A significant recalibration of one of the UAE's flagship Emiratisation programmes has taken effect this month, bringing changes that will directly affect the pay packets, pensions and family benefits of thousands of UAE nationals working across the private and banking sectors.

The Emirates Competitiveness Council, which runs the Nafis programme, has confirmed three major categories of change coming into force in September: a gradual reduction in salary support for higher earners, the suspension of support for those paid below the country's Dh6,000 minimum wage threshold, and the introduction of a new monthly child allowance.

Salary Support Recalibrated

At the heart of the changes is a shift in how much salary support Emiratis registered with Nafis can expect to receive going forward. Under the new framework, support levels have been set at Dh6,000 for university graduates, Dh5,000 for diploma holders, and Dh4,000 for high school graduates and those with a lower educational level who are married or have children. Unmarried beneficiaries below high school level without children will receive Dh3,000.

For those registered with Nafis on or before August 14 who are currently receiving support above these updated levels, the reduction will not happen all at once. Beneficiaries earning between Dh20,000 and Dh30,000 per month will see their support automatically reduced by Dh500 every six months until it reaches zero, while those earning up to Dh20,000 will see the same gradual Dh500 reduction every six months until support settles at the new prescribed level.

A separate, more gradual timeline applies to employees working in free zones, who are not subject to the Dh6,000 minimum wage requirement that governs the wider private sector. Their benefits will remain unchanged from this September through to February 2027, before being cut by 30 per cent between March and August 2027, and by a further 70 per cent between September and November 2027, at which point support will end entirely. Nafis has confirmed that none of these changes require any action from beneficiaries, as the adjustments will be applied automatically to eligible accounts.

Support Suspended Below the Wage Floor

One of the more consequential changes concerns beneficiaries earning less than the Dh6,000 minimum wage threshold at establishments where that requirement applies. From this month, Nafis support will be suspended entirely for these workers. Authorities have also issued a pointed warning to employers on this front, confirming that companies failing to meet minimum wage requirements for their Emirati staff may face administrative penalties and fines under existing labour regulations — a signal that the government intends to use the Nafis overhaul partly as a compliance mechanism to ensure private-sector employers are meeting their wage obligations to national employees.

A New Child Allowance

Alongside the salary adjustments, Nafis has introduced a new Dh600 monthly allowance for every eligible child of an Emirati employee working in a qualifying private-sector or banking role. Notably, there is no cap on the number of children eligible for this support, provided the beneficiary's monthly salary does not exceed Dh50,000 — a relatively generous threshold that should keep the majority of the programme's target population within scope.

The allowance comes with clearly defined boundaries: support for male children continues until they turn 21 or begin working, whichever comes first, while support for female children continues until they marry or enter employment. The allowance cannot be claimed twice for the same child, and is not available where the employee's spouse works for a federal or local government entity, closing off a potential overlap with other government family support schemes.

Changes to the Eshtirak Pension Programme

The overhaul also reaches into the Eshtirak pension and social security contribution scheme. Going forward, Nafis support under Eshtirak will be limited strictly to the legally prescribed employee share of pension and social security contributions for those earning between Dh6,000 and Dh20,000 per month. Crucially, the programme will no longer cover the employer's share of pension contributions that responsibility now sits squarely with employers themselves.

To remain eligible, beneficiaries must be registered with an approved UAE pension fund and must not simultaneously draw a salary or pension from a federal or local government body, reinforcing the programme's focus on genuinely private-sector employment rather than dual public-private income streams.

Why It Matters

Taken together, these changes mark one of the more substantial recalibrations of Nafis since the programme's launch, reflecting a broader policy push to ensure Emiratisation incentives are targeted efficiently while placing more of the direct cost of employing national talent onto private employers themselves a shift that dovetails with the government's ongoing Emiratisation compliance drive, which has already seen firms warned to meet mandated hiring quotas or risk penalties.

For Emirati jobseekers and current private-sector employees, the message from officials has been one of continuity paired with recalibration: support remains available, and in the case of the new child allowance, has actually expanded, but the overall structure is shifting toward a system that rewards higher qualifications and stable, minimum-wage-compliant employment, while gradually reducing the state's role in subsidising higher earners' salaries over time.