For small businesses in Dubai

HR software in Dubai for small businesses

A Dubai company can sit under one of three employment regimes depending on where its licence is: the mainland under MOHRE, a free zone such as DMCC or JAFZA, or the DIFC with its own employment law. HR FLARE keeps your people, leave and AED payroll in one place and exports the WPS salary file your bank asks for.

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Which employment rules apply to a small company in Dubai?

It depends on the licence. Mainland companies follow Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and register staff with MOHRE. Free zone companies get employee visas through their zone authority, for example the DMCC member portal. DIFC companies follow DIFC Employment Law No. 2 of 2019, which replaced end of service gratuity with the DEWS savings plan.

Who regulates employment in Dubai?

Start with where your licence sits: it decides the law and the portal you deal with.

Where your licence is	Who regulates employment	Systems you use
Mainland	MOHRE, under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021	MOHRE work permits and contracts; salaries paid through WPS via a CBUAE licensed bank or exchange house
DMCC free zone	Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority and its employment rules	DMCC member portal for employee residence visas and the establishment card; entry permits then go to GDRFA
Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA)	Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority	The zone's own licensing and employee visa services
DIFC	DIFC Authority, under DIFC Employment Law No. 2 of 2019	DEWS or another qualifying scheme for end of service savings; DIFC Data Protection Law No. 5 of 2020

According to the UAE government portal, free zone employees are generally subject to the rules of their free zone authority.

Payroll and WPS in Dubai

Mainland companies and most free zone companies pay salaries through the Wage Protection System. The employer sends the bank a Salary Information File (SIF) with one EDR line per employee and a single SCR control line at the end.

The salary month in the SCR must match the period of every EDR line, and the SCR total must equal the fixed plus variable pay of all employees to the fils, or the bank rejects the whole file. Check a file before upload with the WPS SIF checker (Arabic), and read our UAE WPS guide (Arabic).

DIFC: DEWS instead of gratuity

Since 1 February 2020, DIFC employers pay monthly contributions into DEWS or a qualifying alternative scheme for their non-GCC national employees: at least 5.83% of monthly basic wage for each of the first five years of continuous employment, and 8.33% for each year after that.

So a DIFC company does not build up the mainland style gratuity liability. The DIFC also has its own data protection law, No. 5 of 2020, so check how any HR system you use fits it. HR FLARE hosts data in Europe.

Working week, holidays and the midday break

The federal government moved to a Saturday and Sunday weekend on 1 January 2022 and many private companies followed, but private employers choose their own rest days.

Public holidays are unified for the public and private sector under Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024, and the Cabinet can move a date. In 2026 the Prophet's Birthday holiday moved to Friday 28 August, while 12 Rabi' al-Awwal falls on 25 August in the Umm al-Qura calendar.

From 15 June to 15 September, MOHRE bans outdoor work in direct sunlight from 12:30 to 15:00, which matters for delivery, construction and facilities teams. In Dubai, employers must also provide health insurance for their employees under Dubai Health Insurance Law No. 11 of 2013.

Typical HR tasks in Dubai

Knowing which regime each employee falls under, especially when a group holds both a mainland and a free zone licence.
Running the monthly SIF for mainland and free zone staff, and DEWS contributions for DIFC staff.
Tracking residence visa, Emirates ID and contract expiry in the relevant authority's portal.
Planning summer shifts around the midday break.
Cutting hours in Ramadan as MOHRE announces each year; the Ramadan working hours calculator (Arabic) helps.

How HR FLARE helps in Dubai

Real capabilities in the product today. The free plan covers up to 5 employees.

WPS SIF export

HR FLARE builds the SIF from your payroll run, one EDR line per employee plus the SCR control record, ready to upload through your bank or exchange house.

Payroll in AED

Gross, deductions, net and payslips in AED, with a full record of every run.

Holidays and weekend

Islamic holidays are pre-computed from the Umm al-Qura calendar and you shift any date to match the official announcement. Pick your own weekend days.

Hijri dates

Dates show in Hijri next to Gregorian, which makes Ramadan and Eid planning easier.

Arabic and English

A full right to left Arabic interface, and every user picks their own language on the same data.

AI assistant and MCP

Ask about your team in Arabic or English, or connect HR FLARE to Claude or ChatGPT over MCP.

What HR FLARE does not do

No government portal connection: visas, work permits and contracts stay in the MOHRE or free zone portal, and HR FLARE does not transfer salaries.
No DEWS calculation: for DIFC staff, contributions are calculated and paid through the plan administrator.
Data location: data is hosted in Europe; in-country hosting is not available.

Frequently asked questions

Do free zone companies in Dubai follow the UAE Labour Law?

According to the UAE government portal, free zone employees are generally subject to the rules of their free zone authority, and their visas are issued through that authority's portal. The DIFC has a fully separate employment law. Always confirm with your own zone.

Does HR FLARE export a WPS SIF file for Dubai banks?

Yes. HR FLARE builds a SIF with EDR lines and the SCR record from your AED payroll run, and you upload it through your bank or exchange house. HR FLARE does not transfer salaries itself.

Does a DIFC company pay end of service gratuity?

Not for service since 1 February 2020. Instead the employer pays monthly into DEWS or a qualifying scheme: 5.83% of basic wage in the first five years and 8.33% after that. HR FLARE does not calculate these contributions.

Can a Dubai team use a Friday and Saturday weekend in HR FLARE?

Yes. Weekend days are configurable per company in HR FLARE, so you can pick Saturday and Sunday, Friday and Saturday, or whatever your company uses.

Where is a Dubai company's data stored in HR FLARE?

Data is hosted in Europe. The DIFC has its own data protection law, so companies there need to assess its requirements themselves; we do not claim compliance with it.

Sources

Last reviewed 30 September 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice: always confirm with the official authority.

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