Related — UAE salary guide 2022: how much should you be earning?
About 48 per cent of all employers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia offer life insurance as part of a standard employment package as business confidence and hiring activity return to pre-coronavirus levels in 2022, according to new research by recruitment consultancy Hays.
Forty-seven per cent of companies in also offer a company car or car allowance while 46 per cent provide flexible working hours and 36 per cent give child education allowances to employees, according to the Hays Salary Guide 2022.
“There are a number of factors influencing what benefits employees are offered here,” Sarah Dixon, managing director of Hays Gulf region, said.
We typically see child education allowances, for example, being offered according to a candidate’s level of seniority and generally provided to senior, C-Suite level only
Sarah Dixon,
managing director at Hays Gulf region
“We typically see child education allowances, for example, being offered according to a candidate’s level of seniority and generally provided to senior C-suite level only. Industry, company and job role also have a bearing and there are significant variances based on location of work.”
The jobs market in the UAE will continue to recover in 2022. Salaries are expected to rise by an average of 3 per cent to 5 per cent depending on the sector, while bonuses will make a comeback this year, according to the Hays Salary Guide.
About 73 per cent of UAE employers expect salaries in their organisations to increase by up to 5 per cent this year, compared with 37 per cent in 2021, the salary guide revealed.
Companies must offer a competitive benefits package to attract the best talent, according to the Robert Half 2022 salary guide, which was released last year.
Some of the most common benefits UAE employers are offering jobseekers include flexible and remote working, airline tickets, an education allowance and family visas.
However, since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, job candidates are increasingly requesting to work from home at least two days a week, as well as asking for flexible hours and training opportunities, the Robert Half report said.
Meanwhile, child education allowances are a significant “pull factor” for professionals in the UAE when considering a new role, Ms Dixon of Hays Middle East said in an earlier interview.
“With so many expats uprooting family and relocating to the region from home countries for jobs, child education fees represent a significant proportion of their incomes and candidates will favour an employer that offers to cover these,” she said.
“This is a challenge to organisations as school fees are relatively expensive in the UAE and from our experiences, child education allowances are generally only offered to senior-level candidates. They also vary by way in which they are offered — some employers provide an annual lump sum, while others cover up to two children, or are capped at a certain level of spend.”
The most common benefit provided by employers in Saudi Arabia was a company car or car allowance, with 61 per cent offering it to workers. This compares with 43 per cent of companies in the UAE that offer the same benefit, according to Hays.
Meanwhile, 53 per cent of UAE organisations provide life insurance, in contrast to 30 per cent in Saudi Arabia.
When it comes to flexible working, 49 per cent of UAE employers offer this as part of a standard package, versus 39 per cent in Saudi Arabia, the Hays research found.
About 37 per cent of UAE companies offer child education allowances in comparison with 32 per cent of those in Saudi Arabia.
“Furniture, food and utility allowances were more common over a decade ago — prior to the global financial crisis. At the same time, employees in the Gulf were often offered guaranteed bonuses,” Ms Dixon of Hays said.
Employee salary packages in the Gulf are broken down into three main components: basic salary, which typically accounts for 60 per cent to 65 per cent of total salary; housing, which is roughly 25 per cent to 30 per cent; and flight allowance, which accounts for about 10 per cent to 20 per cent, she said.
In the UAE, employers are also legally required to provide medical insurance and a gratuity.
Education allowances, flexible working and share incentives are considered the top three most important benefits by employees when considering a new employer, the Hays guide found.
“Most notably, flexible working has grown significantly in precedence these past two years following the pandemic and this is one offering employers cannot afford to overlook going forward,” Ms Dixon said.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEducatly%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohmmed%20El%20Sonbaty%2C%20Joan%20Manuel%20and%20Abdelrahman%20Ayman%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEducation%20technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%242%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEnterprise%20Ireland%2C%20Egypt%20venture%2C%20Plus%20VC%2C%20HBAN%2C%20Falak%20Startups%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Race%20card
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Brief scoreline:
Burnley 3
Barnes 63', 70', Berg Gudmundsson 75'
Southampton 3
Man of the match
Ashley Barnes (Burnley)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
The%20specs
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The%20specs
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A cryptocurrency primer for beginners
Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies – by Kiana Danial
There are several primers for investing in cryptocurrencies available online, including e-books written by people whose credentials fall apart on the second page of your preferred search engine.
Ms Danial is a finance coach and former currency analyst who writes for Nasdaq. Her broad-strokes primer (2019) breaks down investing in cryptocurrency into baby steps, while explaining the terms and technologies involved.
Although cryptocurrencies are a fast evolving world, this book offers a good insight into the game as well as providing some basic tips, strategies and warning signs.
Begin your cryptocurrency journey here.
Available at Magrudy’s , Dh104
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
