Filing a Labour Complaint: Your Rights

What a labour complaint is

A labour complaint is the formal way to raise a workplace dispute with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), the UAE's federal labour authority. It's the recognised first step for most private-sector employment disputes, rather than going straight to court, MOHRE tries to resolve the matter through conciliation first.

What you can raise a complaint about

• Unpaid salary
• End-of-service benefits not paid, or paid incorrectly
• Wrongful termination
• Contract or entitlement issues more broadly

Documents that strengthen your case

• Emirates ID or labour card
• Employment contract
• Salary proof, payslips or bank statements
• Any relevant correspondence with your employer

The more of these you have ready, the stronger and faster your case moves through conciliation.

How the process actually runs

1. Tell us what happened: what you're owed and the background.
2. We prepare your case: putting together your complaint and supporting file, translated where needed.
3. We file with MOHRE: who then calls both sides in for conciliation, usually within around 14 days.
4. Conciliation, or referral to court: if it isn't settled and the claim exceeds AED 50,000, it's referred to the labour court, where we can connect you with a partner lawyer.

Cost, and what's actually free

Filing a complaint with MOHRE itself is free. Our AED 750 filing package fee is for properly preparing your case, translating documents where needed, and following up with MOHRE on your behalf, not for the filing itself. If the matter is later referred to court, those fees are separate and start from around AED 5,000, and we'd only bring this up once conciliation hasn't resolved things.

Setting realistic expectations

We prepare and file your complaint correctly, but the outcome is ultimately decided by MOHRE and, if it goes further, the court, we can't and don't guarantee a result, and we don't provide advice ourselves. That's the role of the licensed lawyer we connect you with if your case proceeds beyond conciliation. If your dispute also involves a broader contractual issue, our guide on how to send a formal notice in the UAE covers a related but separate process worth knowing about.

Key takeaways:
• MOHRE filing itself is free; conciliation usually happens within about 14 days.
• Our AED 750 fee covers preparing, translating and following up on your case, not the filing.
• Disputes over AED 50,000 that aren't settled go to the labour court.
• We prepare and file correctly, but the outcome is decided by MOHRE and, if needed, the court.

A note on scope: DocuGulf is a documentation facilitation service. All kinds of work is performed by licensed notaries, translators and approved typing centres. Reach us at info@docugulf.com or +971 58 569 3628.