War for Talent – Employee benefits soar in the UAE
Employee benefits soar in the UAE in 2023. In a bid to attract talent, companies in Dubai are coming up with not just fatter salaries and bonuses, but innovative ways to keep their employees satisfied and attract skilled professionals to their job vacancies being offered in Dubai.
According to a report by Mercer, besides the usual health insurance and schooling allowance, companies are now offering unusual perks on the job.
Benefits abound for the national workforce to attract them to the private sector. For example, they get a ‘national allowance’ which is an additional allowance to attract them to private companies. Another unique benefit is the ‘lifestyle support’ allowance that provides funds for hiring domestic helpers – housemaids, gardeners, drivers, and the like.
Employee benefits soar in the UAE
In addition, pay packages in Dubai for nationals now include benefits that were, earlier, limited to the expat workforce. Annual tickets for self and family to home country, which are part of most expat packages, are finding their way to nationals’ benefits as well.
“The move to provide unique incentives for employees in a certain country can heighten the pull of global recruits to its work market. By taking into account individual needs in an individual nation, employees maximize on rewards that will be better valued by their workforce,” said Zaid Kamhawi the Mercer Market Leader for IPS business in the Middle East.
“In the UAE, we also witness special benefits for local talent, which rewards nationals for working and succeeding in the private sector,” he added.
Employee benefits soar in the UAE – This new report is backed by an increasing confidence level in the country, which indicates a sharp rise in the number of jobs and vacancies being offered promising a much better 2023 for employees and job seekers in Dubai and the UAE in general.
Most experts in the recruitment industry expect a salary hike of more than 5 percent in the coming year with the valued employees set for better increments.
There is a general trend of salary increase next year but it will be in single digits. It would be 5 to 6 percent, Trefor Murphy, Managing Director at Morgan McKinley, reported.
