At the start of the year, seven in 10 employees in the UAE were confident of a pay rise - yet this optimism has not translated into reality across the board.
While some candidates report healthy pay rises, some have received less than they would like, while others have had their salaries frozen.
If your hopes for higher pay in 2023 have not yet materialised, it may be time to take the matter into your own hands.
Everyone is entitled to fair pay. If your role has expanded, you have added value to the business, are paid below the market rate, or haven’t had a salary increase in several years, you have every right to ask for a raise – and get it.
As tempting as it might be to avoid a difficult conversation and request more money by email, meeting with your manager face-to-face is preferable.
It is much easier to gauge their reaction and negotiate in person. And as daunting as it seems, doing your homework and arming yourself with the facts will set you up for a constructive conversation.
1. Build a compelling case
Why should your employer pay you more? In any salary discussion, the first question your manager is likely to ask is why you deserve a raise.
Justifications for asking for more money include taking on more responsibilities. If your role has evolved since your last pay review and your workload has increased, you are justified in asking for more money.
To support your argument, review your job description to see how it has changed.
Making a tangible contribution to your company’s success is also grounds for a pay rise.
Perhaps one of your ideas has saved the business money or improved efficiencies, or you have won a significant piece of new business. If this is the case, gather evidence of what you did and any positive feedback you received, and be able to quantify it.
For example: “I won two new clients in the past six months, generating X dirhams in revenue for the company.”
And, be prepared to explain how a higher salary will motivate you and deliver for the business.
2. Know your worth
Before you start your negotiations, have a clear and realistic salary in mind, backed up by credible data.
You can research the typical salary range for someone in your role and with your experience via PayScale or Glassdoor and by consulting independent salary and benefits benchmarking reports.
Speaking to a recruitment expert can also help you to understand your earning potential in the current market.
3. Choose your time wisely
The timing of your salary discussion is crucial. The best time to negotiate your salary is after you receive a job offer or during your annual performance review.
The worst time is following poor financial results or a particularly challenging time for the company.
That said, if you feel you are so underpaid that you are ready to leave your job, talking to your manager is recommended.
All too often, not earning enough is one of the reasons candidates give for moving on, which they might be able to resolve with an honest conversation.
There is more to compensation than salary, so consider your entire package before making any hasty decisions. You may be better off than you think.
4. Have a plan B
Your discussion might not go as well as you hoped, so have a back-up plan ready just in case.
If your employer can’t afford to increase your salary right now, consider other benefits you could negotiate that would make you feel valued.
These might be extra days' paid time off, more days working from home, or a bonus for winning new business.
Schedule an appropriate time to revisit the conversation. If your employer feels your performance doesn’t merit a pay increase, ask what specific targets you need to hit to qualify and agree on a time to review your progress.
However, if you do your homework, gather evidence, and stay calm, professional and objective throughout your negotiations, you will improve your chances of success.
Top tips to ask for a pay increase
- Build a compelling case
- Know your worth
- Choose your time wisely
- Have a plan B
Zahra Clark is head of Middle East and North Africa for Tiger Recruitment
UAE Salary Guide 2023 - in pictures
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PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
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Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
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Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
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Joelle King (NZE)
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Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
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Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
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1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
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2012 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2011 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2010 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
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Toss India, chose to bat
India 281-7 in 50 ov (Pandya 83, Dhoni 79; Coulter-Nile 3-44)
Australia 137-9 in 21 ov (Maxwell 39, Warner 25; Chahal 3-30)
India won by 26 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
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UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
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2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
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Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
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