In short: Since 1 June 2026, Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 requires private-sector wages to be paid by the first day of the following month, with no grace period — a payment made even a day late is officially "delayed." The compliance bar also rose from 80% to 85% of wages paid on time, and enforcement now escalates fast: notifications from day 2, new work-permit suspensions from day 5, and much more serious measures from day 11 onward for repeat offenders.

The headline change: one fixed date, no grace period

Wages for a given month are now due on the first day of the following month — full stop. June's salary was due 1 July. There's no longer the informal 15-day cushion many employers used to rely on under the old 2022 rules; payment after that first-of-the-month date is already treated as delayed, and the enforcement clock starts almost immediately.

That's a real operational shift. Banking cut-offs, weekends, public holidays and payroll approval delays now all need to be resolved before the deadline, not fixed a few days after it.

The 85% threshold — what it actually means (and doesn't)

An establishment is treated as compliant if it transfers at least 85% of total wages owed by the deadline — up from 80% under the old rules. Individually, a worker isn't treated as "unpaid" if they receive at least 85% of what they're owed, provided the shortfall comes from a lawful deduction.

This is genuinely important to get right: the 85% figure is a WPS compliance test, not a new rule letting employers cut everyone's pay by 15%. The employee's actual contractual and statutory wage is still fully owed — deductions are still governed separately by Article 25 of the Labour Law, which allows deductions up to a combined cap of 50% of wages in some circumstances. The two rules need to be read together, not confused with each other.

How fast enforcement now moves

  • From the due date: electronic monitoring of compliance begins immediately.
  • Day 2: notifications and warnings can go out to non-compliant establishments.
  • Day 5: new work-permit issuance can be suspended for the establishment — a genuine operational problem if you're actively hiring or mobilising staff.
  • Day 11: for establishments with a repeat violation within six months, an administrative fine plus reclassification into a lower MOHRE compliance category can follow.
  • Day 16: automatic labour disputes can be registered for affected workers, particularly for larger establishments (25+ workers) in higher-risk sectors like construction, security, cleaning and recruitment.
  • Day 21: in the most serious, repeated cases, measures can extend to precautionary attachment, a travel ban on the person responsible for the establishment, and referral to Public Prosecution.

The new-hire exclusion is gone

Under the old rules, new employees had a 30-day grace period before WPS compliance calculations applied to them. That exclusion doesn't appear anywhere in the new 2026 framework. Practically, this means payroll onboarding for new hires needs to happen fast — HR, immigration and payroll teams need tighter coordination than before, right from day one of employment.

Does this apply to free zone companies?

The Resolution directly covers establishments registered with MOHRE. Some free zones have separately adopted WPS themselves — JAFZA, for example, has required it since 2012, and DMCC publishes its own WPS guidance. If you're in a free zone, check that authority's specific current requirements rather than assuming the MOHRE Resolution applies identically, or assuming it doesn't apply at all.

What employers should actually do now

  • Move your internal payroll cut-off well ahead of the 1st of the month — the statutory deadline shouldn't also be your processing date.
  • Stress-test what happens when the 1st falls on a weekend, a bank file gets rejected, or a payroll approval is delayed.
  • Review any deduction that could push a transfer below 85%, and separately check it's actually lawful under Article 25.
  • Speed up new-hire payroll onboarding — the 30-day exclusion no longer exists.
  • If you outsource payroll, make sure the provider's contractual deadlines sit well ahead of the legal one, since the employer remains responsible even when a third party handles payment.
  • Set up an internal escalation path (payroll → HR → finance → management → legal) so a missed payment gets treated as a regulatory issue immediately, not left in the payroll queue.

Frequently Asked Questions

On the first day of the Gregorian month following the wage period — for example, June's wages were due 1 July 2026. A payment after that date is treated as delayed.

No. There's no equivalent 15-day grace period under the new Resolution — payment after the due date is immediately treated as delayed, and notifications can begin from day 2.

The 85% WPS threshold doesn't change the separate deduction rules under Article 25 of the Labour Law, which allow certain deductions up to a combined cap of 50% in some circumstances. But any deduction that drops a transfer below 85% needs careful compliance review.

No, not under the 2026 rules — that exclusion existed under the old framework but doesn't appear in Resolution No. 340 of 2026.

It directly covers MOHRE-registered establishments. Some free zones, like JAFZA and DMCC, separately require or offer WPS — check the specific free-zone authority's current requirements.

This article is general information, not legal advice. How the Resolution applies can depend on your establishment's structure, free-zone status and workforce. Confirm current requirements with MOHRE or your relevant free-zone authority.