Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do I need approval to provide human resources to client businesses?
No. Activity 7830.01 requires no third-party approval, so Meydan Free Zone can issue the business license directly. The activity is also not subject to AML compliance requirements.
2. What is an employer of record?
An employer of record employs staff on its own licence and seconds them to a client business. The provider handles payroll, visas, and employment compliance, while the client directs the employee's day-to-day work.
3. How does this differ from a temporary staffing agency?
Temporary agencies supply workers for limited periods to cover absence or peak demand. Activity 7830.01 covers long-term or permanent provision, where the provider performs ongoing personnel management duties connected to that supply.
4. How large is the UAE staffing market?
The UAE staffing services market generated an estimated USD 8.2 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach USD 14.2 billion by 2030, growing 9.8% a year, with Dubai holding around 45% of national market share.
5. Can I direct the work of staff I supply to clients?
No. Direction and supervision remain with the client. If the provider also directs or runs the client's operation, the work is classified under that business's own economic activity instead.
6. Does this licence allow candidate recruitment for a fee?
No. Recruiting and placing candidates who are then employed directly by the client falls under employment placement agency activities, which is a separate licensed activity.
Topic Summary
Employer of Record: The Core Service Model
Under this model, the provider employs staff on its own licence and seconds them to client businesses, carrying full responsibility for payroll, visas, and employment contracts. The client directs the work day to day without needing to establish its own UAE legal entity.
A Market Set to Nearly Double by 2030
The UAE staffing services market was valued at an estimated USD 8.2 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach USD 14.2 billion by 2030, growing at 9.8% annually. Dubai alone accounts for roughly 45% of national market share, with SMEs expanding fastest at 11% per year.
HR Outsourcing Is Growing Alongside Staffing
The UAE HR outsourcing services market was valued at around USD 500 million in 2024 and is projected to grow at 6.2% annually through 2030. This parallel growth reflects rising demand for administrative infrastructure support beyond simple staff placement.
Emiratisation Rules Are Expanding Compliance Pressure
Emiratisation targets have been extended to companies employing as few as 20 people, tightening workforce compliance obligations across the market. This regulatory pressure increases demand for specialist HR providers who can manage these requirements on behalf of clients.
Sectors Driving Long-Term Workforce Demand
Construction, hospitality, logistics, and facilities management are among the key sectors relying on outsourced manpower supply under multi-month or multi-year contracts. These industries value administrative scale, accurate wage processing, and consistent regulatory compliance above all.
What Activity 7830.01 Actually Covers
This licensed activity encompasses employer of record services, monthly payroll and Wage Protection System processing, visa and Emirates ID administration, labour contracts, medical insurance, leave tracking, and end-of-service settlement calculations. The provider handles all personnel administration while the client retains day-to-day direction of the workforce.
Recurring Revenue Built on Administrative Infrastructure
Unlike one-off placement fees, this business model generates contract-backed recurring revenue tied to ongoing visa capability, payroll processing, and compliance management. The value proposition is built on operational depth and regulatory discipline rather than transactional volume.
How to Start a Provision of Human Resources for Client Businesses in Dubai with Meydan Free Zone
The provision of human resources for client businesses is the long-term supply of personnel to organisations that direct the work but do not act as the employer. The provider is the employer of record, carrying responsibility for payroll, work permits, employment contracts, and the wider personnel administration that sits behind them, while the client manages the employee day to day. This is the model behind employer of record and professional employer organisation services, and it has grown quickly in a market where most of the workforce arrives from overseas.
The UAE staffing services market generated an estimated USD 8.2 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach USD 14.2 billion by 2030, growing at 9.8% a year, with Dubai accounting for roughly 45% of national market share.[1] Alongside it, the UAE HR outsourcing services market was valued at around USD 500 million in 2024 and is projected to grow at 6.2% annually through 2030.[2] Employers are also operating under tightening workforce rules, with Emiratisation targets extended to companies employing as few as 20 people.[3]
For operators, this activity offers recurring, contract-backed revenue built on administrative infrastructure, visa capability, and compliance discipline rather than on one-off placement fees.
A Staffing Market on Course to Nearly Double by 2030
A Dubai-licensed provider of human resources for client businesses enters a UAE staffing services market worth an estimated USD 8.2 billion in 2024 and projected to reach USD 14.2 billion by 2030 at 9.8 percent a year, with Dubai alone holding around 45 percent of national market share and small and medium enterprises expanding fastest at 11 percent.
Sources: P&S Market Research (2025), MarkNtel Advisors (2025), UAE Government Portal (2026), MOHRE (2025)
Who Is This Activity For?
7830.01 - Provision of Human Resources for Client Businesses
Activity 7830.01 sits within the broader class covering other human resources provision. It concerns the supply of personnel to client businesses on a long-term or permanent basis, where the provider performs a wide range of human resource and personnel management duties connected to that supply. The provider is the employer of record for matters such as payroll, contributions, and other fiscal and personnel issues, but it is not responsible for directing or supervising the employees in their work. That direction remains with the client, which is what separates this activity from running the client's operation.
The service range covers:
- Employer of record services for client organisations
- Long-term outsourced workforce provision under contract
- Monthly payroll administration and Wage Protection System processing
- Entry permits, residency visas, and Emirates ID administration
- Labour contracts, onboarding, and personnel record keeping
- Medical insurance, leave, and gratuity accrual administration
- End-of-service settlement calculation and processing
Service Scope
Employer of Record Services
Employing staff on the provider's own licence and seconding them to client organisations, enabling companies to build UAE teams without setting up a local entity of their own.
Long-Term Outsourced Workforce Provision
Supplying ongoing personnel to client businesses under multi-month or multi-year contracts, common across construction, hospitality, logistics, and facilities management.
Payroll Administration & Wage Processing
Running monthly payroll for seconded staff, including salary disbursement through the Wage Protection System, payslips, deductions, and supporting reconciliation for clients.
Visa, Work Permit & Onboarding Administration
Handling entry permits, residency visas, medical testing, Emirates ID, labour contracts, and onboarding documentation for every employee held on the provider's establishment card.
Benefits, Insurance & End-of-Service Administration
Administering medical insurance, leave records, gratuity accruals, and end-of-service settlements in line with UAE labour law across the seconded workforce.
WHAT THIS ACTIVITY EXCLUDES
It is important to note what activity 7830.01 does not cover. Supplying workers to temporarily replace or supplement a client's workforce for a limited period falls under temporary employment agency activities rather than this classification. The recruitment, screening, and placement of candidates for a fee, where the candidate is then employed directly by the client, sits within employment placement agency activities. Advisory work on how a client should structure, reward, or manage its people is human resources consultancy. Where a provider supplies personnel and also directs, supervises, or runs the client's business operation, the work is classified under the economic activity of that business instead.
In short: if you are the employer of record supplying people to client businesses on a long-term basis while the client directs their work, you are in. If you are placing candidates for a fee, covering short-term absence, or running the client's operation yourself, you are not.
Licensing & Compliance
THIRD-PARTY APPROVAL
This activity does not require third-party approval to obtain a business license from Meydan Free Zone.
ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE
This business activity is not subject to AML compliance requirements.
References
[1] P&S Market Research. UAE Staffing Service Market Share & Growth Outlook, 2030.
[2] MarkNtel Advisors. (2025). UAE HR Outsourcing Services Market, 2025-30.
[3] UAE Government Portal. Employing Emiratis in the private sector.
[4] Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). (2025). Emiratisation targets news release.
