CuriousForeigner

Hello everyone. I am working in Saudi Arabia in the private sector and my employer pays for my compound house. However, they charge me a "london weighting" to cover the cost of what I nominally would have paid for accommodation if I had been in London. This charge is about £1,000 a month (representing about 25% of the Saudi accommodation cost).

Does anyone have experience of whether this is a normal approach? Are there any reliable surveys done by e.g. Mercer which I could access (happy to pay a reasonable fee if necessary)?

Thanks!

Bahtatboy

First time I've heard of it, although the place isn't called the Magic Kingdom for nothing. As with most jobs, what other companies do is generally of little relevance: your employer makes up the rules, you try to negotiate a bit, but ultimately you have to play by their rules or find another game.

Mind you, Riyadh as a location is four times as desirable as London.

bodieanddoyle

nottmbantam

Never heard of that approach. Generally, there are two approaches:
1- the employer sources the accommodation and pays for it.
2 - Your employer gives you the equivalent of 25% of your basic salary ( 3 months ) and you go off and find your own. This is typically the ' package' in KSA and a lot of other GCC countries, Basic Salary per month + 25% Housing Allowance+ Transport Allowance

DubInRiyadh

Sounds like creative accounting. Charging you for what you would have paid for accommodation in London ? Why not compensate you for your pain and suffering for not being able to visit the pub in London.....seriously though as the contract is a legal document it cannot deal in what ifs, and maybe if you lived wherever....I've never seen it in a KSA contract.