Most problems between families and domestic workers in Oman do not start with bad intentions — they start with wrong assumptions about pay. A figure heard from a neighbour, a rule borrowed from another country, or a deduction that felt reasonable can each turn into a dispute. this guide works from the actual regulation, MD 574/2025, and it clears up the misunderstandings that cause the most trouble. Here are six of them, as this guide sets them out.

Mistake 1: Assuming the OMR 325 Minimum Applies

The most common error is treating OMR 325 as the housemaid minimum wage. That figure — OMR 225 basic salary plus OMR 100 in allowances — comes from MD 222/2013, and it covers Omani nationals in the private sector. It is a different rule for a different group of workers. For expatriate domestic workers, Oman sets no minimum wage at all: the monthly wage is negotiated and written into the contract. This guide is explicit on the point — the wage is agreed, not fixed by law. Families who budget around OMR 325, or workers who demand it as a legal right, are both relying on a rule that does not apply to them.

Mistake 2: Hiring Without a Written Contract

A verbal agreement feels simpler, but it protects nobody. The regulation requires a written contract in Arabic, or in another language with an approved Arabic copy, stating the wage, pay date, hours, rest and duties. Without one, the worker can still prove their rights by any means — so skipping the contract removes the family's clearest evidence, not the worker's rights. Registering the contract electronically costs only OMR 1, which makes skipping it hard to justify.

Mistake 3: Deducting Costs the Law Forbids

Many employers assume they can recover hiring expenses from the worker's pay. They cannot. An employer may not take any money from the worker for recruiting, employing or transferring them, and the Labour Law bars charging a recruited worker for their employment. Permitted deductions are narrow — deliberate or negligent damage to property in the worker's care, court-ordered debts or fines, and agreed interest-free loan repayments — and they can never exceed a quarter of the wage. As this guide explains, anything beyond that list is not a deduction; it is an unlawful cut.

Mistake 4: Paying Late or Without Proof

Pay must arrive no later than 7 days after the contract pay date, and the law counts payment as made only with proof: the worker's signature in a wage register, or a transfer into their account at a local bank or licensed financial institution. Cash handed over with no record leaves both sides exposed — the family cannot prove they paid, and the worker cannot prove they were not. A bank transfer solves both problems at once, which is why this guide presents it as the cleanest habit a family can adopt.

Mistake 5: Getting the Job Title Wrong

Housemaid, nanny, private driver, home health assistant and private nurse are separate licensed occupations, and a family may not employ a worker in an occupation other than the licensed one. Hiring someone as a housemaid and then assigning full-time childcare or elder care creates a mismatch that can cause trouble at renewal or transfer. If the work changes, the licence and the contract should change with it — the job title matters as much as the wage.

Mistake 6: Forgetting What Builds Up Over Time

Two entitlements catch families by surprise because they grow quietly. Annual leave of at least 21 days on full pay accrues every year, and unused leave is paid out when the job ends. End-of-service pay builds at half a month's wage per year, counting only service from 13 October 2025, and becomes due once service reaches two years. Neither is a bonus the employer chooses to give; both are owed. Budgeting for them from the first month turns an expected cost into a planned one. That is the practical message of this guide: plan for what the law already requires. For the full rules behind each of these points, including the contract requirements and the yearly cost breakdown, read this guide before you agree your next wage — and remember it is general information, not legal advice.