Manpower supply rates in the UAE, taken apart line by line
Buyers ask for a rate per hour or per month and get a single number back. This page shows what is inside that number, what makes it move, how to compare two quotes properly, and why the cheapest one is usually the most expensive.
- Hours in a standard 48-hour working month
- 208Hours in a standard 48-hour working month
- Statutory overtime premium on the basic wage (50% at night)
- 25%Statutory overtime premium on the basic wage (50% at night)
- Days of basic wage accrued per year as gratuity for the first five years
- 21Days of basic wage accrued per year as gratuity for the first five years
- Recruitment fees a worker may lawfully be charged
- 0Recruitment fees a worker may lawfully be charged
What a manpower supply rate contains
A manpower supply rate in the UAE is the monthly cost of one properly employed worker: the wage paid through the Wage Protection System, the government fees for the work permit, residence visa, medical test, Emirates ID and labour card spread over the visa term, medical insurance, the end-of-service gratuity that accrues every month under the labour law, any transport, uniform or PPE the site needs, and the supplier's administration and margin. An hourly or daily rate is that monthly cost divided by the contracted hours.
That composition is the same for every licensed supplier, because the law sets most of it. What differs is how much of the rate is the worker's wage, how much is genuine cost and how much is the supplier's overhead, and whether the supplier shows you. A single bundled number cannot be checked; an itemised charge sheet can.
tamdeed prices every engagement on an itemised charge sheet with government fees passed through at cost, and runs the coordination on a platform rather than through a layer of managers, which is what keeps the administration line small. The numbers on this page describe the structure; your charge sheet carries the amounts.
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.
Rates by emirate and by trade
The composition is the same everywhere; the wage line and the transport line move with the trade and the site. Each page below says how.
What moves the rate
Six variables explain almost every difference between two honest quotes.
The role and the wage
A skilled trade or a licensed driver earns more than a general helper, and the wage is the largest line. A quote that undercuts the market on the total is usually undercutting the wage.
Contract length
Visa and onboarding costs are spread over the engagement. A two-year contract spreads them thin; a three-week engagement does not, which is why temporary rates per hour are higher.
Shift pattern and overtime
A 48-hour week is the statutory baseline. Twelve-hour shifts, night work and rest-day work carry the premiums the law sets, and they belong on the rate sheet, not in a surprise invoice.
Emirate and site logistics
Transport from where the worker lives to a remote site, or a split shift across two locations, is a real cost line. Sharjah industrial areas, KEZAD and Al Ain sites price differently from Business Bay for that reason.
Headcount and stability
Ten workers on one site for a year cost less per head to administer than ten workers across ten sites for a month. Volume and predictability lower the administration line.
Inside the UAE or from abroad
A worker already on a UAE visa transfers for a fee; a new employment visa from abroad costs more and takes longer. The charge sheet shows which route each hire took.
The lines on a tamdeed charge sheet
Every engagement, whatever the role, is priced on the same lines.
Wage through WPS
What the worker is paid. The largest line, and the one a cheap quote is most often hiding a cut in.
Government fees at cost
Work permit, residence visa, medical, Emirates ID and labour card, amortised over the visa term and passed through without markup.
Medical insurance
Mandatory cover, at cost, from day one.
Gratuity accrual
Twenty-one days of basic wage per year for the first five years, thirty after, accrued monthly so the settlement is funded when it falls due.
Leave and public holidays
Thirty days of paid annual leave and the public holidays are real cost; a rate that ignores them is a rate that will not pay them.
Transport, uniform, PPE
Only where the site needs them, each on its own line.
Supervision and replacements
Site supervision and the bench that provides replacements, shown as a line rather than absorbed into the wage.
Platform and administration
tamdeed's own line. Software does the coordination that inflates the usual supplier's overhead, and you can see the size of it.
How to compare two quotes like for like
Four questions turn a headline number into something you can actually compare.
- 1
Ask for the wage line
What does the worker receive through WPS each month? If a supplier will not say, assume it is lower than the quote implies.
- 2
Ask what is at cost and what is marked up
Government fees and insurance should pass through at cost. A supplier that will not separate them is charging margin on a fee.
- 3
Ask how overtime, leave and gratuity are treated
Are they in the rate, billed on top, or simply not paid? The third answer is the cheap quote's secret.
- 4
Ask to see the attendance record
If billing is not built from a record you can see, you are paying for hours on trust.
Monthly, hourly or daily: the same cost, different divisors
Converting between them is arithmetic, provided the hours are stated.
| Monthly rate | Hourly rate | Daily rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Full monthly cost of one worker | Monthly cost divided by contracted hours | Monthly cost divided by working days |
| Standard divisor | 1 | About 208 hours (48-hour week) | 26 days (six-day week) |
| Best for | Long-term supply | Temporary and event staffing | Short project cover |
| Watch for | Bundled lines you cannot check | Whether overtime premiums are in the rate | Whether a day means 8 hours or 12 |
An illustrative charge sheet
The lines below describe the shape of a monthly charge sheet for one general worker. They are illustrative and deliberately carry no amounts: the wage depends on the role and the market, the government fees change from time to time and are passed through at cost, and the administration line depends on headcount and length. Your quote carries the amounts against exactly these lines.
To see the loaded cost of a hire on your own numbers, the employee cost calculator applies the same structure and returns a figure in seconds.
Illustrative structure, not a tariff. Live pricing applies to one to ten workers; larger requirements receive a custom charge sheet from the same lines.
The invoice is the charge sheet, line for line
What you approved is what you are billed, with the attendance record behind the hours. The comparison you did before signing still holds on the twelfth invoice.
Questions, answered plainly
What is the manpower supply rate per hour in the UAE?
There is no single market rate; the hourly figure is a worker's full monthly employment cost divided by the contracted hours, about 208 for a 48-hour week. It depends on the role's wage, the contract length, the shift pattern, the site and the headcount. Ask any supplier to show the monthly lines behind the hourly number.
What is the manpower supply rate per month?
The monthly rate for one worker is the wage paid through WPS plus the amortised government fees, medical insurance, gratuity and leave accrual, any transport, uniform or PPE, and the supplier's administration. tamdeed itemises each of these on the charge sheet and passes government fees through at cost.
How do I compare manpower supply prices in the UAE?
Compare line by line, not by the total: the wage the worker receives, which fees are at cost, whether overtime, leave and gratuity are included or billed on top, and whether the invoice is built from an attendance record you can see. Two quotes with the same total can pay the worker very different wages.
Why is a very cheap rate a warning sign?
Because most of a rate is set by law and the market: the wage, the government fees, the insurance, the gratuity and leave accruals. A rate well below the others is usually paying the worker less, skipping insurance or accruals, or charging the worker a recruitment fee, all of which end up on the client's site as risk.
Are government fees included in the rate?
On a tamdeed charge sheet they are shown at cost on their own lines, amortised over the visa term. Be wary of any provider that bundles them into a headline rate; fees change and a bundled number either overcharges you or underfunds the worker's paperwork.
What is the manpower supply rate per day?
The daily figure is the monthly employment cost divided by the working days, usually 26 on a six-day week, and it should say whether a day means eight hours or twelve. Daily rates suit short project cover; for anything longer than a few weeks the monthly rate is the honest comparison.
What is the cost of manpower supply per worker in the UAE?
Per worker per month it is the wage through WPS, the amortised government fees at cost, medical insurance, gratuity and leave accrual, any PPE, uniform or transport the site needs, and the supplier's administration line. The wage moves with the trade and the grade; the rest is the same for every worker. tamdeed shows each line, so the cost per worker is a sum you can check rather than a number you are given.
Does the rate change for Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or the northern emirates?
The composition is the same everywhere; the transport line and sometimes the wage differ with the site. An industrial area in Sharjah, KEZAD or Al Ain adds transport that a Business Bay office does not. Monthly rates in Abu Dhabi tend to be quoted for long programmes, which spread the visa and onboarding costs thinner; hourly and daily rates are more common in Sharjah's industrial areas. The Abu Dhabi and Sharjah pages describe each.
How are overtime and public holidays priced?
Overtime above the contracted hours is paid to the worker at the statutory premium on the basic wage, twenty-five per cent and fifty per cent for night hours, and billed at the rate agreed on the charge sheet. Public holidays and annual leave are accrued into the monthly rate rather than surprising you later.
Can I get an exact quote instead of a structure?
Yes. Send the roles, headcount, site and dates through the form on this page and a tamdeed adviser returns an itemised charge sheet for your engagement. Live pricing covers one to ten workers; larger requirements receive a custom sheet built from the same lines.
Get the number for your engagement
Roles, headcount, site and dates. A tamdeed adviser replies with an itemised charge sheet.