heathcliffe54

I am a new member and would really appreciate any advice members could give me on an offer my husband has received from Abu Dhabi.

My husband works as a quality engineer in the aircraft engine industry. We have two small children (aged 3 and 1) and the whole family would be relocating to Abu Dhabi. From info I secured from the internet, the offer seems to be insufficient for us to sustain a decent standard of living considering elevated accommadation costs and private education costs.

The offer is:

Basic Salary:
AED. 9,744.00 Per Month

Housing Allowance:
AED. 10,417.00 Per Month

Utility & Transport Allowance:
AED. 2,000.00 Per Month

Uniform allowance:
AED. 120.00 Per Month(When Applicable)

Monthly Total:
AED. 22,161.00

Probationary Period:
Three (3) months commencing on the date of joining.

Insurance:
Medical & Dental treatment will be provided for the employee and eligible family members who are resident in UAE.

Annual Leave:
Entitled for 22 working days per annum. Leave cannot be availed during probationary period.

Air Travel
Company provides One economy class air travel tickets for self on final joining, final repatriation from Abu Dhabi and annually when proceeding on annual leave.

Location:
Abu Dhabi/Al Ain

Length of contract:
Open End

Any advice for us please? Many thanks

Paracletus

Read page 1. And then click here for amazing results..Google is quite amazing I find.

Also, it's common courtesy to not hijack another persons thread.

Hi and welcome.

Millhouse

this package confuses me. The housing allowance is so high, yet the salary so low. Honestly, you need to double to triple the salary and keep the rest the same if you are going to pay for 2 kids.

Oyibopeppeh

No education allowance?

Forget it....

co durham boy

I'm seeing a lot of deals with basic salaries and high add ons just to buck the bonus and gratuity payments .

The above deal is a non starter for a family , it would be nigh on impossible to live a decent life on that package.
I have offered better deals in the last 6 months for starter packages for single status guys on double that salary with nigh on the same benefits give or take a few thousand.

Obviously with things being very bad in our host countries people can and will take a chance and come for less and companies will take advantage of the employment market just as employees do when the boots on the other foot.

Firms are selling jobs on the back of a so called 'sunshine lifestyle' with milk token salaries to first time expats and some jump at the chance of escaping the grind.

I was going to say unethical then i reminded myself that ethics and The Gulf are not compatible .
If you can better yourself and your families life then go for it but be careful and do the research and the donkey work and get the sums right.

When the shit hits the fan here it usually sticks to the blanket and you're an awful long way from the nearest Citizens Advice Bureau !

Mogs

I know absolutely no Aircraft Engineers - my guess at salary levels was mainly based on the fact of him being a qualified engineer and the rates my company (Oil & Gas related) would pay their engineers (less a few thousand because I know O&G companies normally pay more than other industries).

OP - you may want to consider Norsk's suggestion that your salary level may not be as low as I suggested - his opinion seems to be more informed than mine.

dutchy

We will give it a go and negotiate for more, if it does not work, we will stay at this end of the world. Definately do not want to get into trouble so far away from home.

dutchy

Just one more question. Personal Life and Accident Insurance are they a basic entitlement or does thatvary from company? Thanks again

Oyibopeppeh

Health insurance is provided by the sponsor. The benefits vary from the minimum to full dental/vision cover depending upon the sponsor.

dutchy

Health insurance is offered but no Life and accident insurance

dutchy

Not looking at any particular job, just in general:what should the basic salary be to have a "normal" life in Dubai?

heathcliffe54

Thanks to everyone who replied for your advice! co durham boy: I tried to private mail you but the site won't let me because I do not have more than three posts? Are you in Doha? My husband is also looking there. Would appreciate any advice you could give us? He has contacts in the QCAA. Would it be worthwhile contacting them direct?

Millhouse

almost impossible to tell - depends on what you think as normal.

If it's two people living in an apartment with 1 car, then 25k would be sufficient and allow some (limited) saving (say 3-4k an month). Move to a small house, add a second car and you are looking for 30-35k. Chuck in some kids and you'll be wanting upwards of 40k

For what it's worth, while the offer you have isn't amazing (21k all in), if it could be pushed to 25k and have the 'housing' settled in cash (so you don't have to spend it all on housing) then it's perfectly do-able.

co durham boy

Fire away , you should be able to P.M after 3 messages

nikkisizer

Hi dutchy,

I agree with Bahtatboy regarding the salary offer for your husband. As long as you do not spend your days not working shopping in the many malls out here you should survive just fine.

As with any move, you need to get over here first then move onwards and upwards from there.

If your husband is prepared to add an extra half an hour or so to his commute to Abu Dhabi there is an area called Mirdif which has a really nice community feel to it. Like yourself we have no children and our beautiful two bedroom villa with private garden and private pool (not communal) costs us only AED 75k per annum so it all depends on whether you want to pay extra to live centrally.

Also, I would advise that when you do arrive here in sunny Dubai you ensure that everything is wrapped up and in hand with your tax affairs back in the UK as you do not want any nasty surprises!

Happy to help if needed :)