory WPS registration/payment under the applicable Ministerial resolution. |
| WPS optional occupations | MoHRE currently identifies additional domestic-work professions where WPS participation is optional. |
| Specific exemptions | MoHRE identifies circumstances such as certain new workers, workers with pending court complaints and workers subject to a work-absence report. |
Sick leave
| Maximum per contractual year | 30 days |
| First 15 days | Full pay |
| Following 15 days | Half pay |
| Medical proof | Approved health-authority medical report |
Misconduct exception
Article 10 states that when the illness resulted from the domestic worker's misconduct, the worker is not entitled to the paid or half-paid sick-leave treatment provided by the provision.
Passport and official-document rights
The worker keeps official documents
Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 expressly gives a domestic worker the right to retain official documents. This includes the passport.
Employer retention of the passport is therefore prohibited. MoHRE can receive complaints concerning this issue and can take compliance measures.
Current penalty wording
Contemporary government/ILO material identifies an AED 500 administrative fine for domestic-worker passport confiscation. The previous “up to AED 20,000” statement is removed because it is not supported by the current domestic-worker penalty material.
Recruitment fees, third-party work and exploitation
Recruitment fees
Domestic workers should not be charged recruitment or employment costs that the law places on the recruitment office or employer. Licensed recruitment offices are regulated under a separate Cabinet resolution.
Working for another household
Domestic workers cannot simply be sent to work for another person outside the legally permitted recruitment, temporary-employment or transfer arrangements.
Abuse and forced labour
The domestic-worker framework prohibits mistreatment and forced labour. Serious abuse or trafficking indicators can require escalation beyond an ordinary labour complaint.
Termination and transfer to another employer
The domestic-worker law permits transfers to a new employer where the contractual requirements and Ministry procedures are satisfied. The termination/transfer rules are separate from the ordinary private-sector labour law.
| Situation | Current framework |
|---|---|
| Mutual termination | Employment can end by agreement under the conditions of the contract and law. |
| Employer terminates for reasons not attributable to worker | The domestic-worker law provides for the worker's remaining contractual compensation and return-ticket obligations under the applicable termination provisions. |
| Worker terminates after probation without employer breach | The law contains specific transfer/return-ticket provisions and Ministry procedures; the recruitment office can have obligations in specified circumstances. |
| Employer abuse / contractual breach | Cabinet Resolution No. 106 provides special circumstances in which the domestic worker can terminate without notice and provides protective procedures through the licensed recruitment office. |
End-of-service gratuity: important 2026 correction
Many UAE websites still publish the historical 14-days-per-year domestic-worker gratuity rule. That is not the wording of the current Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022.
Article 22 states that, on the Minister's proposal, the Council of Ministers may approve the systems and mechanisms for calculating and paying end-of-service gratuity for domestic workers.
How to file a domestic-worker labour complaint
Contact MoHRE
Labour complaints can be submitted through the MoHRE labour claims and advisory channels.
Use 80084 / website / app
MoHRE currently lists 80084, its website and the MoHRE UAE mobile application as complaint channels.
Observe the complaint window
The current individual-labour-complaint resolution rules state that complaints should be submitted within 30 days of a contractual or legal breach, subject to the applicable procedure.
What the employer should keep
- Approved employment contract.
- Wage-payment records.
- Annual-leave records and relevant travel arrangements.
- Medical-report records where sick leave is taken.
- Evidence of lawful residence/work arrangements.
- Records of any transfer, termination or complaint process.
What the worker should keep
- Copy of the signed employment contract.
- Wage-payment evidence.
- Passport and other official identity documents.
- Annual-leave and ticket records where applicable.
- Medical reports supporting sick leave.
- Messages or other evidence of non-payment, abuse or unlawful work arrangements where a complaint becomes necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
This page has been checked against the current Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2022, current MoHRE domestic-worker guidance, WPS coverage material and current complaint procedures.
Domestic-worker rules can depend on the employment contract, occupation, immigration status, applicable emirate health system and the latest MoHRE decisions. The live government service and legislation should be checked for high-stakes disputes.