Payroll & Salary

Running GCC payroll means working with six different rulebooks at the same time. Every Gulf state has its own wage protection system, its own social insurance filings and its own deadlines, and missing one of them creates a penalty rather than just paperwork.

These guides explain how GCC payroll works in practice. You will find country-by-country breakdowns of salary structures, minimum wage rules, overtime calculations, allowances and the month-end compliance steps that keep you on the right side of each labour ministry.

Wage protection is where most employers get caught. The Saudi WPS, the UAE Wage Protection System, the Qatari WPS and the Omani equivalent each want a salary file in a specific format, uploaded on a specific schedule, through a bank the authorities recognise. We cover what each system expects and what happens when a file is rejected.

Social insurance is the second trap. GOSI in Saudi Arabia, GPSSA in the UAE and their regional counterparts apply different rates to nationals and expatriates, and the contribution base is not always the figure printed on the payslip.

You will also find guidance on paying people well rather than only legally: how salary benchmarks differ across the region, how housing and transport allowances are normally structured, and how to keep payroll consistent when one team is spread across several countries.

Whether you run payroll in-house, through a local provider or through an employer of record, these articles are built to be used. Expect checklists, worked calculations and real deadlines instead of theory.