What it costs and what the law requires to employ someone in United Arab Emirates (also known as UAE) through an EOR, with every figure cited to a primary source.
To employ someone in United Arab Emirates, an employer pays ~0% for expatriate employees (the vast majority of the workforce); the GPSSA pension contribution (~12.5-15%) applies only to UAE/GCC nationals↗ in mandatory contributions on top of gross salary, must give 30 days↗ of paid annual leave, and 30 days↗ of notice to terminate. An EOR lets you hire here without your own legal entity.
Every figure links to the page that states it. This page's figures were read at their sources between Aug 18, 2026 and Oct 29, 2026, and every cited page is checked again each week (how we verify).
Ranked the way Get matched ranks a hire: employing through its own entity in United Arab Emirates, a lower published fee and no deposit, each read from the provider's own pages. A provider whose referral program pays us carries a labeled referral boost, and the few providers we do not work with are listed below, never among these three.
Its own pages also state: equity for employees, laptops and equipment.
Set team size or visa need, and get quotesStill looking for the person? Ask for candidates tooHow referral programs affect ranking
Companies hiring remotely for a role that must be based in United Arab Emirates need someone employed there. Without an entity of their own in United Arab Emirates, an employer of record is how they do it.
United Arab Emirates ranks #37 of 177 countries↗ for full-time remote jobs open only to its residents. Most hired fields: Developer, Sales, Data Science.
Counted daily from job postings on Himalayas, a remote job board: a job counts for a country when it accepts applicants based only there. Counting began Oct 29, 2026; a job posted before then counts if it was still open that day. Last updated Nov 11, 2026.
The full cost to employ combines gross salary, the statutory employer burden, and the EOR provider's own service fee.
The total cost to employ someone in United Arab Emirates through an EOR is their gross salary, plus ~0% for expatriate employees (the vast majority of the workforce); the GPSSA pension contribution (~12.5-15%) applies only to UAE/GCC nationals↗ in mandatory employer contributions, plus a per-employee service fee from the provider. Across the 56 of 93 providers that publish a fee, the median is $349/employee/month (from $99 to $740); the rest quote per country.
Actual cost depends on the salary, the provider, and country-specific quotes; some countries also add mandatory items such as 13th-month pay or severance accruals. Run your own numbers in the calculator.
Each provider below names United Arab Emirates on its own website as a country where it offers Employer of Record. Cheapest published starting fee first.
42 providers name United Arab Emirates on their own websites as a country where they offer EOR. Published starting fees among them run from $99 /mo↗ (RecruitGo (Emerhub Group)) to $699 /mo↗ (Oyster HR and Safeguard Global); 13 quote United Arab Emirates on request. 6 of them say they employ here through their own entity.
Setting up your own company in the United Arab Emirates instead? The usual form is a mainland LLC (free zones are a separate regime). Minimum share capital: No minimum for most activities (Abu Dhabi)↗. EOR or your own entity: everything it takes, each from its official source.
Not sure which one fits? We rank these providers for your team size and visa needs, and get you quotes from the ones you pick.
Get matchedBefore you sign with one of them: the questions worth asking each provider. Already employing someone in the United Arab Emirates through an employer of record? Check what you pay against these fees.
A listing is the provider's own statement that it can employ in United Arab Emirates, read on its site on Nov 9, 2026. Fees are each provider's cheapest published rate, not a quote for United Arab Emirates. We read the country lists and country pages of all 93 providers we track; 78 name the countries they serve, and a provider that does not name United Arab Emirates on its own site is not shown here, even where it may serve it. Confirm availability for your role and contract type before signing.
The employment terms an employer must meet, each linked to the source that states it.
Paying someone in the United Arab Emirates as a contractor instead? The law looks at how the work runs, not at what the contract calls it. Check whether the role is employment.
Two ways to put someone on payroll here.
An EOR already has an entity in United Arab Emirates and employs your worker on your behalf, handling payroll, tax and the statutory terms above. Fastest way to hire without incorporating.
Compare EOR providersAdd the ~0% for expatriate employees (the vast majority of the workforce); the GPSSA pension contribution (~12.5-15%) applies only to UAE/GCC nationals↗ employer burden to salary and an EOR service fee to see your true monthly cost to employ in United Arab Emirates.
Open the cost calculatorWorld Bank indicators (2024) for context on the labour market.
On top of gross salary, mandatory employer contributions in United Arab Emirates run ~0% for expatriate employees (the vast majority of the workforce); the GPSSA pension contribution (~12.5-15%) applies only to UAE/GCC nationals↗. An employer of record adds its own per-employee service fee on top; across the 56 of 93 providers that publish a fee, the median is $349 per employee per month.
EOR service fees are billed per employee per month, on top of salary and statutory employer contributions in United Arab Emirates. The contribution basis is ~0% for expatriate employees (the vast majority of the workforce); the GPSSA pension contribution (~12.5-15%) applies only to UAE/GCC nationals↗. Providers rarely publish a United Arab Emirates-specific fee: across the 56 providers on our price board that publish a price, the median is $349 per employee per month (from $99 to $740), and the rest quote per country. Request a quote for United Arab Emirates for an exact figure.
Statutory paid annual leave in United Arab Emirates is 30 days↗.
The minimum employer notice period in United Arab Emirates is 30 days↗.
The maximum statutory probation period in United Arab Emirates is 6 months↗.
42 of the 93 providers we track name United Arab Emirates on their own websites as a country where they offer Employer of Record. By published starting fee: RecruitGo (Emerhub Group) from $99 /mo↗, Asanify from $199 /mo↗, Boundless from $199 /mo↗, Gloroots from $199 /mo↗, RemoFirst from $199 /mo↗, and 24 more with a published fee; 13 quote United Arab Emirates on request. Each provider's listing is its own claim, so confirm availability for your role and contract type before signing.
In the 30↗ days to Nov 11, 2026, 116 companies↗ posted 169↗ full-time remote jobs open only to people based in United Arab Emirates on the Himalayas job board, plus 42↗ contract roles, which ranks United Arab Emirates #37 of 177 countries↗. The most hired fields are Developer, Sales, Data Science. A company hiring this way without its own entity in United Arab Emirates employs through an employer of record.
No. An employer of record (EOR) already holds a legal entity in United Arab Emirates and can employ your worker there on your behalf, running local payroll, tax and compliance, so you can hire without setting up your own entity. That settles the employment side only: what the person does for your company (signing or negotiating its contracts, running a sales team, working from one place for most of the year) can still make your company taxable in United Arab Emirates as a permanent establishment, whoever employs them.
Hiring in more than one country? See which providers cover the Middle East.
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