A practical, source-linked payroll and compliance reference for companies employing people across the Middle East and North Africa.
Middle East Payroll & Compliance Intelligence is a reference resource covering wage-protection systems, social insurance, end-of-service benefits and related employer obligations across nine markets: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, plus Egypt, Morocco and Iraq. It exists to help international companies understand, at a working level, what running compliant payroll in each market involves before they commit to a structure, a hire or a provider.
It is an information resource, not a substitute for legal or tax advice. Every material figure is intended to link back to an official source so you can verify it yourself.
The primary readers are finance leaders, HR and payroll managers, and founders setting up or expanding into the region. The content is tiered: a plain-language summary for orientation, and the underlying technical detail for practitioners who need it.
The material is compiled and reviewed with payroll practitioners who operate in the region day to day, including specialists at OPS, a Middle East payroll provider. That practitioner input is what keeps the guidance grounded in how wage-protection filing, social-insurance registration and end-of-service settlement actually work, rather than in theory alone.
This reference is published in association with OPS, a payroll provider that also appears in the provider comparison. We disclose that relationship openly. To keep the resource useful rather than promotional, the compliance content is written to be provider-neutral, the provider comparison is descriptive rather than a ranking and is not paid placement, and commercial or promotional material is clearly separated from factual guidance. Where we can be usefully compared, we would rather earn trust through accurate, sourced content than through claims we cannot evidence.
We cover the six GCC states in depth, and provide essential guidance for Egypt, Morocco and Iraq under a wider Middle East and North Africa scope. Each market has its own guide with the wage-protection position, social-insurance rates, end-of-service rules, an employer checklist and links to the official sources.
Payroll rules in the region change frequently, and 2026 has been an active year for enforcement. We review the statutory figures on a monthly cycle and after any material change we become aware of. Each guide shows the date it was last reviewed. Our approach to sourcing, review and corrections is set out in our editorial methodology, and anyone can flag an error or an outdated figure through our corrections process.
Discuss your UAE or GCC payroll requirements