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The very fact that the UAE is 80 per cent expatriate makes the concept of salary different to most countries in that people's needs are somewhat different, and it would be safe to say that the worker here is more transient than permanent. Without going into the fine print of UAE Labour Law, we look at salary composition from your perspective so that you know what is normal to expect when receiving your contract or negotiating your package. The days of the UAE as a hardship posting are numbered. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are places where people elect to come to live due to the benefits of tax free living, diversity of life and year long sun. A stint in a different part of the world is also of great benefit to your CV. What one needs to understand about coming to work here is that, despite your circumstances, the reason why you should be employed here is because you bring skills to the table and that is what you are being compensated for. Having said this, if you are willing to take a certain salary, you can work away with minimal skills. Having an undergraduate degree is not necessarily a prerequisite for getting a job, but it is what differentiates white collar from blue collar, and indeed attested degree certificates form part of the recruitment process in many firms. The real expat package, which was an all bells and whistles package still exists, but is no longer so prevalent. You still do get a number of companies posting employees for a stint in the UAE for anything up to 5 years and compensating them accordingly. The reason why they have to do that is that there is no one who understands their current business and has the skills and ability to apply that to a new environment, in a growing, dynamic country. We have tried to break down the components of salary to give you a basic understanding of what to expect when trying to negotiate your contract Basic Salary This is obviously the main component of your compensation package and is paid monthly. Other components of your compensation may be based on this amount, such as annual bonus, for example. Accommodation While the trend is moving to paying all cash packages, there are still a number of companies who provide actual accommodation in lieu of housing allowance. The housing allowance component is to compensate you for the rent of the accommodation that you take. This is usually paid monthly and more and more does not actually cover the actual rent, due to the significant increases in cost of housing in recent years. Furthermore, despite the allowance being paid monthly, landlords usually require payment of rent on an annual, bi-annual or quarterly basis.This may require you either having the cash upfront or taking a loan for the amount payable, and so interest would increase the actual cost to you. For those that receive accommodation in lieu of housing allowance, this is paid for by the company, and covered to a limit. This, of course, is significant considering the rising cost of housing and will only start to settle at some point about 2008 when housing supply starts to meet the ever growing demand of workers. If accommodation is taken above the limit, the employee would pay the difference, either in cash upfront to the employer or landlord, or is taken monthly from the employee's salary. Some firms even offer a shifting grant to cover the costs involved in moving home if your rent is increased, although this is usually offered once every 4 years, if at all. Finally, there may be an option of accommodation or cash, and some companies force one of the options dependant on certain criteria Transport Allowance Companies provide transport allowance to cover general traveling considerations to and from work and inclusive of travel with regard to work. Significant other travel on behalf of work would be covered by a separate per diem policy, mission allowance or paid expenses. For more senior staff, there may be a car allowance either in provision of a car to a certain level or an allowance for purchase of a car depreciated over two to four years, along with a fuel allowance. The cars are either linked to status of position or to tasks undertaken. For example, sales jobs may require that you have a car to travel between certain pitches, whereas a director may need to display a certain status indicative of position, and have to be seen driving a new Mercedes. Some companies make it a requirement for you to have your own car already and as part of the job requirements and compensate you accordingly for petrol used at around the 60 fils per Kilometre. Utilities To cover the cost of water and electricity, some senior employees receive a utility allowance or a payment of actual bills. This is, on occasion, applicable to telephones, both land and mobile, as well. Education Allowance Due to the nature of the education system, some payment could be made to cover education of the employee's children. This could be limited by number of children, location (i.e. only UAE based children) or nationality. So typically, you could receive fees coverage of 2 or 3 children to a maximum limit of, say, 10,000 Dhs per child per year, provided that they study in the UAE. Of course the range is wide with this, from nothing at all to unlimited children with full fees paid. This all depends on the employer. It is worth noting that adopted children are neither covered here nor recognized as legitimate within the confines of the UAE, however, this is increasingly being ignored. Furniture Allowance While this allowance used to be more of a norm, it is less and less prominent, and provided more at a senior level, if at all. The amount is usually paid as a one off lump sum on engagement, to be repaid on a depreciation level of four years, if the employee was to leave during this time. Some companies pay this amount on a monthly basis, with no repayment required and some pay it every four years. (It may also only be applicable for those on a transfer basis to the UAE for a period of time. However, in this instance, staff are sometimes provided with furnished accommodation) Bonuses It is more usual than not for companies to offer bonuses, even some of the Dubai Government companies such as Dubai Holding, for example. However, bonus specifics are usually not stated in contracts. Bonuses are essentially wide ranging, from performance related bonuses linked to your own meeting of specific objectives to company wide schemes. In some cases, both are applicable. However, it is never safe to assume that you will receive a certain amount unless it is explicitly stated. In some instances only senior staff at director level and above will receive a bonus. Again, this all depends on the company - and the calculation of set bonus versus performance could be linked to basic salary or gross salary. Typically, if a performance related bonus is offered, it would be linked to a multiple of basic salary, from one time for average performance to three times for over performance of objectives. To be safe, assume in your calculations you will receive nothing, and then any bonus will be just that, a bonus!
http://www.grapeshisha.com/living-working/uae-salary-components.html
2/10/2014
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http://www.grapeshisha.com/living-working/uae-salary-components.html
2/10/2014