Do not compare two job offers by the total salary alone. First work out what you will receive each month, then the costs you will pay from that salary. A lower headline salary can leave you with more money if the company pays housing or school separately.
Start with a written copy of the offer, and put your household budget next to it. If you are still comparing roles, you can browse jobs on TalenDir. An apply-in-app button opens the TalenDir app.
Go to: Pay and allowances · Family and insurance · Working life and the contract · Before you sign
How much will you actually receive, and what does it include?
Ask for a clear pay split, then check these items:
| Item | What must be clear? |
|---|---|
| Basic salary | The amount written as basic pay, separate from allowances |
| Fixed allowances | Housing, transport and other allowances, and whether they sit inside the advertised total |
| Commission or bonus | When you earn it and when it is paid. Do not treat a conditional amount as guaranteed pay |
| Housing | Does the company provide a home, pay a housing allowance inside the salary, or pay the rent separately? |
| First salary | When it starts counting, and when you will receive it if you start mid-month |
| Relocation costs | Arrival ticket and temporary housing, and what the company provides before the first salary |
Comparison example, not a salary average:
| Monthly amount (AED) | First offer | Second offer |
|---|---|---|
| Basic salary | 10,000 | 18,000 |
| Cash housing allowance | 6,000 | none |
| Cash transport allowance | 2,000 | none |
| Total you receive | 18,000 | 18,000 |
You receive the same amount in both offers, but basic salary in the second is 80% higher. Entitlements calculated on basic pay therefore differ, even when the total salary is the same.
If a housing allowance is already inside the advertised salary, do not add it again. If the company reimburses bills after you submit invoices, you will pay those bills first from your own money. Ask when reimbursement is paid and the maximum amount.
Basic salary also matters after you leave. Under the traditional end-of-service gratuity for a full-time foreign worker, the gratuity is calculated on last basic wage, without housing and transport allowances. Entitlement starts after one year of continuous service. If the employee is covered by the alternative savings scheme, the calculation is different. Official end-of-service guidance.
In establishments registered with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, wages for the previous month are due on the first day of the following Gregorian month under the Wages Protection System. Also record how the first month is calculated if you start during it.
What will you pay for your family from your salary?
The phrase "medical insurance" does not tell you who is covered or where you can be treated. Check the names on the cover, the hospital network, the copay, and medicine, pregnancy and childbirth cover if you need them.
- In Dubai: the employer must insure the employee. The sponsor insures resident family members if the employer's cover does not include them.
- In Abu Dhabi: employer and sponsor insurance duties cover employees and their families under local rules. The official platform states the scope as one spouse and three children under 18. The offer must say what the company pays and what you will pay. Do not assume insurance is free for every family member.
Then check the other benefits:
- Children's education: how many children, the annual cap per child, and which fees are reimbursed. Does it include transport and books, or tuition only?
- Travel tickets: employee only, or the family? How often, and when do you become entitled?
- Housing: location, who lives with you if it is shared, and whether bills are included.
- Family residence: an employee residence benefit does not mean the company will also pay residence fees for a spouse or children.
Apply the comparison to your costs. In the published Dubai example for a family of four, costs are about AED 23,100 a month if the family pays rent, school and daily costs from salary. An AED 18,000 salary is therefore about AED 5,100 short of that example, before you add family insurance, residence fees and savings.
If the company pays rent and the municipal housing fee separately, the example costs you pay from salary fall to about AED 13,600. You still add your share of insurance, residence fees and savings. A cash housing allowance inside the salary does not produce this reduction.
Family-sponsorship eligibility is a separate question. Official guidance states a salary of at least AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 with housing, alongside the other conditions. That floor is not a family living budget.
Compare what remains of the salary with your household needs. The salary guide for a family of four helps you line up the items. Amounts there are a chosen budget example, not a single salary every family needs.
Check daily working life and leaving terms
Workplace and hours can change what the offer is worth to you. Write the actual workplace, working days, hours, shifts and overtime. Do not choose housing from a head-office address if you will work somewhere else.
Also check:
- Title and duties: the nature of the work, and who you report to.
- Leave: number of days, how it is calculated, and how you use it.
- Probation: length and how employment can end during it. Under the federal private-sector labour law, it must not exceed six months.
- Notice after probation: what you and the company must do to end the contract. Do not mix this with leaving rules during probation.
- Non-compete: if there is a clause, read the activities, area and period it covers. Do not stop at the heading.
Contract and probation rules apply in the federal labour-law scope. Dubai International Financial Centre and Abu Dhabi Global Market have their own employment systems. Do not copy the same conditions onto them automatically.
Before you sign, or resign from your current job
- Match the offer to the contract: legal employer name, occupation, pay, benefits and workplace.
- Write down important promises: housing, family insurance or school support must appear in a written document with clear conditions.
- Distinguish acceptance from a work permit: a job offer does not let you start work. The correct work permit must be completed, and a visit visa does not allow work.
- Keep your copy: store the offer, contract and benefit messages somewhere you can still open after you move.
Worker-rights guidance states that the contract should match the signed offer, and that the employer bears recruitment, travel and residence-permit costs in the framework that page covers. Do not transfer money to an intermediary to guarantee the job.
If you will move from outside the country, time the start of work and travel on documents that have actually been issued. Read moving before you have a job offer for the difference between an offer, a permit, and the ability to fund a waiting period.
Hiring for your company? Contact TalenDir about hiring. You can also send a free job advertisement for review.
Official sources reviewed on 22 September 2026. Cover image generated with AI for illustration.
