babylon

Mill house thank you. Another 20k could represent a 110% rise in the uk salary. A tricky one where there is a fixed structure. But great idea though.

Of interest why an additional 20k? i want to go in with a realistic figure.

Millhouse

To be honest, you could have a decent life from about 38k upwards. I would not do it for less with a child en-tow.

When you get here you will realize that (a) housing is crazy expensive, (b) utilities on a small house are crazy expensive unless you move to a flat, (c) schooling is crazy expensive, (d) Mrs Babylon will want to transport mini-babylon around in a large armored SUV (which is the right decision by the way), (e) to maintain any form of life you will probably want some baby sitters which cost money (no Grandparents to fall back on), (f) on the rare occasions you do go out, food and drink is crazy expensive, (g) kids clubs are... crazy expensive, (h) mrs babylon will not really be able to earn much as there is no part time job market, so she will have to make a decision to either give up work or get child care in.

Also - you'll find there will be a thousand little things when you have a child that all cost money here that you wouldn't necessarily encounter at home.

so 35-38k is the floor in my opinion, 45k would be comfy. Don't relate anything to what you earn in the UK. You are not living in the UK.

Johnnyboy11

Your £48.7k is probably worth double that, when you factor in typical UK benefits:

Employer's pension contribution
Performance bonus
Company car and/ or expenses
Annual/ Statutory leave
Working hours
Illness/ injury cover
Redundancy cover etc.

Then there's Government perks such a free NHS, free state schooling and child benefit.

I'd suggest a minimum of AED 50k/m to make it worth your while, and add a further AED10k/m if you take the family with you (to cover school fees).

Millhouse

that's quite punchy.

Meow

The end of service gratuity isn't a benefit; it's part of UAE Labour Law and it is calculated on your basic salary only and reduces if you leave of your own accord in the first five years of service. It's not enough to make a difference.

If the school fees are not paid in full you will struggle and you won't be able to save. As there are no (well, very few) company pension arrangements you need to save for your own future. Dubai is not the fun place it can be if you are having to count every Dirham.

Dhs 28k per month is low if you have to pay for accommodation and school fees.

Standanista

On a bit of a tangent, my contract states that I'm not entitled to any end of service benefit, despite the law stating otherwise. It will be interesting to see how that one pans out when my 2 years are up. My gut feel is that it will not be worth the hassle fighting it.

Meow

A company cannot contract around UAE Labour law, so unless you are being given another benefit in lieu, such as contributions to a pension/savings plan, the company is obliged to pay, at least in respect of basic salary. The MoL is surprisingly helpful in clear cut cases.

My advice = don't sign paperwork to say you have received all payments unless EoS gratuity is included as they makes a case difficult. Why not demand what is owed to you by law?

Standanista

Thanks Meow. The waters are muddied unfortunately because I work public sector, not for a company. The issues are: one, does Labour Law override Civil Service Law; two, if they just refused point blank anyway, would chasing a relatively small amount through the courts be worth the time and cost; and three, I'm on a decent wedge anyway and knew what I was getting into when I signed the contract, and there's always the option to come back at some point if I don't upset folk, so pragmatism might be the wisest approach.

That said, one recent leaver is in the process of bringing about a case currently (out of stubborn bloodymindedness - it will cost him a packet) so we'll see what happens. No harm in me having a chat with the MoL anyway, cheers for the advice.

Millhouse

Do you have a labour card? If not, then the labour law (I think) doesn't apply to you.

Standanista

No, just Emirates ID. Could be tough luck then. Cheers for the info.