What does your employer owe you if you are injured at work?

Your employer pays your treatment, your wages while you are treated and compensation for any permanent disability. You do not pay for a work injury yourself.

What counts as a work injury?

Any injury you suffer while doing your job and because of it, any occupational disease on the official list, and any accident on your way to or from work, as long as you did not stop or leave your usual route.¹

A road accident on your normal commute is a work injury under this definition. If another driver caused it, you may also have a claim against that driver’s insurer; see compensation after a road injury.

Who pays for your treatment?

Your employer, until you recover or a disability is confirmed.¹ The treatment covers hospital stays, surgery, x-rays and tests, medicines, rehabilitation, artificial limbs and devices, and your transport to treatment.^2,3

Are you paid while you cannot work?

Yes. Your employer pays your full wage for the treatment period or 6 months, whichever is shorter. If treatment lasts longer, you get half your wage for up to 6 more months, or until you recover, a disability is confirmed or you die, whichever comes first.¹

How much compensation do you get for a permanent disability?

Sources for Table 1

The labour law¹ and the UAE Government’s work injury page, updated 15 October 2026.³

The percentages are in Cabinet Resolution 33 of 2022. Total disability, at 100%, includes the loss of both arms, total loss of sight, total paralysis and total facial disfigurement.⁴ Some partial rows:

For a left-handed worker, the left-hand percentages are treated as right-hand ones. An injury not on the list is assessed by the medical committee.⁴ Work out your figure with the work injury compensation calculator.

Who decides your disability percentage?

The hospital that treated you writes a report at the end of treatment, giving the injury, its cause, its link to work, the treatment period and the degree of disability. The health authority approves it, on a specialised medical committee’s recommendation. You get the report, your employer gets a copy and so does the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE).⁴ The UAE Government says the employer must pay the compensation within 10 days of receiving that report.³

Ask the hospital for the final medical report and keep your copy.

What must your employer report, and when?

Your employer must report the injury to the medical authority, to the police station for the area straight away if it was an accident, and to MOHRE within 48 hours. The MOHRE report gives your name, age, job, nationality, ID number and how the injury happened.⁴ The police investigate whether the injury was work-related, and the medical authority makes the final decision.⁴

When do you lose the right to compensation?

If the authorities’ investigation proves that you injured yourself on purpose, were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, deliberately broke safety instructions posted at work, acted with wilful misconduct, or refused examination or treatment without good reason.¹ The safety instruction exclusion applies only if your employer trained you and posted the instructions in a language you understand.²

How do you claim if your employer does not pay?

Complain to MOHRE first. MOHRE tries to settle the dispute, and decides it itself when the claim is AED 50,000 or less. Either side can take that decision to the Court of First Instance within 15 working days. Larger disputes go to court through MOHRE.¹ A claim under the labour law cannot be heard more than two years after your employment ends.¹

The family of a worker who dies keeps the right to the end of service gratuity and other money owed, on top of the compensation.¹

The small print

The definition of work injury is in Article 1, and compensation in Articles 37 and 38, of Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021. Disputes are Article 54, and the two-year limit Article 54(9) of the text as amended.¹ Treatment and the safety-instruction controls are Article 23 of Cabinet Resolution 1 of 2022.² Reporting, investigation, the medical report and the disability tables are Articles 2 to 7 and Schedules 1 to 3 of Cabinet Resolution 33 of 2022, issued 11 April 2022.⁴

The partial disability formula and the 10-day payment period are from the UAE Government’s page, which also cites Cabinet Resolution 33 of 2022.³ The laws are published in English translation. The Arabic text prevails.