What is a WPS SIF file?
The Salary Information File (SIF) is the fixed-format file UAE employers submit to their bank or exchange house under the Wage Protection System (WPS). It lists every employee's salary components for a pay period.
🇦🇪 UAE · Reference
ArcHR
WPS SIF Field Reference
All required Salary Information File fields with validation rules.
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| Field Name | Type | Max Length | Validation Rule | Example | Common Error |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record Type | Alpha | 3 | Must be EDR (Employee Detail Record) or SCR (Salary Control Record) | EDR | Invalid record type code — file rejected at upload |
| Employer Unique ID | Numeric | 13 | MOHRE-registered establishment code; digits only, no spaces | 1234567890123 | Employer ID mismatch with MOHRE registration |
| Agent ID | Numeric | 9 | Central Bank-assigned bank or exchange house routing code | 123456789 | Wrong agent ID for selected bank portal |
| Employee ID | Alphanumeric | 14 | MOHRE person code or internal employee ID as registered | EMP-2024-001 | Employee not found in MOHRE establishment roster |
| Emirates ID | Numeric | 15 | 15-digit UAE Emirates ID without hyphens | 784199012345678 | Missing or invalid Emirates ID — employee excluded from SIF |
| Bank Code | Numeric | 3 | Central Bank of UAE 3-digit bank identifier | 033 | Bank code does not match employee IBAN bank |
| Employee IBAN | Alphanumeric | 23 | AE + 21 digits; must pass UAE IBAN checksum | AE070331234567890123456 | Invalid IBAN — entire SIF file rejected by bank |
| Pay Start Date | Date | 8 | YYYYMMDD format; must fall within pay period | 20260101 | Date outside payroll period or wrong format |
| Pay End Date | Date | 8 | YYYYMMDD; must be ≥ pay start date | 20260131 | End date before start date |
| Days in Period | Numeric | 3 | Working days paid in period; 1–31 | 31 | Days exceed calendar days in period |
| Income Fixed Component | Decimal | 12 | Basic salary in fils (amount × 100); no decimals in file | 800000 | Amount does not match MOHRE contract basic salary |
| Income Variable Component | Decimal | 12 | Variable pay in fils; commissions, bonuses | 50000 | Variable pay not supported by contract on MOHRE |
| Allowance 1 | Decimal | 12 | First allowance in fils — typically housing | 300000 | Allowance total exceeds contracted wage |
| Allowance 2 | Decimal | 12 | Second allowance in fils — transport or other | 50000 | Unlisted allowance not in employment contract |
| Allowance 3 | Decimal | 12 | Third allowance in fils; zero if unused | 0 | Non-numeric or negative value |
| Deductions | Decimal | 12 | Total deductions in fils; loan, absence, etc. | 25000 | Deductions exceed gross salary |
| Total Salary | Decimal | 12 | Net payable in fils = fixed + variable + allowances − deductions | 1125000 | Total does not reconcile with component sum |
| Leave Days Unpaid | Numeric | 3 | Unpaid leave days in period; 0 if none | 2 | Unpaid days not reflected in salary reduction |
| Currency Code | Alpha | 3 | Must be AED for UAE WPS submissions | AED | Non-AED currency code in UAE SIF |
| Employee Name | Alphanumeric | 100 | Full name as per MOHRE contract; Latin characters | Ahmed Hassan Ali | Name mismatch with MOHRE registered name |
| Employer Name | Alphanumeric | 100 | Registered trade name matching MOHRE licence | Acme Trading LLC | Trade name does not match establishment record |
| Salary Month | Numeric | 6 | YYYYMM — payroll month being reported | 202601 | Duplicate submission for same salary month |
| Work Permit ID | Alphanumeric | 20 | MOHRE work permit or labour card number | WP-12345678 | Expired or cancelled work permit reference |
| Remarks | Alphanumeric | 200 | Optional notes; no special characters | January payroll | Invalid characters break fixed-width parser |
| File Sequence Number | Numeric | 6 | Incremental sequence per employer per month | 000001 | Duplicate sequence number for same period |
Legal basis
UAE Central Bank WPS regulations and MOHRE Wage Protection System — SIF format per CBUAE specifications.
Who must submit WPS SIF?
Most UAE private-sector employers registered with MOHRE must pay salaries through WPS and submit a SIF within five working days of the salary due date.
SIF file structure
Each file contains a Salary Control Record (SCR) header and Employee Detail Records (EDR) per employee. Fields are fixed-width — incorrect length or format rejects the entire file.
Common rejection causes
Invalid IBAN, missing Emirates ID, employer ID mismatch, salary totals that do not reconcile, and duplicate monthly submissions are the most frequent bank rejection reasons.
ArcHR SIF validation
ArcHR validates IBAN, Emirates ID, and field formats before generating the SIF — so rejections are caught at payroll, not at the bank portal.
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Frequently asked questions
A fixed-format Salary Information File listing employee wages for WPS bank submission.
At least 20 mandatory fields per employee record plus header control fields.
23 characters starting with AE followed by 21 digits.
MOHRE uses it to match employees — missing EID excludes the employee from WPS.
The bank may reject the entire SIF file, not just one employee row.
Yes — IBAN, Emirates ID, totals, and format checks before export.
Generate error-free WPS SIF files.
ArcHR validates every SIF field — IBAN, Emirates ID, salary totals — and exports bank-ready files in one click.