The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
A tense phone call with a colleague led one teacher to start his own support group, which now has close to 10,000 members in the UAE.
Robert Welsh, 44, said when he phoned an old friend from his home town of Liverpool, who had recently moved to Dubai, he found himself speaking to someone he believed was on the verge of ending his life.
The Sharjah primary school teacher convinced his friend not to make a terrible mistake.
But it brought home to Mr Welsh that many teachers needed social contact to support their mental health in what is globally a demanding profession.
“My friend had only moved here to teach five and a half months before that day,” he said.
Many of them have been living as students, surviving on Dh1,000 for a month back home and then they arrive here and are given several times that. A lot of them don't have the financial maturity to deal that
“I thought I would give him a call to catch up and couldn’t believe what he was telling me.
“I told him not to do anything and I drove from Al Ain, where I was teaching at the time, straight away, and managed to speak to him.”
His friend told Mr Welsh that he was lonely and felt isolated at work.
Mr Welsh decided to form the group Teacher Socials.
Within three years, the group was ready to welcome its 10,000th member.
“I realised there was no community here for teachers to meet up and share their problems,” he said.
Among the activities that were organised for members were beach walks, skiing, nights out together, paintballing, go-karting, yoga, art classes and visits to shooting ranges.
Membership grew so much that the group will soon provide an app to members that offers discounts at hotels, restaurants and venues across the UAE.
That could prove to be important for teachers who struggle to cope financially with their new lifestyles here, he said.
“For a lot of teachers, especially the younger ones, the change in lifestyle is difficult to adapt to,” he said.
“Many of them have been living as students surviving on Dh1,000 for a month back home and they arrive here and are earning several times that.
“A lot of them don’t have the financial maturity to deal with suddenly having so much money.”
But it was not only increased salaries that were creating financial difficulties.
“Banks are offering crazy credit card and loan deals that people will never be able to pay back,” Mr Welsh said.
“Teachers often get offered loans of up to Dh500,000 and you have to wonder why anyone would need that much.”
Many are not prepared for their new lives in the UAE. Mr Welsh said that most of the teachers needing help from the group tended to be from the West.
“They are the ones who have the most adapting to do,” Mr Welsh said.
“They are far from home and don’t have the same support networks as people from neighbouring countries or those who have large communities here.
“They are not familiar with the laws and customs, which can lead to problems.”
The group has 12 counsellors on hand to offer advice to those under pressure.
One of those is secondary school teacher Helene McGlone, 41, who had great difficulty adapting when she arrived and took up a job she did not like.
Sometimes all you need is someone to talk to and realise you're not alone
But she soon found employment at another school, which she said she loved.
Ms McGlone became keen to provide any assistance she can to help her fellow teachers.
“Sometimes all you need is someone to talk to and realise you’re not alone,” she said.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Range: 400km
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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Youth YouTuber Programme
The programme will be presented over two weeks and will cover the following topics:
- Learning, scripting, storytelling and basic shots
- Master on-camera presence and advanced script writing
- Beating the algorithm and reaching your core audience
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
