If you work in the private sector in the UAE, your employer has dealt with MOHRE. If you are an employer, you deal with MOHRE constantly. And if you have been in the country long enough, you probably still call it MOL. They are the same entity. The Ministry of Labour became the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in 2016, but the old name stuck in conversation and in search engines.
MOHRE controls most of the employment relationship between you and your employer. They issue work permits, register labour contracts, enforce wage payment rules, handle complaints, and since 2023, they also administer the mandatory ILOE unemployment insurance scheme. Whether you need to check your labour contract details, verify a work permit, file a complaint about unpaid wages, or register for unemployment insurance before the fine hits, it all goes through MOHRE.
This article covers what MOHRE actually does, how to use their enquiry services to check your status, what you need to know about labour contracts in the UAE, and how ILOE insurance works including the premiums, claims process, and the penalties if you ignore it.
What MOHRE does (and why it used to be called MOL)
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation handles employment regulation for the UAE’s private sector. The name change from Ministry of Labour to MOHRE happened in 2016 as part of a restructuring that added emiratisation policy to the ministry’s mandate. The abbreviation MOL and the domain mol.gov.ae still redirect to MOHRE services, so either name gets you to the same place.
The services MOHRE provides
MOHRE’s scope covers the full employment lifecycle in the private sector.
Work permits and labour cards are issued through MOHRE. Every private sector employee working on the mainland needs a labour card, which is the digital record that authorizes their employment. The employer applies for it, and MOHRE issues it after verifying the contract and documents. Labour cards are valid for two years.
Labour contracts are registered and stored by MOHRE. Since the 2022 labour law reforms, all private sector contracts must be fixed term with a maximum duration of three years. The old unlimited contract category was eliminated. Employers must submit signed contracts to MOHRE within 14 days of the employee’s arrival in the UAE.
Establishment cards are the company’s registration with MOHRE. Every mainland business that employs workers needs one. It links the company’s trade license to its MOHRE file and determines its classification, which affects visa quotas and fee structures.
The Wage Protection System is MOHRE’s mechanism for monitoring salary payments. Employers must pay salaries through WPS registered channels, and the system flags late or missing payments automatically.
Labour complaints and disputes go through MOHRE before they reach the courts. If you have a problem with your employer, whether it is unpaid wages, wrongful termination, or contract violations, MOHRE is the first stop. They attempt mediation, and unresolved cases get referred to the labour court after 14 days.
ILOE insurance administration was added to MOHRE’s responsibilities when the unemployment insurance scheme launched. More on that later in this article.
What MOHRE does not cover
MOHRE handles private sector employment on the UAE mainland. It does not cover government employees, domestic workers (who fall under different regulations), or employees working in the financial free zones like DIFC and ADGM, which have their own employment frameworks.
Free zone employees are a gray area. MOHRE issues visas for many free zone workers, but the employment relationship is governed by the free zone authority’s own regulations, not MOHRE. If you work in DMCC or JAFZA, your labour complaint goes to the free zone, not MOHRE.
MOHRE enquiry services: how to check your status
MOHRE offers several online enquiry tools that let employees and employers check the status of their work permits, contracts, and applications. These are some of the most useful government services in the UAE, because they let you verify what your employer has actually filed rather than taking their word for it.
What you can check
The MOHRE enquiry portal lets you look up five categories of information.
Labour contract enquiry shows your registered contract details, including job title, salary, contract duration, and employer information. You can access this through the MOHRE website by navigating to Services, then Job Offers and Contracts Services, then My Contract. You need your transaction number or your passport details and nationality.
Work permit enquiry shows the status of your labour card: whether it is active, expired, or in process. This tells you whether your employer has actually completed your work permit, which matters because some employers delay the process and leave employees working on expired permits.
Labour complaint enquiry lets you track the status of any complaint you have filed. You can see whether mediation has been scheduled, whether the employer has responded, and what stage the process is at.
Company enquiry lets you verify an employer’s MOHRE registration. This is useful before accepting a job offer, because you can check whether the company has an active establishment card, what its classification is, and whether it has any violations on record.
Fines and violations enquiry shows any penalties assessed against you or your employer. Late labour card renewals, WPS violations, and other compliance failures show up here.
How to access the enquiry services
There are three ways to check your MOHRE status.
Through the MOHRE website at mohre.gov.ae, navigate to the enquiry services section. Some services require login through UAE Pass, others allow public search with your passport or Emirates ID details. The employment offers and contracts portal is at receipts.mohre.gov.ae/OfferInquiry/Index.
Through the MOHRE mobile app, which mirrors the website functionality and adds push notifications for status changes. Sign in with UAE Pass, access Services, then My Contract, and enter your passport number, nationality, and date of birth.
Through the eNetwasal portal, select Labour Card Information, enter your card number and credentials, and you can download or print your labour card details.
What to do if your status looks wrong
If your MOHRE enquiry shows something unexpected, like an expired work permit you thought was renewed, or a contract salary that does not match what you agreed to, do not panic but do not ignore it either.
Salary discrepancies between your actual pay and what MOHRE has on file are unfortunately common. Some employers register a lower salary in the MOHRE contract than what they verbally agreed to pay. This matters because end of service gratuity, overtime calculations, and any future labour complaint are all based on the MOHRE registered salary, not what hits your bank account.
If you find a discrepancy, raise it with your employer first. If they do not fix it, file a complaint through MOHRE. The evidence that matters is your bank statements showing actual salary received versus the MOHRE registered amount.
Labour contracts in the UAE
The UAE overhauled its labour law in February 2022 with Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021, replacing the 1980 labour law that had governed private sector employment for over 40 years. The biggest change was eliminating the unlimited contract.
Fixed term contracts only
Before 2022, the UAE had two types of employment contracts: limited (fixed term, with a start and end date) and unlimited (open ended, terminated by either party with notice). The new law eliminated unlimited contracts entirely. All private sector employment contracts must now be fixed term, with a maximum duration of three years. Contracts can be renewed, but they must have a defined end date.
Employers were given a transition period to convert existing unlimited contracts to fixed term. If your contract still says “unlimited” and has not been updated, it is technically non compliant. In practice, many companies took years to convert their entire workforce, and MOHRE has been lenient on enforcement timelines.
Contract types that exist now
While all contracts are fixed term, MOHRE recognizes several employment patterns within that framework.
Full time contracts are the standard. The employee works for one employer, up to 48 hours per week, with overtime compensation for anything beyond that.
Part time contracts allow less than 48 hours per week, and the employee can work for multiple employers simultaneously. Each employer needs to register the part time arrangement with MOHRE.
Temporary contracts cover short term project work or probationary arrangements where the employer may or may not extend the employment.
Job sharing arrangements let multiple part time employees divide the responsibilities of a single role.
What the contract must include
MOHRE requires every employment contract to specify: the employer’s name and address, the employee’s name, nationality and ID, job title and description, date of joining, contract duration, workplace location, working hours, probation period (if any, up to six months maximum), salary and benefits, leave entitlements, notice period for termination, and the applicable gratuity.
The contract must be in Arabic. If there is an English translation, the Arabic version is the legally binding one if there is ever a dispute.
Probation and notice periods
Probation can be up to six months. During probation, the employer can terminate the employee with 14 days written notice. The employee who wants to leave during probation must give 14 days notice if leaving the UAE, or one month notice if joining another employer in the UAE. If they joined from overseas, the new employer may need to compensate the previous employer’s recruitment costs.
After probation, the notice period depends on what the contract says, but the minimum is 30 days and the maximum is 90 days. During the notice period, the employee gets one unpaid day per week to search for new employment.
Termination rules
Either party can terminate a fixed term contract before it expires by giving the agreed notice period (minimum 30 days, maximum 90 days). The party that terminates may owe compensation to the other side, depending on the circumstances.
An employer can terminate without notice in cases of gross misconduct, such as assuming a false identity, committing a serious error that causes substantial loss, being absent without permission for more than 20 non consecutive days in a year, or being convicted of a crime.
An employee can terminate without notice if the employer fails to meet contractual obligations (like not paying salary), if the employer assaults the employee, or if the working conditions are dangerous and the employer did not take corrective action after being notified.
Salary during disputes
A 2025 amendment added a provision requiring employers to continue paying employees for up to two months while employment disputes are being resolved through MOHRE mediation or the courts. This was a significant change, because previously an employer could cut off salary the moment a dispute was filed, putting financial pressure on the employee to accept unfavorable terms.
The Wage Protection System
WPS is one of MOHRE’s most important enforcement tools, and it is worth understanding even though it is technically the employer’s responsibility, not the employee’s.
How it works
The Wage Protection System requires all private sector employers to pay salaries through approved banking channels (bank transfers, exchange houses, or MOHRE approved financial institutions). The system records every payment, including the amount, date, and recipient. MOHRE monitors these records automatically.
If an employer pays late, pays less than the registered contract amount, or does not pay at all, the WPS flags it. Penalties escalate based on the severity and frequency of the violation.
Why it matters to employees
Before WPS, wage theft was rampant, particularly for low income workers in construction and services. Employers could claim they had paid cash, and workers had no evidence to dispute it. WPS creates an automatic paper trail.
If your employer is not paying through WPS, that is a red flag. It means either they are not registered properly with MOHRE, or they are deliberately avoiding the system to have flexibility in when and how much they pay. Either way, it puts you at risk. If you ever need to file a complaint for unpaid wages, having WPS records makes your case almost automatic. Without them, you are in a he said, she said situation.
Employer penalties
Employers who violate WPS face escalating consequences. Initial delays result in warnings. Repeated or prolonged delays lead to fines, suspension of new work permit applications, and in severe cases, referral to public prosecution. MOHRE publishes the names of companies with serious WPS violations, which affects their ability to recruit.
ILOE insurance: the unemployment insurance you cannot skip
ILOE stands for Involuntary Loss of Employment. It is a mandatory insurance scheme that launched on January 1, 2023, under Federal Decree Law No. 13 of 2022. Every private sector employee in the UAE must be enrolled. Federal government employees are also covered under a separate scheme. Free zone employees fall under the private sector scheme.
Who needs it
Almost everyone who works in the UAE needs ILOE insurance. The only exemptions are: business owners working in their own establishments, domestic workers, temporary contract employees, people under 18, and pensioned retirees who have re-entered the workforce.
If you do not fall into one of those categories, you need to register and pay premiums. Your employer does not do this for you. ILOE is the employee’s personal responsibility.
The premiums
There are two categories based on your basic salary.
Category A covers employees with a basic salary of AED 16,000 or less. The premium is AED 5 per month plus VAT, or roughly AED 60 per year plus VAT. This is the majority of private sector workers.
Category B covers employees with a basic salary above AED 16,000. The premium is AED 10 per month plus VAT, or about AED 120 per year plus VAT.
You can pay monthly, quarterly, semi annually, or annually. Annual payment is the most convenient option and the one I would recommend, because forgetting a monthly payment for three consecutive months triggers a fine and cancels your policy.
What you get if you lose your job
If you are involuntarily terminated, ILOE pays 60% of your average basic salary from the preceding six months, up to a cap.
Category A caps at AED 10,000 per month. Category B caps at AED 20,000 per month.
Payments continue for up to three consecutive months per claim. There is also a lifetime cap: you cannot collect more than 12 monthly benefit equivalents over the course of your working life in the UAE.
How to claim
You must file a claim within 30 days of your employment termination date. The termination must be involuntary, meaning you were fired, made redundant, or your contract expired without renewal. Resignation does not qualify. Neither does termination for disciplinary reasons under Article 44 of the labour law.
Additional requirements: you must have been subscribed and paying premiums continuously for at least 12 months before the claim. You must not have an absconding complaint filed against you. You must be physically present in the UAE when filing.
Claims are filed through the iloe.ae website or the ILOE mobile app. Processing typically takes a few weeks, and payments go to your registered bank account.
How to register
Registration takes under 10 minutes. You need your Emirates ID and a UAE mobile number.
Through iloe.ae, click Subscribe, enter your Emirates ID number, select your salary category, choose your payment frequency, complete payment, and download your Certificate of Insurance.
Through the ILOE mobile app, the process is identical.
If you prefer in person options, you can register through Al Ansari Exchange branches, Tawjeeh and Tasheel business centers, or MBME Pay kiosks at supermarkets and malls. You can also register via SMS by sending your Emirates ID to 2120 through Etisalat or e&.
The fines
This is where people get caught. MOHRE does not send you a polite reminder. If you never subscribe, the fine is AED 400. If you subscribe but miss premium payments for three or more months, the fine is AED 200 and your policy gets cancelled, meaning you need to re-register and start the 12 month qualifying period from scratch.
Unpaid fines can be deducted from your wages through the Wage Protection System or from your end of service gratuity. They can also block work permit renewals. I have seen cases where an employee’s visa renewal got stuck because of an unpaid ILOE fine they did not know about.
The simplest way to avoid this: pay annually. Set a calendar reminder. AED 60 or AED 120 per year is not worth the AED 400 fine and the hassle of restarting your qualifying period.
The ILOE last date question
There is no single “last date” for ILOE registration. The scheme has been mandatory since January 1, 2023. If you started a new job at any point after that date, you should have registered within your first few months. If you have been working since before 2023 and still have not registered, you are already non compliant and potentially subject to the AED 400 fine.
New employees should register as soon as they receive their labour card and Emirates ID. There is no explicit grace period written into the law, though enforcement has been somewhat gradual. The practical advice is to register within the first month of employment and not test MOHRE’s patience on timing.
MOL enquiry versus MOHRE enquiry: clearing up the confusion
People search for “MOL enquiry” about as often as “MOHRE enquiry,” so it is worth explaining clearly: they are the same thing. MOL (Ministry of Labour) was renamed MOHRE in 2016. The old MOL website redirects to mohre.gov.ae. The enquiry services, the portals, the apps, and the processes are identical regardless of which name you use.
If someone tells you to go to the MOL website for a labour card check, they mean mohre.gov.ae. If your company’s HR department mentions MOL approval, they mean MOHRE approval. There is no separate MOL entity anymore.
The one thing that confuses people further: MOHRE’s services interact with other government entities depending on the emirate. In Dubai, residence visa stamping goes through GDRFA (General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs), not MOHRE. But the work permit and labour contract are MOHRE’s domain. In Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and the other emirates, visa processing goes through ICP (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security). MOHRE handles the employment side everywhere.
So the sequence for hiring an employee in Dubai is: MOHRE issues the work permit, GDRFA stamps the residence visa, and the Emirates ID is processed through ICP. Three different authorities for what feels like one process. Welcome to UAE bureaucracy.
Common MOHRE tasks and how to handle them
Checking your labour card status
Your labour card is valid for two years. To check when it expires, use the MOHRE app or website enquiry service with your labour card number or Emirates ID. If it is expired, your employer is responsible for renewal. Late renewal attracts a fine of AED 200 per month, capped at AED 2,000. Working on an expired labour card can result in a work ban for the employee and account suspension for the employer.
Downloading your labour contract
You can download a copy of your registered labour contract through the MOHRE app under Services, then My Contract. You can also access it through the MOHRE website or print it at a Tasheel center. I would recommend every employee downloads their contract at least once to verify the details match what they signed.
Filing a labour complaint
If your employer has not paid your salary, violated your contract terms, or wrongfully terminated you, file a complaint through MOHRE before going to court. You can do this through the MOHRE app, website, or by visiting a Tasheel center.
MOHRE assigns a mediator who contacts both parties. If mediation resolves the issue, a settlement agreement is signed. If not, MOHRE refers the case to the labour court after 14 days. During the dispute, the 2025 amendment requires employers to continue paying salary for up to two months.
There is no fee to file a complaint. Keep all documentation: employment contracts, salary slips, bank statements, and any written communication with your employer.
Renewing your establishment card
For employers, the MOHRE establishment card must be renewed annually. You can renew through the MOHRE portal or a Tasheel center. You need a valid trade license and any outstanding fines or violations cleared before renewal is processed.
The practical takeaway
MOHRE is the single most important government entity for anyone working in the UAE private sector. Whether you call it MOHRE or MOL, it controls your work permit, your labour contract, your salary protections through WPS, and your unemployment insurance through ILOE.
The enquiry services are genuinely useful and mostly free. Check your labour contract details at least once to make sure they match what you were promised. Register for ILOE insurance if you have not already. Pay annually and forget about it until next year. Download the MOHRE app because it is one of the better government apps in the UAE, and it sends you notifications when something changes with your employment status.
If you are an employer, keep your establishment card current, process labour cards within 60 days of hiring, pay salaries through WPS on time, and make sure your MOHRE classification is accurate. The penalties for non compliance are real, and MOHRE’s enforcement has gotten significantly more aggressive since the 2022 law reforms. The days of ignoring a WPS violation warning are over.