Contract negotiation in Abu Dhabi

Your Basic Checklist When Accepting Job Offer in Abu Dhabi

by Cyra Miles, our Expert in Abu Dhabi

Are you expecting a job offer soon from companies based in Abu Dhabi? Or planning to explore new career opportunities in this part of the globe? Indeed evaluating and accepting an overseas employment offer is a challenging task specially if you have never visited or lived in that particular country.

Use the below basic checklist to give you better understanding about job offers here in Abu Dhabi.

Salary

The salaries are given on monthly basis here in Abu Dhabi or UAE in general. Salaries received are net. There are no applicable local taxes. Deductions can incur only if you have any personal loans or salary advance.

Most of the employment packages here are offered in monthly fix income and you can hardly find hourly rates.

Length of Contract

The period of work tenure here is commonly two years although it varies according to you and your employer’s agreement. 

Entitlements

The following benefits are also offered, however it is always conditional, subject to the position being offered to you and differs according to the company’s business type.

•    Accommodation
•    Annual Leave
•    Air Ticket
•    Personal Life and Accident Insurance
•    Medical Treatment
•    Relocation Assistance
•    Children’s Education Assistance
•    Duty Meals
•    Transportation
•    Laundry
•    Telephone Allowance

Also make sure you have correctly negotiated the details of the employment entitlement so that your contract is lucrative enough. 

Gratuity

This is also referred as indemnity or end of service benefit. The calculation of gratuity is always as per the UAE Labour Law. 

• You will be paid for 7 days of your salary per year if you resign before completion of 3 years. However, you must finish one year of continuous service to be entitled for this benefit.
• You will be paid for 14 days of your salary per year if you resign after 3 years but before 5 years of service.
• You will be paid for 21 days of your salary per year if you complete the first five years of service and subsequent years thereafter will be 30 days of your salary per year.

The gratuity is calculated based on your latest basic salary. 

Physical Fitness

It is a common practice to be asked for medical certificate at least one month before your arrival in Abu Dhabi although it is still compulsory to undergo and pass the local medical exam. Your employer cannot proceed further with the employment visa process without the medical exam.

If the result is medically unfit, the consequence will be repatriation. Depending on your company policy, repatriation can either be at your own or company’s expense. If it is your own expense, it means you shoulder the cost of your airline ticket and sometimes even the recruitment expenses.

Probation

The common probation period here in Abu Dhabi or UAE is 6 months. During this period, either party can terminate the contract without any notice period and compensation. After six months, you will be evaluated for recommendation for permanent employment.

Repatriation

The final cost of repatriation is generally shouldered by the company except when the cause of termination is due to misconduct, theft, breach of confidentiality, illegal activities and other related reasons set by the UAE Labour Law.

In some employment package, repatriation includes the cost of shipping your belongings to your country of origin.

Notice of Termination

Again, this varies from one company to the other and also to the nature of your job. Generally, the requirement is one month notice period for either party, however for some critical job role; the one month notice is decided at the discretion of your employer. Sometimes for such vital position in the organization, the company will not allow you to serve the notice period though you will still be paid for one-month. Hence, it is common to be asked to leave on the same day you resign.

Lately more companies are implementing 2 or 3 months notice period. So, be careful with this condition in your contract because it can spoil any future job opportunities for you. HR offices here in Abu Dhabi always anticipate the one-month notice period when recruiting a new staff. So they know that the newly recruit can only join after a month no matter how urgent is their requirement.

Thus, extended notice period such as 2 months or more can be a potential issue to your new employer because companies are not really keen to wait for more than a month unless your skills and qualifications are hard to find.

Also, in some industries you are not allowed to enter their premises for certain period of time.

Requirements

Don’t be surprised if you will be asked for approximately fifteen or twenty pieces of passport size photos. It will be used in various documentations related to your visa applications, personal files in Human Resources, identification cards and so on. 

The Human Resources may also ask you for attested school credentials. It means that your university degree must be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UAE Embassy in your country. This document is oftentimes required for private companies. 
 
Always remember that employment offers here in Abu Dhabi or in any parts of UAE is always subject to the employer obtaining the labour visa from the Ministry of Labour in UAE and a residence visa from the Immigration Department of UAE, and the employee passing the government medical exam.