Asians, Arabs in UAE got better pay hikes than Westerners

Income disparity between Western and Asian expatriate professionals in the country is going down as a result of increased supply of western professionals.

A sluggish growth in the Western economies and a booming job market in Asia is the main factor behind this, say HR experts.

According to Gulf Talent, Arab and Asian expatriates enjoyed the highest average pay rises last year, while Western expatriates received the lowest.

“The trend, which largely reflects the prevailing salary increases in each group’s domestic market, is helping narrow the nationality gap in salaries which has existed in the Gulf for several years,” cited experts at Gulf Talent.

According to Cliff Single, Commercial Manager at BAC Middle East this has been happening over a period of time now. “The disparities have gradually reduced over the last several years, particularly at the more senior and skilled levels,” he told Emirates 24|7.

“Depending on sector and niche, typically candidates who are western qualified/ experienced but of Arabic origin tend to be better paid then their counterparts. However, western candidates tend to enjoy higher packages than Arabic candidates without western experience. Having said that, the exception is for Gulf nationals, who can enjoy premiums, for instance Emirati lawyers or bankers. In a nutshell - it is very hard to generalise, but encouragingly, more and more employers are hiring on merit and paying on merit, as opposed to focusing on a candidate's origin,” Hasnain Qazi, Middle East Business Manager at Huxley Associates, told this website.

Konstantina Sakellariou, Partner, Marketing & Operations Director at Stanton Chase believes, salaries are determined by job requirements. “It is not easy to measure this, as it depends on the seniority and the specialization of the position,” she said.

“I believe that this is mostly addressed to the seniority of the position and not the nationality. The differences in the remunerations, based on difference in nationality, existed and continue to exist at more or less the same level,” she added.

Even as the income gap narrows between nationalities, Westerns in the UAE and the Gulf at large continue to be paid the highest. “In general, Westerners still enjoy better remunerations in most of the cases,” Sakellariou told this website.

The findings of Gulf Talent show that “despite lower than average pay increases over the last several years, salaries of Western professionals remain in absolute terms the highest among all nationality groups working in the Gulf. Pay for Gulf nationals rank in second place, with the exception of entry-level positions where they may command a premium relative to all other groups. Expatriates from Arabic‐speaking countries are next, followed by Asian professionals.”

However, it is now easier to recruit from Western countries as opposed to Asian nations. “The economic uncertainty and overall downturn of the Western economies, along with high taxation rates makes it easier to attract senior candidates from these regions” said the Stanton Chase expert.

The findings of Gulf Talent reinforce this view. “With high unemployment in Western countries, many Gulf employers reported finding it easier and more affordable to attract Western professionals. Recruitment of Asian expatriates, in contrast, continues to be ever more challenging, given the fast pace of growth, rising salaries and increasingly interesting career opportunities available in their domestic markets.”

“We have not seen a major change in this area [hiring] in the last few years [and] we did not see any significant difference between nationalities in terms of salary changes last year,” mentioned Single.

However, Qazi believes that the tax-free environment of the region remains an attraction to all. “It is easier to hire expats from all over the world given the tax free status of the gulf economies, and the fact that the region has and is still seeing growth as opposed to a recession in the western economies. Given that rentals have come down, it has made places like the UAE even more affordable and attractive as a place to emigrate to,” he said.
 

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