Time & Attendance
Built for the Middle East
Ramadan hours, rotating site shifts, field teams and country-specific overtime, captured accurately and passed straight into WPS-ready payroll. No spreadsheet between the punch and the payslip.
Where Attendance Goes Wrong in the Middle East
Tools built for a Monday-to-Friday office miss the things that decide whether your people are paid correctly here.
Overtime paid at the wrong rate
Night overtime, rest-day work and public holidays each carry a different premium, and the rules differ by country. A single spreadsheet multiplier underpays some employees and overpays others, and underpaid overtime becomes a wage dispute.
With ZimyoOvertime rules per country and employee group, applied to every approved hour.
Ramadan changes the working day
Working hours drop for a month whose dates move by about 11 days every year. Rosters get edited by hand, and the system flags early exits that are not early at all.
With ZimyoA Ramadan shift assigned for the Ramadan period, with lateness and overtime measured against it.
Sites, field teams and proxy punches
Construction sites, warehouses, retail outlets and drivers rarely sit next to an office device. Punches go missing, and buddy punching goes unnoticed.
With ZimyoGeofenced mobile check-in with selfie verification, offline marking and live trip tracking.
Attendance and payroll disagree
Absences, regularisations and overtime approved after payroll has run mean the salary in the WPS file no longer matches what each employee is owed.
With ZimyoApproved attendance flows straight into Zimyo Payroll before the WPS file is generated.
Accurate Punches From the Office, the Site and the Road
Every check-in lands in one attendance record, whether it comes from a biometric device at the plant, the mobile app on a construction site with no signal, or a driver halfway between Dubai and Al Ain.
- Geofenced check-in: employees can only punch inside their assigned site
- Selfie verification at the moment of punching, to stop proxy attendance
- Biometric devices (fingerprint, face, card) alongside mobile and web
- Offline marking that syncs when the device reconnects
- Live trip tracking and working hours for field and delivery teams
Rosters That Follow the Regional Calendar
Set up fixed, rotational, night and split shifts once, then switch the teams that need it onto a Ramadan shift for the month. No re-keying rosters by hand every year, and no false "early exit" flags at 3 PM.
- Fixed, rotational, night and split shifts with their own timings and time zones
- Ramadan shifts assigned to the teams it applies to, for the Ramadan period
- The summer midday outdoor-work break built into site shifts
- Work weeks and rest days per location, for Friday–Saturday or Saturday–Sunday weekends
- Grace periods, half-day rules and shift-based leave policies
Overtime Calculated by Each Country's Rules
Normal overtime, night overtime, rest-day and public-holiday work each get the rate you configure for that country and employee group. Managers approve the hours; Zimyo works out the amount and sends it to payroll.
- Separate rates for normal, night, rest-day and public-holiday overtime
- Country-level rules for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the rest of the region
- Daily and weekly caps, with exceptions flagged before payroll
- Manager approval before any overtime becomes payable
- Approved amounts added to the payroll run automatically
Leave and Public Holidays for Every Country You Operate In
Public holidays for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Egypt come pre-loaded, and each location follows its own calendar. Employees apply for leave on their phone; approved leave shows in attendance and payroll straight away.
- Leave types such as annual, sick, Hajj, maternity and compassionate, with your own rules
- Multi-level approval workflows, with managers approving in one tap
- Real-time balances employees can check themselves
- Holiday calendars per location, including moon-sighted Eid dates
- Leave balances ready for end-of-service and encashment calculations
Approved Attendance Goes Straight Into WPS Payroll
Missing punches are regularised, overtime is approved and absences are settled before payroll runs, so the salary in your WPS file matches the attendance you signed off.
- Regularisation and on-duty requests handled before the cycle closes
- Payable days, loss-of-pay absences and overtime passed to payroll
- Attendance locked for the cycle once approved, with a full audit trail
- WPS Salary Information File generated by Zimyo Payroll
- Late-arrival, absence and overtime reports ready to export
Working-Hour Rules Your Attendance Has to Respect
The statutory basics Zimyo is configured around in the region's three largest markets. Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Egypt are set up the same way.
| Country | Standard hours | Ramadan | Overtime premium | Summer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | 8 hours a day, 48 a week | Working day shortened by 2 hours | +25% on normal overtime; +50% between 10 PM and 4 AM; up to 2 overtime hours a day | Outdoor midday break, 12:30–3:00 PM, 15 June to 15 September |
| Saudi Arabia | 8 hours a day, 48 a week | Up to 6 hours a day (36 a week) for Muslim employees | +50% of the basic wage for each overtime hour | Outdoor midday break, 12:00–3:00 PM, 15 June to 15 September |
| Qatar | 8 hours a day, 48 a week | Up to 36 hours a week | +25% on normal overtime; +50% between 9 PM and 6 AM | Summer outdoor-work restrictions apply |
For orientation only. Rules change, and can depend on the employment contract, sector and free zone. Zimyo applies the policy you configure, so confirm current requirements with MOHRE, HRSD or the Ministry of Labour. See our UAE labour law guide.
Built for Shift-Heavy, Multi-Site Workforces
Construction & contracting
A geofence per site, rotating crews, and the summer midday break built into outdoor shifts.
Facilities management
Staff spread across client buildings, with night and weekend shifts and overtime tracked per contract.
Retail & malls
Split shifts, long weekend hours and outlet-level rosters that change for Ramadan and the shopping festivals.
Hospitality & F&B
Round-the-clock rotating shifts with rest days and public-holiday premiums calculated correctly.
Logistics & transport
Drivers and delivery teams on live trip tracking, with hours worked outside the depot recorded.
Manufacturing
Plant shifts on biometric devices, fixed rotations and overtime that flows into payroll.
Why Middle East Teams Choose Zimyo Attendance
One record, punch to payslip
Attendance, leave, overtime and payroll run on the same data, so nothing is re-typed between systems.
Policies you control
Grace periods, shift rules, overtime rates, rest days and leave types, configured per country, location or team.
Works where your people work
Mobile, web and biometric capture in a single record, including sites with no connectivity.
Region-focused support
An implementation team that sets up your shifts, overtime rules and holiday calendars with you, so you can go live in days.
Trusted by Teams Across the Middle East
"Transformed our HR completely!"
Zimyo helped us solve problems like time management, organising files, tax filing and many others. Highly recommended.
"One of the best HRMS & Customer Experience!"
Overall experience was very good. The team is really helpful, guided us with all integration steps and even after the implementation process, the support was unwavering.
"Best onboarding experience!"
Zimyo's team is really good. They helped us throughout making the implementation super quick and easy. We went live in days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is time and attendance software?
Time and attendance software records when employees start and finish work, applies your shift, leave and overtime rules to those records, and produces the hours and exceptions payroll needs. Zimyo captures attendance from mobile, web and biometric devices, then passes approved attendance straight into Zimyo Payroll.
How does Zimyo handle Ramadan working hours?
You create a Ramadan shift with the reduced hours your policy applies and assign it to the relevant employees for the Ramadan period. For reference, UAE private-sector working hours are shortened by two hours a day during Ramadan, and Saudi labour law limits Muslim employees to six hours a day. Late marks, early exits and overtime are then measured against the Ramadan shift rather than the regular one.
Does Zimyo calculate overtime the way UAE and Saudi labour law requires?
You configure overtime rules for each country or employee group: the rates, the night-time window, rest-day and public-holiday premiums, and daily caps. Zimyo applies them to every approved overtime hour and sends the amount to payroll. For reference, UAE law sets a 25% premium on normal overtime and 50% for overtime between 10 PM and 4 AM, and Saudi law sets a 50% premium on the basic wage.
Can employees mark attendance at sites without internet?
Yes. Employees can mark attendance offline on the Zimyo mobile app, and the punch syncs when the device reconnects. Geofencing still ties the check-in to the site, so it suits construction sites, warehouses and remote locations.
How does Zimyo prevent buddy punching?
Check-ins can require the employee to be inside the geofence for their assigned location and to take a selfie at the time of punching. Biometric punches from fingerprint, face or card devices go into the same record, so every entry is tied to the person who made it.
Can we run different work weeks and holidays in different countries?
Yes. Each location or employee group can have its own work week, rest days, time zone and public holiday calendar. That covers, for example, a Friday–Saturday weekend in Saudi Arabia and a Saturday–Sunday weekend at many UAE companies. Public holidays for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Egypt are pre-loaded.
How does attendance connect to payroll and WPS?
Once attendance is approved, the payable days, loss-of-pay absences and overtime amounts flow into Zimyo Payroll for that cycle. Payroll then generates the WPS Salary Information File, so the salary you submit matches the attendance you approved.
Experience Tomorrow's
HR Technology Today
Get a personalised demo and let our Middle East HR experts walk you through the platform — no commitment needed.
- WPS-compliant payroll in just 5 clicks
- Automate gratuity & end-of-service benefits
- 100% compliant with Middle East labor laws
- Dedicated onboarding & support team
- No hidden costs — transparent pricing
- Go live in as little as 2 weeks
Book a Free Demo
Personalised walkthrough — no credit card needed