Salary deducted unfairly? Or not paid on time? Here's how you can raise a complaint with MOHRE
Complaint process is confidential, but workers need to be registered in Ministry database
Dubai: Are you facing issues with untimely payment of salary or unfair deduction of wages? If so, you can file a confidential complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE).
According to MOHRE, ‘My salary’ is a confidential service, which allows an employee to submit a complaint regarding the establishment’s failure to pay wages on time, without disclosing the identity of the complainant to the employer. However, to use the service, the workers must be registered in the ministry’s database.
Here are the four types of salary violations that you can report on the MOHRE app:
1. Salaries that are delayed for more than 15 days
2. Salaries that have not been received for a month or two months
3. Not receiving overtime pay
4. Illegal salary deductions
The employer is in default of paying the wage if he does not pay it within the first 15 days after the due date, unless a shorter period has been agreed in the employment contract.
What are illegal salary deductions?
While employers are allowed to deduct a worker’s salary in certain cases, like recovery of loans granted to a worker, or recovering any damage or loss caused by the employee, these are clearly laid out in Article 25 of the new UAE Labour Law – Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021.
But if your company is deducting any amount of salary for reasons that are not legal, like recovering the costs of your recruitment, you can raise the issue with MOHRE.
How to file a salary complaint with MOHRE
- Download the ‘MOHRE’ app, which is available for Apple and Android devices.
- If you already have an online account with MOHRE, or a UAE Pass account, tap on ‘sign in’.
If you don’t have either of these accounts, tap on ‘Sign up’ after which you can select ‘employee’ as the option and register using your Emirates ID number, passport number or labour card number.
- Tap on ‘My salary’, which you can find under the ‘favourite services’ section.
- Tap on ‘Apply for this service’.
- Enter your mobile number
- Select the months – in the past one year – for which you wish to complain about your salary.
- Select what type of complaint you have – salary delayed for 15 days, a month or more than two months, illegal deductions of salary or not receiving overtime pay.
- Tap on Submit.
Your complaint will then be registered with MOHRE and a representative will reach out to you for more details. According to MOHRE, the complaint will be investigated and in the event that the complaint proves to be true, the application will be referred to the Labour Inspection Department for a visit to the establishment. This will enable the Labour Inspection Department to verify the validity of the complaint.
Companies that fail to pay salaries on time, for example, face strict action, as laid out in Ministerial Resolution No. (43) of 2022 - Regarding Wages Protection System. To read more about the penalties companies face in case of salary delays, click here.