UAE is a very interesting destination for foreigners, especially professionals or any person looking for work. But there is doubt among many of them about what the minimum wage in UAE is.
In this article, you will learn:
- Everything about what the minimum wage in UAE is
- On the other hand, we will also address the issue of basic salary
- Average salaries, and average salaries per location, such as in the emirate of Dubai
- If there is a minimum wage for expats in UAE, among other topics related to the minimum wage in UAE.
Minimum wage in UAE
The minimum remuneration that a worker must receive by law for the provision of his services is called the minimum wage. Wages are dependent qualification level that each job requires.
Many countries around the world as per their respective labor laws establish a minimum wage amount. Hence, employment contracts are made according to the labor law and should not establish lower amounts. But if they fail to do so, employers will get into trouble and may be subject to receiving legal sanctions as per the labor legislation.
There is no minimum wage figure in the case of UAE. Likewise, do not confuse the minimum wage in UAE with the basic salary since they are different figures.
In case of disputes over salary, the parties must go to the Ministry of Labor to find the best solution.
Basic salary notions in the United Arab Emirates
The basic salary in UAE is simply the amount agreed between employer and employee in the employment contract. For its part, this basic salary does not include extra bonuses, benefits, expenses, and any other extra-salary concept.
According to UAE labor law, the salary must be specified in the employment contract.
However, generally, employees in addition to their basic salary receive other employee benefits, such as:
- Corporate phone.
- Housing,
- Transportation
- Allowance
- And more.
In this order of ideas, the union of the base salary plus extra-salary concepts is equal to the gross salary. Likewise, these extra-salary labor concepts must be established in the employment contract.
Here you must know about the net salary, which is equal to the gross salary minus legal deductions.
Gross salary – legal deductions = Net Salary
Ultimately, it is important to know that there is no minimum wage in UAE. The salary must be an agreement between the parties that make up the employment relationship. Now, having this information, in the interest of making a summary, it must be said that there are three types of salaries in the UAE:
The basic salary
The basic salary is an amount that must be mentioned at the time of agreement between the employee and the employer. It must be established in the employment contract. The salary decided between both the parties has come into consideration after negotiation between them. At the time of the contract, an employee has a choice to accept or reject it.
Gross salary
A gross salary is equal to the basic salary plus other types of labor compensation, which includes the basic salary, as well as any bonuses, subsidies, commissions, or other benefits without any deductions and with holdings.
Net salary
The net salary is the amount that an employee receives after deductions and withholdings. It includes:
- Social security
- Taxes
- Contributions, and
- Other expenses
Is there a mandatory minimum wage in the United Arab Emirates?
As per the UAE law, there is no minimum wage in the UAE, the employer and employee must agree on salary concepts, but to make employees satisfied, the UAE Labor Law establishes that the economic compensation that the employee receives for the provision of his/her labor services must cover his/her basic needs.
Average salaries in the UAE per profession
The UAE is not following any mandatory policy but this does not mean that wages cannot be averaged accordingly. The wages of domestic workers in the UAE range between 1,100 and 1,800 AED enough to cover the basic necessities of life and is equivalent to approximately 300 to 500 US dollars.
For a potential worker, it is a benefit who already know what he/she may receive as a salary and thus avoid abuses by the employer. Likewise, these averages are not mandatory and the employee can accept a lower amount as salary.
Now in general terms, these are some of the salary averages, depending on the level of the job:
- Employees at the university level normally receive no less than 12,000 AED per month or approximately 3,250 US dollars.
- The average salary of skilled workers is about 5,000 AED per month, which is equivalent to about 1,350 US dollars.
- Qualified technical-level employees usually earn at least 7,000 AED per month, which is equivalent to about 1,900 US dollars.
As per the average monthly salary according to the profession in UAE, we present some insights below:
- Babysitters: 1,100 AED or about 300 US dollars.
- Waiters: 1,200 AED or about 325 US dollars.
- Secretaries: 4,000 AED which is equivalent to approximately 1,100 US dollars.
- Nurses: AED 6,000. About 1,650 US dollars.
- Sales executives: Sales executives normally earn about AED 8,000, which is equivalent to about 2,200 US dollars.
- Computer engineer: 11,000 AED or about 3,000 US dollars per month.
- Human Resources Manager: 18,000 AED, about 4,900 US dollars.
- General Manager: 35,000 AED which is equivalent to approximately 9,500 US dollars.
Salary averages in the United Arab Emirates by job location
We present an average of the monthly minimum wage in various places in the UAE:
- Dubai: 21,500 AED equivalents to about 5,850 US dollars.
- Abu Dhabi: The average salary in the capital is about 21,000 AED which is equivalent to about 5,700 US dollars.
- Ajman: 19,300 AED or about 5,250 US dollars.
- Fujairah: 18,100 AED which is equivalent to about 4,950 US dollars.
How does the UAE Labor Law regulate the minimum wage?
In general terms, this law does not establish anything about a mandatory minimum wage in the country, but it does establish some general guidelines on the basic salary and deductions for employees.
As the Labor Law leaves the door open so that a minimum wage can be established at any time in the UAE, employers must be aware of possible modifications in this matter so as not to incur a violation of the labor law.
On the other hand, taking into account the aforementioned salary averages according to the profession and location and since the Labor Law does not establish anything in this regard about the minimum wage in UAE, on this basis both employers and employees can have a starting point for salary negotiations.
Likewise, the UAE Labor law establishes that employees’ salaries must be sufficient to cover their basic needs. Although fortunately in UAE employers usually grant many extra-salary benefits to their employees. Therefore, they can make better use of their salaries since job benefits cover many of their basic needs.
Why choose NG Manpower as your best option in the United Arab Emirates?
Unlike other countries, UAE does not establish a mandatory minimum salary for employees working in the country. However, the remuneration decided between an employee and the employer is fair enough. They have to take into account factors such as the:
⦁ Qualification of the job,
⦁ The specific profession, and
⦁ The location of the job, among others.
Given all this information, NG Manpower can advise you on this and other UAE labor law issues so that you do not incur violations of the law. With trained professionals, we have many years of experience who will advise you better on this matter.
Similarly, we are the best manpower supply company for different companies in the UAE, especially manpower supply in Dubai. We offer an attractive service, especially for construction companies.
Therefore, if you want to obtain information about NG Manpower you can get in touch with us now!
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