Payroll Service in UAE
Payroll Service in UAE | Accurate, Compliant and Fully Managed
Managing payroll in the UAE is not simply a matter of transferring salaries at the end of each month. It is a compliance-driven process governed by federal labour law, monitored by government authorities and subject to real penalties when it goes wrong. Markom Global‘s payroll service in UAE takes this entire responsibility off your plate — professionally, accurately and on time, every time.
What Is Payroll Service in UAE and Why Does It Matter?
Payroll in the UAE is one of the most regulated HR functions an employer manages. Under the UAE Federal Labour Law No. 33 of 2021 and the Wage Protection System administered by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), employers must meet strict requirements around the timing of salary payments, accurate salary information file (SIF) submissions, end-of-service benefit calculations and proper documentation of every element of employee compensation.
Getting payroll wrong is not just an administrative inconvenience. It exposes your business to regulatory penalties, damaged employee trust, banking complications and — in serious cases — business licence suspension. Many UAE businesses only discover a payroll compliance problem during a Ministry of Labour inspection or an external audit, by which point the liability has often grown significantly.
A professionally managed payroll service ensures that none of that happens. Your employees are paid correctly and on time, your WPS files are submitted accurately, your gratuity liabilities are properly tracked and your payroll records are clean for auditors and regulators.
UAE Payroll Compliance | What Every Employer Needs to Know
Before diving into what Markom Global does, it is worth understanding the regulatory framework that shapes payroll in the UAE. This context is what separates a payroll provider who understands the market from one who simply processes numbers.
UAE Labour Law Compliance
UAE payroll is governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, which sets out rules on employment contracts, overtime pay, annual leave encashment, notice periods and the treatment of different allowances. Payroll must correctly reflect basic salary, housing allowance, transport allowance and any other contractual components, since the split between basic salary and allowances affects both gratuity calculations and legal entitlements.
For businesses registered in free zones, additional rules may apply depending on the specific free zone authority. Our team understands these distinctions across DIFC, DMCC, JAFZA and all major UAE free zones.
End-of-Service Gratuity (EOSB)
End-of-service gratuity is a statutory entitlement for every eligible employee who completes at least one year of continuous service. <br>Under UAE Labour Law, the calculation is based on the employee’s basic salary — not total package — and years of service: 21 days of basic salary for each completed year up to five years and 30 days per additional year beyond that. Gratuity must typically be settled within 14 days of an employee’s last working day.
Incorrect gratuity calculations are one of the most common and costly payroll errors in the UAE. As auditors who review payroll compliance regularly note, a single formula error applied across a workforce of 200 people can create an unrecorded liability running into the millions of dirhams. Markom Global’s payroll service ensures every gratuity calculation is accurate, documented and provisioned correctly in your accounts.
The Wage Protection System (WPS)
The Wage Protection System is a government-mandated electronic salary transfer mechanism that requires UAE employers to pay employees through approved financial institutions within the timeframes set by MoHRE. Each payroll run requires the generation of a compliant Salary Information File (SIF) and submission through the WPS. Failure to comply — whether through late payment, incorrect SIF files, or processing through non-approved channels — results in penalties that escalate with repeat violations.
UAE Nationals and GPSSA Contributions
For businesses employing UAE nationals, General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) contributions are a mandatory element of payroll. Employer and employee contribution rates must be correctly calculated and submitted on time. Markom Global handles GPSSA processing as part of our comprehensive payroll service for UAE employers.
What we offer
What Markom Global's Payroll Service in UAE Includes
Our payroll service in UAE is a fully managed solution. We handle everything from monthly payroll calculations to year-end reporting, so your internal team can focus on the business rather than the administration.
Monthly Payroll Processing
Every month, we calculate gross pay, apply all lawful deductions and additions — including overtime, commission, bonuses, leave deductions and allowances — and produce accurate net salary figures for every employee. We manage payroll for businesses with two employees and businesses with two hundred. The level of precision is the same regardless of headcount.
WPS Salary Information File (SIF) Generation and Submission
We generate fully compliant SIF files for every payroll cycle and ensure they are submitted through the WPS within the required timeframes. Our team stays current with MoHRE guidance updates so your WPS filings always meet the latest requirements — protecting your business from the penalties that come with non-compliance.
End-of-Service Benefit (Gratuity) Calculation and Tracking
We calculate and track gratuity accruals for every employee on an ongoing basis, ensuring your books reflect the actual liability your business is building. When an employee leaves, we provide the final settlement figure promptly and accurately, in line with UAE Labour Law.
Payslip Generation and Distribution
Every employee receives a clear, detailed payslip covering their gross salary, all allowances, any deductions and their net pay. Payslips are prepared in formats that meet both employee expectations and audit requirements.
Leave Management Integration
Payroll does not exist in isolation. Leave balances — annual leave, unpaid leave, sick leave — directly affect payroll calculations. We integrate leave management into the payroll process so that deductions and encashments are always accurate and consistent with your HR records.
GPSSA Contributions (UAE Nationals)
For businesses employing UAE nationals, we calculate and process GPSSA employer and employee contributions correctly each month, ensuring your Emiratisation payroll obligations are fully met.
Payroll Reporting
We provide monthly payroll summaries and detailed reports covering total salary costs, department-level breakdowns, overtime summaries and headcount analysis. These reports feed directly into your management accounts, giving your finance team and CFO clean data to work with every month.
Year-End Payroll Reconciliation
At year-end, we reconcile the full payroll year — ensuring every figure ties back, every liability is correctly stated and your records are clean for your auditors. For businesses that engage Markom Global for both payroll and accounting services, this integration is seamless.
Employee Onboarding and Offboarding Payroll Support
New joiners and leavers create the majority of payroll errors. We manage the payroll elements of both processes — setting up new employee records accurately from day one and calculating final settlements precisely on exit.
Why UAE Businesses Outsource Their Payroll
Many business owners underestimate how much time and specialist knowledge managing payroll in-house actually demands. A single payroll run in the UAE involves checking attendance and leave, applying the correct salary components, calculating overtime, generating WPS-compliant files, tracking gratuity, processing any one-off payments and distributing payslips — all within a fixed window each month.
When this is managed by a general accounts assistant alongside their other duties, errors happen. When it is managed by a dedicated professional who handles payroll for dozens of businesses and stays current with UAE labour regulations daily, the quality is categorically different.
Outsourcing your payroll service in UAE with Markom Global gives you that quality without the overhead of a specialist hire. You gain accuracy, compliance and time back — and you eliminate the risk of a payroll error becoming a regulatory problem.
Payroll Service in UAE — Who We Work With
Our payroll service is built for businesses at every stage of growth in the UAE.
Startups and early-stage businesses often need payroll set up correctly from their first hire. We build the structure properly from the beginning — employment contract alignment, WPS registration, payroll schedules and gratuity tracking — so there are no legacy problems to fix later.
Growing SMEs with expanding headcounts frequently find that payroll has quietly become a complexity their existing team cannot keep up with. We take over and stabilise the function quickly, often identifying and correcting issues that had been building unnoticed.
Established businesses and multinationals operating in the UAE benefit from the consistency and audit-readiness of a professionally managed payroll service, with reporting that integrates with their regional finance operations.
Payroll Service Across the UAE
Markom Global provides payroll services across all UAE emirates and free zones.
Payroll Service in Dubai
For mainland companies, DIFC entities, DMCC-registered businesses and all other Dubai free zones. We understand the nuances of payroll across different licensing structures and banking environments in Dubai.
Payroll Service in Abu Dhabi
For mainland and ADGM-registered businesses. Our team handles GPSSA contributions for UAE national employees, ADGM payroll requirements and the specific payroll needs of Abu Dhabi’s growing corporate and government-adjacent business community.
Payroll Service in Sharjah, Ajman, RAK, Fujairah and Other Emirates
Wherever your business is licensed and wherever your employees work, we deliver consistent, compliant payroll processing. Our virtual service model means geography is never a barrier.
Payroll and Your Broader Finance Function
Payroll does not sit in isolation. The numbers your payroll service produces feed directly into your accounting, your management accounts, your VAT reporting and your corporate tax position. When these functions are managed by different providers, there is always the risk of a gap between what HR says was paid and what the accounts actually show.
Markom Global offers integrated financial services — meaning your payroll, accounting, VAT compliance and CFO advisory all operate from the same clean financial foundation. There are no data handoff errors, no reconciliation surprises and no gaps at audit time.
Explore our Accounting and Bookkeeping Services, UAE VAT Compliance, Corporate Tax Support and CFO Services.
Why Markom Global for Payroll Service in UAE?
Genuine UAE Payroll Expertise
Our payroll team understands UAE Labour Law, WPS requirements, gratuity calculations, GPSSA obligations and free zone-specific payroll rules. This is not generic payroll software applied to UAE data — it is hands-on expertise built around the specific regulatory environment your business operates in.
Accuracy as a Non-Negotiable
Payroll errors cost businesses money, damage employee relationships and create regulatory risk. Our processes are designed to eliminate errors through structured data collection, dual-review calculation checks and systematic reconciliation at every payroll cycle.
WPS Compliance Built In
Every payroll run we process is WPS-compliant by default. SIF files are generated correctly, submitted on time and archived for your records. You will never face a WPS violation because of something on our end.
Confidential and Secure
Payroll data is among the most sensitive information a business holds. Markom Global treats all payroll data with strict confidentiality, governed by engagement agreements and controlled access protocols. Your employees’ salary information is never exposed beyond those with a legitimate need to see it.
Scalable as You Grow
Whether you hire five people this year or fifty, our payroll service scales with you without disruption. You do not need to hire additional internal staff or change providers as your headcount grows — we grow with you.
Integrated With Your Accounting
Because Markom Global also provides accounting and bookkeeping services, your payroll data flows directly into your management accounts and financial reports. This saves time, eliminates reconciliation errors and gives your finance team a single, reliable source of truth.
How to Get Started
Free Consultation
We start with a conversation about your current payroll setup, headcount and any specific challenges you are facing — whether that is WPS issues, gratuity concerns, or simply a payroll process that takes too much of your team’s time.
Payroll Audit and Setup
If you are transitioning from an existing system, we conduct a review of your current payroll records to identify any discrepancies before we take over. We onboard your employee data cleanly and set up every component correctly from day one.
Managed Monthly Payroll
From your first payroll cycle with us, we handle the entire process — calculations, WPS filing, payslip distribution, gratuity tracking and reporting. You simply review and approve before the pay run goes out.
Ongoing Compliance and Reporting
We stay on top of MoHRE updates, labour law changes and any free zone-specific changes that affect your payroll. You focus on your business. We make sure your payroll stays compliant.
Frequently Asked Questions About Payroll Service in UAE
The Wage Protection System is a government-mandated electronic salary transfer mechanism in the UAE, operated under the authority of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE). It requires employers to pay employees' salaries through approved financial channels and submit a Salary Information File (SIF) each payroll cycle. Non-compliance results in penalties that escalate with each repeated violation, including potential licence suspension.
UAE gratuity is calculated based on an employee's basic salary and years of continuous service. For the first five years, an employee is entitled to 21 days of basic salary per completed year. Beyond five years, the entitlement increases to 30 days of basic salary per additional year. Gratuity must generally be settled within 14 days of the employee's final working day. Markom Global calculates and tracks gratuity accurately for every employee on your payroll throughout their employment.
No. There is no personal income tax on employee salaries in the UAE, which is one of the key employment advantages of the market. However, employers do have payroll obligations including WPS compliance, end-of-service gratuity, GPSSA contributions for UAE nationals and mandatory health insurance. The Federal Tax Authority's corporate tax framework affects business profits but not individual salary payments.
Basic salary is the fixed core component of an employee's package, before allowances such as housing, transport and mobile. Total salary includes all these components. In UAE payroll, the distinction is critical because end-of-service gratuity, overtime calculations and certain statutory entitlements are all calculated based on basic salary, not total package. Errors in how salary is structured can create significant calculation errors across a workforce over time.
Absolutely. In fact, small businesses in the UAE often benefit most from outsourced payroll because they typically do not have a dedicated payroll specialist in-house. Outsourcing ensures WPS compliance, accurate gratuity tracking and correct labour law application from the very first employee — without the cost of a specialist hire. Contact Markom Global to discuss a payroll service package suited to your business size.
Yes. We manage payroll for businesses across all UAE free zones including DMCC, DIFC, JAFZA, RAKEZ, SHAMS, KIZAD and others. Each free zone has its own licensing and banking environment and our team understands the specific requirements for each.
Non-compliance with WPS can result in fines, a ban on new work permit applications and in repeat cases, business licence suspension. These penalties are imposed by MoHRE and are enforced actively. Working with a payroll service provider that generates compliant SIF files and submits them correctly every cycle eliminates this risk entirely.
Ready to Take Payroll Off Your To-Do List?
Payroll done right in the UAE requires expertise, attention to detail and a real understanding of local regulations. Markom Global brings all three — along with a team that treats your business with the same care as our own.
Whether you are setting up payroll for the first time or looking to move away from a provider that is not delivering, we are ready to help.