Overtime Pay

Overtime pay is the premium compensation due to most UAE private-sector employees who work beyond the statutory working hours. The Labour Law caps normal working time, limits how much overtime can be required, and sets premium rates above the basic hourly wage, with higher premiums for night work and for working on rest days, where a substitute rest day or enhanced pay is owed. Certain categories — typically senior managerial and supervisory roles — are excluded from overtime entitlements, and that exclusion is a recurring battleground: employers label roles 'managerial' to avoid premiums, and courts look at actual duties rather than titles. Overtime claims surface in most wage disputes before MOHRE and the labour courts, usually proven through duty rosters, attendance systems, emails, and WPS records, and they can accumulate into significant sums because claims are often brought for extended periods of unpaid premium hours.