Salary Package Help!! Abu Dhabi
 

Hi,

My husband is attending and interview this week for a position in Abu Dhabi. We are currently in the UK. We don't know the wage to be offered, as there is some negotiation, however they have general pay scales, (which they won't disclose until after interview). I have some details about rough allowances they offer, and would appreciate if anyone could give us some information as to the wage range we should be looking at aquiring in order to be able to live well in Abu Dhabi.

A brief overview of our situation, we are married with a 1 year old son, and a baby due in Nov 2011. Deployment for his position is around July time.

The details we have of allowances then are as follows:

There are two options for housing, 1) live out of company accomodations and keep general allowance intact. 2) live in accomodation and have monthly deduction from general allowance. If you choose option one, they provide and annual housing advance - interest free - which is then deducted on a monthly basis from general allowance.

Transport - they provide an allowance paid as part of general allowance. but also provide a free bus service to and from place of work if you live in company accomodation.

They offer an annual bonus of up to 3 months basic salary.

Education allowance of up to 12,000 AED, per child up to 2 children, up to 18 years of age.

They provide annual holiday tickets which are paid into general monthly allowance.

They also provide life assurance and medical health assurance in line with company policy.

Taking all of this into account, how much would a good general allowance be to support two children? I do plan on working as well once my second child is a little older, but for now it needs to be based on my husbands wage.

Also, how much does the company have to provide for my husbands dependants and myself. Do they have to provide medical cover for us all, or is there no obligation there?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!!

Re: Salary Package Help!! Abu Dhabi
 

They have to provide medical cover by law in A.D it's not an allowance , they must provide it , that's one you can take out

Re: Salary Package Help!! Abu Dhabi
 

I see. And is that to cover all of us?

Do you know what type of monthly salary we should be looking at? I heard anything under 30000 aed isn't worth it but not sure if that's true!!

Re: Salary Package Help!! Abu Dhabi
 

And the 12,000 educational allowance isn't enough.

Double that per child and you should be OK, although you might have to top it up on your own.

A couple with two kids can live on 5,000 a month , maybe not for the long term but it is possible. Really you should aim for 25 k minimum.

Re: Salary Package Help!! Abu Dhabi
 

25,000K a month for a family of 4..are you mad???
If your school fees are paid in full and your accomodation is paid in full and you have nothing else to pay for then you may be ok with 25.000k a month but otherwise forget it!

Re: Salary Package Help!! Abu Dhabi
 

Guys, guys, guys... the kids are not at school age yet. One isn't even born...

So, it depends on how long you are going to stay. 2 years, 3 years? if so. schooling cost do not matter. But to give a feel for costs - in AD our nursery was 30,000 AED / year. School in Dubai is about 35k/ year for a 4 year old.

So in my view you need:

15k AED/month for housing in AD (small 3 bed house outside or 3 large bed flat in the city)
5k AED/month for food
3-5k AED/month for cars (all in cost with fuel).
1k AED/month for utilities
+savings + treats

If you are not saving half of your salary then many will say don't come. So that looks like an all in package of about 52k AED/month for a family of 4 with kids not in school. Kids in school - you need to add a bit more on to make up the "shortfall" in allowance.

In short, if depends on your saving expectations. You could "survive" on 26k. Personally, I would want more as expat life shouldn't be about survival.

However, you need to be realistic. Just because you are a british expat doesn't mean to say you can ask for the earth. If the job doesn't warrant that salary then forget it - there will be an army of people willing to do it for less.

What is the role?


EDIT> Make sure they pay for the birth. 20k AED for a birth I think.

Re: Salary Package Help!! Abu Dhabi
 

He's interviewing for a couple of different positions so we will have to see what happens, and if he does get an offer have a look then at the entire package.

I understand that schooling isn't as big a problem at the minute, but it is a permanent contract on offer, so i would rather the schooling was accounted for should we decide to stay long enough for them to reach school age.

They haven't given any figures about housing allowance, so I guess I'll have to wait and see and figure it all out afterwards.

Thanks for the info though, its given us more of a ballpark figure to think about.