How to complain to MOHRE about unpaid gratuity or dues

Complain to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) if your employer in the UAE private sector does not pay your gratuity or final dues. The Labour Law sends every dispute about rights under it to MOHRE first.¹

When should you complain?

When your employer has not paid in full within 14 days of your contract ending. That is the deadline for your wages and all other entitlements.¹

Do not wait too long. A claim for any right under the Labour Law is not heard after two years from the date the work relationship ended.¹ Before the 2024 amendment the limit was one year from the date the right fell due.²

Write to your employer first with your own figures. Check them with the gratuity calculator and the final settlement guide.

How do you file a complaint?

Online, through the MOHRE website or the MOHRE mobile app. The service is called Register Labour Complaints. It has no fee and MOHRE gives 14 working days to complete it.³

MOHRE’s conditions are that you are registered in its database, and that you do not already have a pending complaint or a case in court unless you are still employed or want your work permit cancelled.³

Attach documents that support your claim, such as your resignation or dismissal letter.³

MOHRE says you can follow up on the website, in the app or by calling 04 665 9999.³

What does MOHRE do with your complaint?

It looks into the claim and tries to settle it between you and your employer.¹

When either side takes a MOHRE decision to court, the court must hold a hearing within three working days of the case being filed and decide within 30 working days. Its judgment is final, and filing the case stops the MOHRE decision being enforced.¹

If the dispute stops your wages being paid, MOHRE can order your employer to keep paying you for up to two months while it runs.¹

Do you pay court fees?

No. Labour lawsuits are exempt from court fees at every stage, including enforcement, and so are requests by workers or their heirs worth up to AED 100,000.¹

What if your employer used the savings scheme?

MOHRE also takes labour complaints about the voluntary end of service savings scheme. Complaints about how the investment fund itself performs go to the securities regulator.⁴

What if you work in DIFC or ADGM?

The financial free zones have their own employment laws. Their authorities, not MOHRE, supervise savings plans in their zone and settle complaints about them.⁴ DIFC staff are covered by the DIFC Employment Law. A claim under it goes to a court in the DIFC and must be made while you are employed or within six months of your employment ending.⁵ See DEWS and ADGM workplace savings for each zone’s rules.

File within the time limit, keep your complaint number, and work through the checklist on this page first.

The small print

• Articles. Individual disputes are Article 54 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, as amended on 29 July 2024. Fee exemption is Article 55. The 14-day payment deadline is Article 53.¹
• Before the amendment. Article 54 used to make MOHRE’s decision on claims up to AED 50,000 final, with an appeal to the Court of Appeal within 15 working days, and a one-year limit counted from when the right fell due.²
• Regulations. Article 31 of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 says MOHRE refers an unsettled dispute to court within 14 days of the application and that a worker whose claim is referred should register the case and settle their status in the country.⁶
• Savings scheme. Complaints are Article 11 of Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023.⁴
• Language. The English texts are translations. The Arabic texts are the official ones.