furiouskraken

Hey Guys,

Been going through a lot of the threads and am confused on the packages. There are sites that suggest x is enough and some that suggest twice of x is also useless in Dubai. So, am furnishing my details to make an informed decision. The company asked me for the intial package which is annoying and they are not willing to say how much the other technology leaders are being paid for that level.

I am currently in London earning around £120k with 20% bonus. I have 2 kids who are 6 and 8 years old. I have a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in North London.

What's the monthly package that I should ask for? Below are the benefits other than the monthly package:
- Annual bonus of 20% from the annual salary depending on company’s performance
- Medical insurance for self, wife, and up to 3 kids up to the age of 21 years
- life insurance for self
- NO Annual Flights
- 40 Calendar Days leaves

I followed up on another thread where a person from the UK was on £85k per month, and the forum suggested that he should negotiate for upto 40k AED as a minimum. What should i ask for in my case considering that there's no housing or any kids allowances?

pupdawg82

I would suggest to ask them to pay housing and schooling since they are the most expensive things in UAE for decent ones. if not, add 200K for housing and 50K at least for decent school for 1 kid (per year) on your current base. As a Brit, you would save around 35% in taxes which could be considered as bump to move to UAE. Ideally 40K + Housing + Some assistance in tuition fee would be considered as done deal.

Mind telling what sector you would be working in? AD or Dubai?

Millhouse

So basically 65k a month all in.

40k +200/12 + (50*2)/12 = 65k

pupdawg82

Yes, but you do not need to do math for OP.

Millhouse

furiouskraken

Thanks for the responses so far. They came back that the max budget is 60k. There's nothing on top of that. Hoping that it's worth while and wiating for them to get back to me. Will post any responses if i get any.

Out of curiousity, why is that everyone calculates housing annually? Is that the norm?

Dubai. Finance Sector.

I definitely wouldn't have done it.. Thanks for the math

archie159

Yes, because almost all housing rentals are done by the year. You cannot usually rent somewhere for shorter periods.

pupdawg82

Good luck. I know it is very hard decision to make when money/benefits are slightly better than current one. If it was huge difference then it would have been no brainer to say yes or no.

furiouskraken

Apparently, it takes quite a long time in middle east for candidates. So, all i got to do is sit and wait.

Are there any other expats who have moved into the finance sector in IT to Dubai or Abu Dhabi? What's the remuneration that was offered and what's your experience?

Millhouse

pupdawg82

I think remuneration is not standard and depends on what you were making in your previous role. In UAE specially, your base going to be 20-25% less but expat allowance and pension (paid monthly) will bring you just a bit up (5%) from your current salary.

If you are British then you save 30-40% from day 1 because of no taxes. On top of this many employers pay for accommodation and children's school so add these to overall benefits.

Unfortunately golden days of working in UAE are gone.

UKCityGent

Is that 40% on gross UK salary ?

Millhouse

no, over DXB.

Just repeating what I was told by someone trying to recruit.

This is PE Fund management, not some bean counter or debt pusher.

UKCityGent

Thanks - not a bad premium uplift although living in KSA would be a cut of 1000 deaths (with a blunt spoon!)

Britchick42