Monthly chauffeur service vs a company car and employed driver in Dubai

A monthly chauffeur service in Dubai is one fixed monthly price for the car, the chauffeur, fuel, Salik and VAT, with cover when the chauffeur is off. A company car with an employed driver means buying or leasing the car, sponsoring the driver’s permit and visa, paying health and unemployment insurance, accruing gratuity, servicing the car and finding cover yourself. For one executive, a monthly chauffeur service is usually simpler. With several cars and an HR team, employing drivers can make sense.

We only use cost figures published by UAE government sources below. Car prices, leases and salaries vary too much to quote honestly, so we list them as lines for you to fill in.

What does each option include?

Cost line	Monthly chauffeur service	Company car + employed driver
The car	Included	You buy or lease it
Registration and insurance	Included	Yours: annual registration renewal needs valid insurance
Servicing, tyres, repairs	Included, and handled by the service	Yours, plus a spare car or taxis while it’s in the garage
Fuel	Included	Yours
Salik tolls	Included	Yours: AED 6 peak, AED 4 off-peak per crossing, plus 5% VAT
Driver’s salary	Included	Yours, set in the employment contract
Work permit and visa	None	Yours: work permit from AED 250 to AED 3,450, plus residence visa costs
Health insurance	None	Mandatory for employees in Dubai; employer pays
Unemployment insurance (ILOE)	None	Mandatory for company employees; up to AED 5 a month at salaries under AED 16,000
Gratuity	None	21 days’ basic pay per year for the first five years
Annual leave and sick cover	A relief chauffeur is arranged	30 days’ leave a year; you find the cover
Invoice	One monthly VAT invoice	Payroll, fuel cards, garage bills, Salik statements

What UAE labour law means for a company driver

This is the part most comparisons skip, and it decides the answer for many companies.

A driver employed by your company works under the private-sector labour law, Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. According to the UAE government’s guide to working hours:

• Normal hours are 8 a day or 48 a week. In Ramadan they drop by two hours a day.
• Overtime is capped at two hours a day and paid at normal pay plus 25%, or plus 50% for work between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.
• Work on the weekly rest day earns a substitute day or pay plus 50%.

Now look at a typical executive’s day: pickup at 7:30 a.m., office, meetings, a client dinner, home at 9 p.m. That’s thirteen and a half hours. One employed driver can legally cover ten of them at most (eight plus two of overtime). Either the executive takes taxis in the evening, or you employ a second driver. A monthly service handles long days by scheduling, not by hiring.

The other statutory costs, from the same government portal:

• End-of-service gratuity: 21 days’ basic salary for each of the first five years, 30 days for each year after that, capped at two years’ wages.
• Unemployment insurance (ILOE): up to AED 5 a month for salaries under AED 16,000, AED 10 above that. Not subscribing carries a AED 400 fine.
• Work permits: issuing or renewing one costs AED 250 to AED 3,450 depending on your company’s classification.
• Health insurance: employers must insure their staff in Dubai.

What if the driver is employed by the family, not the company?

A personal or family driver sponsored by a household is a domestic worker. The domestic workers law, Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 as amended in 2023, lists “personal/family driver” among the covered jobs and sets the minimums:

Right	Minimum under the law
Daily rest	12 hours a day, including at least 8 consecutive hours
Weekly rest	One paid day off a week
Annual leave	At least 30 days’ paid leave
Travel home	A return ticket every two years
Wages	Paid within 10 days of the due date

Twelve hours of rest leaves twelve for work at the very most, and a driver’s day includes waiting. Families who need a car from the school run to late evening, six days a week, run into the same problem as companies: one driver isn’t enough. Unemployment insurance doesn’t apply to domestic workers.

The car side of the sum

The car costs more than its price tag. The fixed lines:

1. Purchase or lease. Depreciation on a new executive sedan is the biggest single cost in most company-car sums. Get a real quote; don’t use a rule of thumb.
2. Registration. A private vehicle bought new from a dealer in Dubai can be registered and renewed for three years without a technical inspection; after that, the RTA requires an inspection for renewal. Every renewal needs valid insurance.
3. Insurance. Full motor cover for an executive car, renewed yearly.
4. Servicing and tyres. Dubai’s summer heat is hard on tyres and air conditioning.
5. Salik. A tag costs AED 52.50 including VAT, plus a AED 50 opening toll balance. Then the tolls themselves.
6. Downtime. When the car is in for service, you need another car or the executive takes taxis.

Salik adds up faster than people expect. A weekday commute from Dubai Marina to DIFC on Sheikh Zayed Road passes the Al Barsha gate and the Al Safa pair, which bills once when both are crossed within an hour. That’s two charges each way. At peak, with VAT, it’s AED 12.60 each way, AED 25.20 a day, and about AED 554 over 22 working days, before any meetings. Our Salik toll gates guide has the full rate table.

A worked comparison for one executive

Here’s the same requirement costed both ways: one executive, weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with two evening events a week.

	Monthly chauffeur service	Company car + one employed driver
Hours covered	All, by the service’s scheduling	10 hours legal maximum per day (8 + 2 overtime)
Evenings	Covered	Taxis, or a second driver
Overtime	Not your problem	2 hours a day at pay + 25%
Driver on leave (30 days a year)	Relief chauffeur	Taxis or a temporary hire
Car in the garage	The service’s problem	Rental or taxis
Admin	One invoice	Payroll, visa renewals, insurance, fuel, Salik, garage
Monthly cost	One fixed price, see the pricing page	Salary + overtime + car + insurance + fuel + Salik (about AED 554 on the commute alone) + gratuity accrual

The employed-driver column only works once you fill in your own salary, car and insurance quotes. Do that before deciding. For a single executive, the hours limit and the cover for leave usually settle it. For the per-hour and per-day alternatives, see how much a chauffeur costs in Dubai.

When employing your own driver makes sense

We’d recommend in-house drivers when:

• You run several cars and already have a fleet or admin person to manage them.
• Your HR and PRO team already handles visas and permits for other staff.
• The routes and hours are fixed and fit inside the labour-law limits.
• The driver has other duties, such as deliveries or document runs, that a chauffeur service won’t do.

And a monthly service when the need is one executive or one family, when the assignment is shorter than a couple of years, when hours are long or irregular, or when you’d rather not carry a car on the balance sheet. Monthly contracts can sit under a corporate account with your other trips. Our corporate ground transport guide covers how companies set up the policy around it.

Frequently asked questions

Can you hire a driver for a month in Dubai?

Yes, two ways. A monthly chauffeur service gives you a car and chauffeur on an agreed schedule for one monthly price. Driver-only services send a driver for your own car, and you keep paying for the car, fuel, insurance and Salik. We offer the first: car with chauffeur, never driver-only.

How much is a driver paid in Dubai per month?

Salaries are agreed in each employment contract and vary widely, so we don’t quote a figure. What the law does fix is the rest: for company drivers, 8 hours a day, overtime at pay plus 25% (50% at night), gratuity and health insurance; for family drivers, 12 hours’ daily rest, a weekly day off and 30 days’ annual leave.

How much does it cost to hire a driver monthly in Dubai?

Market prices depend on hours, days and the car. A car with chauffeur costs more than a driver-only service, because the car, fuel and tolls are in it. Our monthly packages and rates are on the monthly driver service page, with fuel, Salik and VAT included.

Is a family driver covered by the UAE labour law?

Not the private-sector labour law. A personal or family driver sponsored by a household is a domestic worker, covered by Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 as amended. It sets daily rest, a weekly paid day off, 30 days’ paid leave and a return ticket home every two years.

Who pays Salik on a monthly chauffeur contract?

With us, Salik is included in the monthly price along with fuel and VAT. With a company car, the company pays: AED 6 per crossing at peak and AED 4 off-peak, plus 5% VAT since June 2026.