The WPS Salary Information File (SIF) is the fixed-width text file UAE employers submit monthly to MOHRE via their WPS-licensed bank. Wrong format = rejection + penalties. This step-by-step workflow covers everything: bank registration, data preparation, SIF generation, validation, bank-portal upload, MOHRE compliance tracking. For UAE HR managers running payroll operations.
Built around how MENA teams actually manage this day-to-day.
Must have a corporate account with a MOHRE-approved WPS bank (FAB, ADCB, Mashreq, Emirates NBD, ADIB, HSBC, Standard Chartered, etc.). Registration process takes 1-2 weeks + requires trade license + tax registration.
Emirates ID number, Labor Card (Work Permit) number, passport number for expats, full name as per visa, nationality, Date of Birth, bank account IBAN (where salary is deposited), basic salary + allowances breakdown.
For each employee: basic salary, housing allowance, transport allowance, overtime for the month, other allowances, deductions (if any), NET amount to transfer. Amounts in AED with 2 decimal places. Must match employment contract (any variance needs documentation).
SIF covers one calendar month. Pay period is the month being paid for (e.g., October 2026 payroll submitted early November). Late submission = penalties starting from the 15th of the following month.
Many banks + MOHRE provide SIF validation tools (web portal). Validate BEFORE submission to catch formatting issues. Common failures: trailing spaces, wrong Emirates ID format, decimal point errors, missing fields.
Keep last month's approved SIF as template reference. Any new employees, terminations, or salary changes need to be reflected. Audit trail: keep all submitted SIFs minimum 5 years for MOHRE compliance.
Verify company is registered in MOHRE with valid Establishment Card. Confirm active WPS account with chosen bank. If first time: register employer with WPS bank + receive Employer Unique ID. Required for all SIF submissions.
From HR/payroll system: pull employee list with attendance, calculate basic + allowances + overtime for the month, deductions (unpaid leave, loan deductions), compute NET pay. Verify against last month for anomalies (sudden changes flag for review).
SIF is fixed-width text file with specific MOHRE-mandated fields: Employee ID, Emirates ID, Labor Card, Nationality Code, Pay Period (YYYYMM), Basic Salary, Housing, Transport, Other Allowances, Deductions, Net Amount, IBAN, Bank Code. Each field has exact byte positions. AttendUX auto-formats.
Run SIF through bank's validation portal (e.g., FAB Business Online, ADCB Business Banking). Check: file encoding (UTF-8 or ASCII per spec), field widths, Emirates ID format (15 digits), decimal alignment, no trailing spaces. Errors returned with specific line numbers.
Login to bank corporate portal → Payroll/WPS section → Upload SIF File. Bank reviews + validates again. Processing time: typically same-day for same-bank employees, T+1 for inter-bank. Employer receives confirmation reference number.
Bank transfers each employee's net amount to their registered account. Simultaneously reports submission + compliance to MOHRE. MOHRE updates employer compliance dashboard. Employers can view WPS compliance status in MOHRE portal.
Confirm all employees received correct amount. Download confirmation receipt from bank portal. Archive SIF + confirmation for 5 years minimum (MOHRE compliance). Any employee complaints trigger MOHRE investigation — archive essential.
SIF (Salary Information File) is the fixed-width text file that UAE employers submit monthly to MOHRE via their WPS-licensed bank. It contains employee details (Emirates ID, labor card) + salary breakdown (basic + allowances + deductions + net) + bank details (IBAN). The bank validates, disburses salaries, and reports compliance to MOHRE. Mandatory since 2009.
All MOHRE-licensed WPS banks in UAE, including FAB (First Abu Dhabi Bank), ADCB (Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank), Mashreq, Emirates NBD, ADIB (Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank), HSBC, Standard Chartered, RAK Bank, CBD (Commercial Bank of Dubai), Dubai Islamic Bank, and more. Employer must have an active corporate account + WPS registration.
AttendUX natively generates MOHRE-compliant SIF files. The payroll engine assembles monthly data for each employee (basic + allowances + overtime + deductions + net), formats it to MOHRE's fixed-width spec, validates against the spec before export (Emirates ID 15-digit, decimals aligned, nationality ISO codes, IBAN/bank-code pairing). One-click export; file ready for bank portal upload.
Bank returns a rejection notice with specific error lines. Common rejections: Emirates ID format, missing fields, incorrect bank code, decimal alignment. Fix errors + resubmit. If persistently rejected + missing MOHRE deadline, penalties apply (AED 1,000-10,000 per employee per month) + Establishment Card may face suspension.
Minimum 5 years per MOHRE compliance requirements. Any employee complaint or MOHRE audit may require retroactive verification. AttendUX retains all submitted SIFs + confirmations in immutable audit log — accessible for 7+ years for regulatory compliance.
7-day free trial · no credit card · full feature access
Auto-generate SIF in AttendUX