Sharjah HR guide: mainland, free zones and the four day week

Mainland or free zone: what the government says

The UAE government portal's page on recruiting in free zones, updated on 28 September 2026, says free zone employees are generally governed by the employment regulations of their free zone authority together with Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. It adds that each zone has its own procedures, usually aligned with the federal law. You apply for the work permit and residence visa through the authority, and the number of visas depends on your package.

That matters in practice for three reasons. First, the paperwork for a new hire starts in a different portal. Second, the visa quota is a commercial term you negotiate with the zone, so a team growing from four to eight people may hit it before it hits any labour limit. Third, a dispute with a free zone employee may follow the zone's own route, so ask the authority before you act.

A mainland company is simpler on rules and heavier on filing. MOHRE holds the establishment file, the work permits and the wage records. If you are not sure which side you are on, look at the licence document: it names the authority that issued it.

The government week is not your week

Sharjah government employees work Monday to Thursday and have a three day weekend. This is a rule for government employees only. Federal Decree-Law No. 33 excludes federal and local government staff from its scope (Article 3), and for everyone else it asks only that a paid weekend of at least one day is set in the contract or work regulation, and that nobody is instructed to work more than two consecutive weekend days unless they are day workers (Article 19).

So what should a small private team choose? The honest answer depends on who your clients are. If they are Sharjah government entities, a Monday to Thursday overlap with their 7:30 to 15:30 day will matter more than any rule. If they are in other emirates, you probably want to be reachable on the same days they are. Write the choice into the contract so that overtime and weekend premiums are not in doubt. Work on the agreed weekend is paid at normal pay plus at least 50%, or replaced with another day off (Article 19).

HR FLARE lets people plan their own schedule, which suits teams that mix a four day pattern with client facing days. Leave, timesheets and the clock record are kept for each person.

Hiring on the mainland: probation, hours and notice

Probation under Article 9 can last up to six months from the first day of work. The employer can end it with 14 days of written notice. A worker cannot be placed on probation twice with the same employer. If a worker wants to move to another UAE employer during probation, the worker must give the original employer at least one month's written notice, and the new employer compensates the original one for recruitment costs, unless they agree otherwise. Paid sick leave is not available during probation, though you may grant unpaid sick leave on a medical report (Article 31).

Normal hours are 8 a day or 48 a week (Article 17). No one works more than five consecutive hours without a break or breaks of at least one hour in total (Article 18). During Ramadan, daily hours are reduced by two hours, according to the UAE government portal. Overtime is capped at two hours a day and 144 hours every three weeks, and pays the normal wage plus at least 25%, or 50% between 10 pm and 4 am (Article 19).

For termination, Article 43 requires written notice of 30 to 90 days, as agreed in the contract. The notice period has to be the same for both sides unless a different term favours the worker. If either side skips it, that side pays the other the wage for the missing notice. When the employer ends the contract, the worker may take one unpaid working day a week during notice to look for a job, with three days' warning. Article 44 lets an employer dismiss without notice in listed cases, after a written investigation and with a written, reasoned decision. One of them is absence without a valid reason for more than 20 intermittent days in a year or more than seven consecutive days.

Article 53 sets a hard date for the final payment: within 14 days from the end of the contract, wages and every other entitlement. Put that date in your exit checklist.

Leave rules that shape the calendar

Annual leave is at least 30 days per year of service, and two days per month for a worker with more than six months and less than a year of service (Article 29). The employer sets the dates with the worker and must give at least a month's notice of them. Carrying leave to the next year needs the employer's approval, and leave that was not used is paid out when the worker leaves.

Other entitlements from the same law:

• Sick leave: up to 90 days a year after probation: 15 days at full pay, 30 at half pay, the rest unpaid. The worker must report within three working days and provide a medical report (Article 31).
• Maternity: 60 days, the first 45 at full pay and 15 at half pay, with the right to unpaid absence of up to 45 more days when sickness related to pregnancy or birth prevents a return (Article 30).
• Parental leave: five working days within six months of the birth, for either parent (Article 32).
• Bereavement: five days for a spouse and three days for a parent, child, sibling or grandparent (Article 32).
• Study leave: up to ten working days a year for exams, after two years with the employer (Article 32).

In HR FLARE every leave request carries a reason, and the manager approves or rejects it in the app. That reason is the record you will want if a sick leave or bereavement case is ever questioned.

Paying salaries: WPS and the 15 day line

Article 22 requires wages to be paid on their due dates under the ministry's regulations, in dirhams unless the contract agrees another currency. For establishments registered with MOHRE, that runs through the Wage Protection System. MOHRE's WPS FAQ spells out the clock. Wages fall due from the first day of the month after the month earned. The employer is late if it has not paid within the first 15 days of that date, unless the contract sets a shorter period.

From there the steps follow a fixed ladder:

• Notices and alerts on the third and tenth day after the due date.
• Suspension of the ministry's services on the seventeenth day.
• Referral to the Public Prosecution after 45 days, for establishments with more than 50 employees.
• A fine of AED 1,000 per worker, capped at AED 20,000, plus reclassification to category 3, when the same violation repeats within six months.
• An establishment that pays 80% or more of the wages it owes counts as compliant, but if one eligible employee stays unpaid for three months in a row, services are suspended and that worker's permit is not renewed.

A rejected salary file is an easy way to miss the 15 day line, so test it first. The WPS SIF checker on this site checks your file before you upload it. HR FLARE keeps the payroll record and payslips for each month. It does not transfer money and it has no tax calculation.

End of service gratuity

For a full time foreign worker with at least a year of continuous service, Article 51 pays 21 days of basic wage for each of the first five years and 30 days for each year after that, in proportion for part years, capped at two years of wage. Unpaid absence days do not count as service. Take someone leaving after seven years: five years at 21 days is 105 days, two years at 30 days is 60 days, so 165 days of basic wage. The calculation uses the basic wage only, not allowances. The UAE gratuity calculator does the same sum.

For national workers, end of service benefits follow the pension and social security legislation instead. The cabinet may also approve alternative schemes, and that is a question for your accountant, not this page.

Summer outdoors

The UAE government portal states that under Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022, work directly under the sun and in open places is not allowed between 12:30 pm and 3 pm from 15 June to 15 September each year. If your team installs, delivers or inspects outside, schedule these hours indoors or off. Kuwait's window is different, so a company with staff in both countries needs two summer calendars. The Kuwait City guide has the other side.

A yearly checklist for a Sharjah team

• Salary day: paid well inside the 15 day window, with the SIF checked first.
• Probation end: a calendar date six months after each start, with a decision 14 days before it.
• Residence and permit expiry: tracked per person, in the MOHRE or free zone portal.
• Contract end and notice dates: 30 to 90 days, as written in each contract.
• Ramadan: the two hour reduction in the schedule before the month starts.
• Summer: outdoor work moved out of 12:30 to 3 pm, from 15 June.
• Exit: final pay inside 14 days from the end of the contract.

What HR FLARE does not do

• No MOHRE or free zone connection: permits, visas and the WPS upload happen in your portal and bank.
• No tax calculation: payroll records show the figures you enter.
• No health insurance management: policies come from your insurer.
• Data location: data is hosted in Europe; in-country hosting is not available.