The Covid-19 pandemic has caused major upheavals around the world – not least in the jobs market.
The tumultuous events of 2020 have affected millions of workers worldwide, including in the UAE, where many companies made staff redundant and reduced salaries in an effort to trim costs and remain operational.
While uncertainty remains, a brighter picture has been forecast for the Emirates, with the Central Bank of the UAE projecting the economy will grow 2.5 per cent in 2021.
So, what is the salary outlook for jobseekers this year?
Pay levels in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other emirates
The data from HR and recruitment specialist Cooper Fitch (see slideshow above) is based on surveys with 200 companies in the UAE.
More than 70 per cent of the companies that participated in the Cooper Fitch survey were large firms rather than SMEs, according to Trefor Murphy, the company's founder and chief executive.
"We've been running the surveys for eight years in the UAE and with each year that we see an increase or decrease, we adjust them up or down accordingly," he tells The National.
"The numbers come from firms that choose to use recruitment firms, so the organisations that don't use us, we don't use their data and we don't know what is happening there.
"In my view, maybe the organisations that are in a position where they are doing well, and are in a position to pay, are those that are using recruitment partners – and so it is those that can pay their employees better."
While an emirate-by-emirate breakdown reflecting the local economic situation is not provided within the company's data, Mr Murphy says different pay levels between the different emirates has "always been the case".
"Jobs, salaries and compensation are as a result of pure supply and demand. If someone wants to work in Ajman or Ras Al Khaimah, it’s like comparing a job in London with the option of working somewhere outside of the hustle and bustle of the city – it won’t pay as much."
The numbers shown in the slideshow are for fixed salaries with no benefits, such as school allowance or bonuses, included.
Mr Murphy says he hasn't seen much change to allowances being offered to companies since the onset of the pandemic.
"Certainly among the 200 firms we surveyed, they are not reducing allowances," he says. "There has been an overall reduction during the past five or 10 years but whereas Dubai may have been a hardship posting a decade ago, that is certainly not the case any more."
Cooper Fitch's annual salary survey found that 65 per cent of respondents said there was no change to mid-level salaries, and 66 per cent said executive compensation also remained flat. Fourteen per cent said they decreased mid-level wages, and 12 per cent cut executive pay.
The company expects a slight correction to UAE salary ranges for new hires in 2021 at -2 per cent. Forty-one per cent of respondents were undecided on whether existing staff would receive a pay rise in 2021, while 27 per cent said they would implement a merit salary increase.
Sectors with biggest wage increases
Despite the Covid-19-induced economic challenges, global recruitment consultancy Robert Half also expects salaries in the UAE to remain stable this year.
Sectors such as technology, pharmaceuticals, finance, government and human resources will offer the biggest wage increases, bonuses and benefits to retain top talent, according to its 2021 Salary Guide.
"Business leaders recognise that retention strategies need to evolve if they're to remain effective in the current climate. For this reason, salaries have remained stable, with some businesses even offering bonuses of up to 25 per cent for their top performers," it says in the report.
"However, remuneration packages have been stripped back to core benefits over recent months. Employees are primarily requesting incentives that support their development and performance while working from home. Typically, employers will only offer this to top talent."
Robert Half polled 1,500-plus business leaders across mainland Europe, the UK and Brazil during July 2020. "The results, we believe, are also indicative of current employer sentiment in the UAE," it says.
Robert Half did not comment further on its UAE data when contacted by The National.
Meanwhile, the Michael Page salary guide for 2021 does not indicate if workers can expect improved pay levels this year.
Companies that successfully navigated 2020 did so thanks to a strong company culture pre-Covid, fostered by in-person communication and interactions both internally and externally, Pierre-Emmanuel Dupil, senior managing director at Page Group for the Middle East and Africa, says.
The salary data is "indicative of the data for the region, but most accurately for the UAE", Jon Ede, regional director at Michael Page Middle East, adds.
"Each discipline/sector specialist looks at the data/reporting via our recruitment tech platform [salaries, job flow] and also the guide summaries [of] the insights from his/her interactions over the past 12 months with our client organisations and candidates," he tells The National.
The figures quoted in the Michael Page salary guide are inclusive of benefits for a range of private sector companies, such as multinational corporations, SMEs, family groups and government, Mr Ede adds.
_______________
Highest paid jobs in UAE
- Banking - chief compliance officer Dh93,000-Dh115,000, chief operating officer Dh95,000-Dh113,000
- Legal - managing partner Dh84,100-Dh122,300, General Counsel Dh80,000-Dh130,000
- Oil and gas - LNG manager Dh38,000-Dh72,000, Petroleum engineering manager Dh38,000-Dh65,000
- Public sector - Undersecretary Dh125,000-Dh175,000, executive director Dh90,000-Dh130,000
- Strategy - chief information officer Dh85,500-Dh111,000, partner Dh110,000-Dh162,000
- Senior finance and tax - group chief financial officer Dh90,000-Dh130,000
- Sales and marketing - regional commercial director Dh55,000-Dh69,000, head of corporate communications Dh51,000-Dh65,000
- Manufacturing and supply chain - managing director Dh94,000-Dh130,000, chief operations officer Dh80,000-Dh120,000
- Investment management - chief investment officer Dh130,000-Dh170,000, head of investments Dh85,000-Dh140,000
- Technology - chief information officer Dh60,000-Dh105,000, chief technology officer Dh50,700-Dh97,900
- HR and office support - HR director Dh64,800-Dh109,500, head of HR Dh50,000-Dh90,200
- Financial services - chief risk officer Dh90,000-Dh150,000, finance and accounting CFO Dh85,000-Dh140,000
- Accounting and finance - CFO Dh70,000-Dh130,000
- Property and construction - general manager Dh60,000-Dh80,000, development director Dh65,000-Dh80,000
- Secretary and office support - executive assistant Dh24,000-Dh32,000, office manager Dh20,000-Dh32,000
- Digital - chief digital officer Dh50,000-Dh90,000, head of digital marketing Dh35,000-Dh60,000
A version of this article was first published on January 18
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- 600-seat auditorium
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
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Honeymoonish
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Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
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Favourite film: Marvel movies
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Company%20Profile
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Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
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The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
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The biog
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Profession: medical student at UAE university
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Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
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