Child education allowances, identified as the most important benefit to employees, are offered by 36% of employers in the Gulf. 

 

Yet this is only the fourth most common benefit provided as part of a standard employment package. The top three include life insurance, offered by 48%, company car or car allowance, offered by 47%, and flexible working, offered by 46% of employers in the region, according to findings from Hays GCC Salary Guide 2022. 

 

From an employee perspective, the guide found education allowances, flexible working, and share incentives to be the top three most important benefits when considering a new employer. 

 

“There are a number of factors influencing what benefits employees are offered here. We typically see child education allowances for example, be offered according to a candidate’s level of seniority and generally provided to senior, C-Suite level only,” says Sarah Dixon, Managing Director of Hays, Gulf region. 

 

“Industry, company and job role also have a bearing and of course, there are significant variances based on location of work,” she adds. 

 

Indeed, the report found that the number one most common benefit provided by employers in Saudi Arabia was company car/car allowance as offered by 61%, while a lower 43% of employers in the UAE provide this benefit. 

 

More than half, 53%, of UAE employers provide life insurance, in contrast to 30% in Saudi Arabia. When it comes to flexible working, 49% of UAE employers offer this as part of a standard package, versus 39% who do in Saudi Arabia. 

 

Finally, child education allowances are offered by 32% of Saudi Arabia based employers and 37% of those in the UAE. 

 

“It is impossible to generalise as to what salary and benefits package an expat should expect in the region and offerings have also changed significantly over the years. Furniture, food and utility allowances for example were more common over a decade ago - prior to the global financial crisis. At the same time, employees in the Gulf were often offered guaranteed bonuses or a ‘golden handshake’, and my colleague even once interviewed a candidate who got a shoe allowance, but that was a bizarre one-off and these perks are certainly not the norm that we see today,” said Dixon. 

 

“What is standard in the region is employee salary packages are broken down into three main components, including: basic salary, which typically accounts for 60-65% of total salary, housing, which is roughly 25-30%, and flight allowance, which accounts for around 10-20%. Then medical insurance and end of service gratuity come as standard, as required legally of employers.”

 

“Ultimately, what an employee gets offered on top of these is at employers’ discretion,” adds Dixon.

 

“Obviously the more perks an employer is willing to provide, the more attractive they are and the more confident they can be in securing and retaining top talent.”

 

“Most notably, flexible working has grown significantly in precedence these past two years following the pandemic and this is certainly one offering employers cannot afford to overlook going forward,” said Dixon.-- TradeArabia News Service