mrsSAFC

Hi everyone!

Yes I am from Sunderland. I have accepted the position however I am still awaiting the finer details. it is head of a school position, I have 8 yr old and 11 year old. the salary is 34000 and the house allowance is 12000 - and as far as i know its defo an allowance and not housing provided - i dont know what the schooling allowance is yet. I am still in a position to negotiate the salary - so would anyone advise to ask for more? as in would it be justified?

this is the full info:
UAE (In any of the 7 emirates)- Will be decided by the client upon selection
Gender
Male / Female
Salary (Per Month) 34,000 – Basic + 9,800 to 12,500 – Housing ( all in AED)
Benefits
Medical Insurance + Air Tickets ( For Self and Family) + Children Education allowance(As per Standard Scales) + Relocation Allowance

ALSO they have asked for a copy of a recent payslip.... any thoughts on why they need that??

Thanks

Oyibopeppeh

So they can see what you're currently earning and therefore make you the lowest possible acceptable offer

mrsSAFC

oh?? better not!

mauser1905

They have no business seeing your last pay slip. For obvious reasons they will be taking references from you from your past employer, thats sufficient. Tell them its not acceptable.

Good luck.

mrsSAFC

was offered lowest housing allowance but salary was high. Have not mentioned my current pay slip so will leave it

busybee2

a lot of salaries here are "all in" so it doesnt matter what allowances are etc, as long as you have enough money paid in to pay the bills etc what does it matter, they make the allowances lower to keep their EOSB low.

Mogs

they actually make the basic salary lower rather than the allowances to keep the EOSB low - as EOSB is paid as a % of basic

busybee2

yes what i was meaning was that they split it up basic and allowances, but it doesnt matter whether you have low allowances and high salary or otherway around, its surely the final figure thats really important, ie you have enough at pay day to support yourself etc, yes i know eosb is on basic.

Bahtatboy

That's far too simplistic an approach.

As you say, EOSB is on basic, so its important.
Annual increase. Official inflation in UAE was, I think, 4% last year, but rents dropped. Any savvy employer would give you an appropriate increase on your basic, but give you zilch on your housing allowance because rents are dropping.

mrsSAFC

Hi

I am negotiating both so fingers crossed. I have managed to get the kids on the waiting list for one school - cant remember its name and will look at the others now.

busybee2

what school as the most popular ones have big waiting lists and i know people who waited 1.5 years to get into the school.

Florence77

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to all this so forgive my not answering this query but submitting a new one along similar lines - hope that's ok. My husband and I, plus 15 year old daughter are likely moving to Abu Dhabi next September and we really want to take our daughter with us (she's excited to come too). BUT having read as many threads on the subject as I could find it would seem the general view is that to do A levels in AD would be a real step backwards from where she is right now (doing reasonably well at a private school in UK.) Previous to this my research indicated that BSAK is probably the best option for A levels and the ISI report reads reasonably well and the A level results seem OK although the subjects are limited. However as I said the forum feedback generally on 6th form schooling seems negative so I'd really appreciate more feedback on the subject especially from people with direct experience. I'd hate to send her to boarding school and really hope we can make it work for her in Abu Dhabi (with tutoring if necessary) but obviously do not want to sacrifice her chances of a good university at the end of it. With many thanks in advance for your thoughts, Florence77

Florence77

I'm new to all this so forgive my not answering this query but submitting a new one along similar lines - hope that's ok. My husband and I, plus 15 year old daughter are likely moving to Abu Dhabi next September and we really want to take our daughter with us (she's excited to come too). BUT having read as many threads on the subject as I could find it would seem the general view is that to do A levels in AD would be a real step backwards from where she is right now (doing reasonably well at a private school in UK.) Previous to this my research indicated that BSAK is probably the best option for A levels and the ISI report reads reasonably well and the A level results seem OK although the subjects are limited. However as I said the forum feedback generally on 6th form schooling seems negative so I'd really appreciate more feedback on the subject especially from people with direct experience. I'd hate to send her to boarding school and really hope we can make it work for her in Abu Dhabi (with tutoring if necessary) but obviously do not want to sacrifice her chances of a good university at the end of it. With many thanks in advance for your thoughts, Florence77

Millhouse

Well, I can't talk for BSAK etc. and while I agree that there is a general feeling that it's better to leave the kids at home for A-levels, I can offer a slightly different perspective. Students at my son's school recently managed to get a couple of places at Oxbridge/ Ivy league universities. The level of support they gave was great - including organising several prep-interviews with people from industry (I was one of them).

Getting offers and turning them into places of course is potentially a different story. In my view getting good A-level results is more about what you do at home than what you do in school.

Anyway, I would be more worried about disruption than actual quality of tuition. No way I would move a 15 year old.

busybee2

BSAK do very well at sixth form, they do send kids to oxbridge etc but also the us as there are many different nationalities so they dont all opt for uk uni's. bsak's sixth form has been around a few years now, and they do pretty well, the only thing is that the subjects may be limited compared to the uk, but then if they do your subjects then surely it doesnt matter. yasmina have just opened the sixth form this year, but is only year 12 and so there is no track record yet. if people have lived over here for a while, they quite often send the kids home to get better choice but also to try and "ground" them back in to the uk life etc ready for university. by moving over here you wouldnt be sacrificing her chances of a good university. its a brit sch and they slot right back in when moving back.