Emiratisation and pay structures

Banking, where targets have existed for much longer. My caution is retention. We paid the premium, hit the numbers, and then lost 22 percent of national hires within two years to government-related entities with shorter hours. Pay alone did not hold them. A structured two-year development programme with a named sponsor did more.

Remember the pension side when you model cost. As I understand it, contributions for UAE nationals go to the state scheme and work differently from the end-of-service gratuity for expatriates, so comparing base salaries understates the difference in employment cost. Our finance team had missed this until we built a total cost view by nationality and grade.

How did you deal with the expatriate reaction? We have been open about it: the policy is on the intranet with the reasons. Acceptance is reasonable among senior staff and poor among mid-level professionals who see graduates earning close to their own pay. I have no good answer yet and would like to hear one.