Dubai: If you hire a domestic worker in the UAE, it is possible to pay their monthly salary through the Wages Protection System (WPS), which is an electronic system approved by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). WPS allows employers to pay domestic workers’ wages through banks, money exchanges, and financial institutions approved and authorised by the UAE Central Bank to provide wage payment services.
Why should you pay through WPS?
According to MOHRE, these are the benefits of registering your domestic worker with the Wages Protection System:
• Maintaining the employer’s right to prove the wages payment process.
• Streamlining the process of transferring wages from the employer to the domestic worker.
• Ensuring timely payment of wages.
• Stabilising the relationship between the parties.
How to register a domestic worker with WPS?
According to MOHRE, you will need to firstly make sure that you have the following your Emirates ID as well as the workers Emirates ID with you. You then need to visit any of the approved banks, financial institutions or money exchange houses, to register the worker with WPS.
The service to register domestic workers in WPS is available for 19 professions but starting from April 1, 2023, the service will be applied to five professions as follows:
1. Personal tutor
2. Private agricultural engineer
3. PRO (Public Relations Officer)
4. Personal trainer
5. Home care provider
The Ministry has defined 19 domestic workers’ professions, which include the housemaid, sailor/boatman, security guard, household shepherd, household horse groomer, household falcon trainer, physical labour worker, housekeeper, cook, nanny/babysitter, farmer, gardener, personal driver, private agricultural engineer, personal assistant, personal nurse, personal tutor and personal trainer.
Rules around wage payment
MOHRE also reiterated that wages for domestic workers registered with you should be paid within a period not exceeding 10 days from the due date. Not registering the worker in WPS will make the employer liable to face administrative penalties.
