Contract staffing in Dubai, for the term of the project, not the life of the company
Engineers, accountants, customer service and administrative staff, sales agents, technicians and site crews on fixed-term contracts matched to your project or your budget. tamdeed employs and sponsors them, pays them through WPS, deploys them to your team in Dubai and shows you attendance, documents and cost in one portal.
- Months: the usual range of a contract staffing term
- 3 to 24Months: the usual range of a contract staffing term
- Collars: office and sales roles, site and field roles
- 2Collars: office and sales roles, site and field roles
- Staff on registered contracts and WPS payroll
- 100%Staff on registered contracts and WPS payroll
- Itemised invoice, with conversion terms written in
- 1Itemised invoice, with conversion terms written in
What contract staffing means in Dubai
Contract staffing in Dubai is the placement of people with your company for a fixed term or a project, employed by a licensed provider rather than by you. The provider holds the employment contract, sponsors the residence visa, pays the salary through the Wage Protection System and carries the insurance and end-of-service liability; you direct the work, set the hours and manage the person day to day. When the term ends, the person rolls off, extends, or transfers to your own licence, and none of those outcomes leaves you holding a visa or a settlement you did not plan for.
It sits between two services it is often confused with. Temporary staffing covers days and weeks and is billed on hours; permanent recruitment finds a candidate and places them on your licence for a fee. Contract staffing is months, billed monthly, for a person who works as part of your team but is employed by the provider. Under the current UAE labour law every employment contract is fixed-term and renewable, so contract staffing simply matches that term to your project.
tamdeed runs contract staffing on a platform for both collars: the project engineer and the site crew, the accountant and the delivery riders. Every person is on a MOHRE-registered contract sponsored by tamdeed, paid through WPS, with attendance, documents and cost visible in your portal, and with the conversion terms written into the charge sheet before the first day, not negotiated at the end.
Related ways to staff a Dubai team
Contract staffing is one of four services that get sold under one word. The others, for comparison.
Who uses contract staffing in Dubai
Companies whose need has an end date, a budget line or a headcount cap.
Projects with a start and a finish
A fit-out, a system implementation, an audit, a launch: the engineers, coordinators, analysts and crews the project needs, for the project's term and no longer.
Teams at their headcount or visa cap
Approved headcount is full, or the licence's visa quota is, and the work is not. Contract staff work in your team without sitting on your licence.
Cover for leave and gaps
Maternity, long leave, a resignation before the replacement starts: a person in the seat for the months it takes, employed properly.
Try before you hire
A role you are not sure is permanent yet. The person works with you on contract, and transfers to your licence on terms agreed up front if you decide to keep them.
What contract staffing includes
Everything an employer owes, carried by tamdeed and visible to you.
Registered employment for the term
Every contract staff member is employed by tamdeed on a MOHRE-registered contract and sponsored on a residence visa by tamdeed for the agreed term.
Sourcing where you need it
Bring your own candidate and we employ them, or brief the role and we recruit through the platform with you in the interviews.
WPS payroll every month
Salary paid through the Wage Protection System from approved attendance, overtime at the statutory premium, itemised payslips in the worker app.
Medical insurance and documents
Cover from day one; Emirates ID, labour card and visa expiries tracked with alerts in your portal.
Attendance and leave on the platform
Office check-in or geofenced site attendance, timesheets for approval, leave requested and approved in one flow.
Extension, roll-off or conversion
The term extends, ends, or the person transfers to your licence, on the terms written into the charge sheet at the start.
Gratuity and settlement handled
End-of-service accrued monthly and settled by tamdeed when the term ends. Nothing lands on you after the project closes.
One itemised invoice
Salary, government fees at cost, insurance, accruals and administration on separate lines, per person, every month.
From brief to first day
People already in the UAE can start within days of an approved charge sheet; new visas take longer and we say so at the brief.
- 1
Brief the role and the term
Role, grade, start date, term, working hours, and whether you have a candidate or need one sourced.
- 2
Candidate confirmed
Your candidate's documents checked and the offer prepared, or shortlisted candidates interviewed with you through the platform.
- 3
Charge sheet
Every monthly line, plus the extension and conversion terms, approved in your portal before the contract is issued.
- 4
Start, and see it run
Contract registered, visa case run, onboarding done, attendance and payroll on the platform from day one.
Roles we place on contract in Dubai
Both collars, one standard of employment.
Finance and administration
- Accountants and accounts assistants
- Administrators and coordinators
- Document controllers
- Data entry and back office
- Receptionists
- HR and payroll assistants
Sales and customer facing
- Credit card and loan sales agents
- Telesales and inside sales
- Customer service and call centre agents
- Promoters and brand ambassadors
- Merchandisers
- Retail associates
Projects and technical
- Project coordinators
- Site engineers and supervisors
- Quantity surveying assistants
- IT support and helpdesk
- Drafters and CAD operators
- QA and QC inspectors
Site and field
- Helpers and general labour
- Trades: masons, carpenters, steel fixers, electricians
- Drivers and delivery riders
- Warehouse and logistics staff
- Cleaning and housekeeping staff
- Technicians
Contract staffing, temporary staffing, manpower supply or recruitment?
The test is how long, how billed, and who the person is employed by at the end.
| Contract staffing | Temporary staffing | Manpower supply | Recruitment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length | Months, fixed term | Days to weeks | Months to years, ongoing | Permanent |
| Employed by | tamdeed for the term | tamdeed | tamdeed | You |
| Billed as | Monthly per person | Hourly or daily | Monthly rate per worker | One-time placement fee |
| At the end | Extend, roll off, or transfer to your licence | Rolls off | Continues or scales | Stays on your licence |
| Best for | Projects, cover, headcount caps, try before you hire | Peaks, events, short cover | Crews and teams you need working | A permanent hire |
How a contract staffing rate is built
A monthly charge per person is the salary paid through WPS plus the real costs of employing the person, plus administration. Because the term is fixed, the government fees for the work permit, visa, medical, Emirates ID and labour card are amortised over the term rather than over two or three years, which is the main reason a six-month contract costs more per month than a two-year one.
Government fees are passed through at cost. Live pricing applies to teams of one to ten; larger contract teams receive a custom charge sheet built from the same lines.
Illustrative structure, not a tariff. Your charge sheet lists the exact lines and amounts for the role, the term and the headcount before you commit.
Build your charge sheet
Pick the grade, the site, the term and the hours, and watch which lines appear, which are at cost and which one is tamdeed's. No market rates, no bundled number.
Turns the statutory accruals into dirhams on your own assumption. tamdeed does not publish market wages; the wage on a real charge sheet is agreed with you by role and grade.
Your charge sheet, line by line
Monthly, per worker- Wage paid through WPS (skilled trade)By grade, agreed with youAgreed with you
- Work permit, visa, medical, Emirates ID, labour cardAt cost, amortised over 12 monthsAt cost
- Medical insuranceAt cost, from day oneAt cost
- End-of-service gratuity accrual21 days of basic wage a year, accrued monthlySet by law
- Annual leave and public holidays30 days a year, accrued monthly so the rate can pay themSet by law
- PPE, uniform and toolsOnly what the site needs, each visibleOnly if the site needs it
- Platform and administrationThe tamdeed line, shown on its own. Live pricing for one to ten workerstamdeed's line
Illustrative structure, not a tariff. A real charge sheet carries the amounts against exactly these lines for your roles, site and term, and is approved in your portal before anyone moves.
Short cover is the same monthly cost divided by fewer hours, which is why an hourly rate looks higher and is not more expensive per month.
1 to 10 skilled trade workers in Dubai, 12 months. The form below opens with this written in.
Every contract, every term, one screen
Who is on contract, when each term ends, whose visa renews, who is on leave and what the team costs this month. The project manager's questions, answered without an email.
Questions, answered plainly
What is contract staffing?
The placement of people with your company for a fixed term or a project, employed by a licensed provider rather than by you. tamdeed employs the person on a MOHRE-registered contract, sponsors the visa, pays through WPS and deploys them to your team; you direct the work. At the end of the term the person extends, rolls off or transfers to your licence on terms agreed at the start.
What is the difference between contract staffing and temporary staffing?
Length and billing. Temporary staffing covers days and weeks and is billed on hours from the attendance record. Contract staffing covers months and is billed monthly per person. Both are employed by tamdeed; the temporary staffing page covers the first.
Can a contract staff member transfer to my company afterwards?
Yes. Conversion to your own licence at the end of the term is possible, and the terms are written into the charge sheet before the person starts, so there is no negotiation at the end. The visa transfer runs through tamdeed's immigration pipeline.
Can I bring my own candidate?
Yes. Bring the person and tamdeed employs them for the term; or brief the role and we recruit through the platform with you in the interviews. Either way the same contract, visa, payroll and portal apply.
Do you place white-collar roles on contract, or only site staff?
Both. Accountants, administrators, sales agents, customer service, project coordinators, engineers and IT support are placed on contract on the same terms as helpers, trades, drivers and cleaning staff.
How short or long can a contract be?
Most contract staffing terms run from three to twenty-four months. Shorter needs are usually temporary staffing, billed on hours; longer, open-ended needs are usually staff outsourcing or manpower supply. We tell you which fits at the brief.
Who is the legal employer during the contract?
tamdeed. The person is employed on a MOHRE-registered contract, sponsored on a residence visa and paid through WPS by tamdeed, and works under your direction as part of your team.
What does contract staffing cost in Dubai?
It depends on the role's salary, the term and the headcount. tamdeed itemises the salary, the government fees at cost amortised over the term, insurance, gratuity and leave accrual, and its own administration line, with conversion terms written in, so a contract staffing quote can be compared with any other like for like.
Tell us the role and the term
Role, headcount, start date and length. A tamdeed adviser replies with availability and an itemised monthly charge.