Minimum Wages across the UAE in 2021

With its thriving economy and a great number of quality business opportunities, the United Arab Emirates, or UAE for short, has become a haven for international workers looking for gainful employment. You’ll be glad to know that ex-pats in the UAE aren’t required to remit any income tax. What’s more, minimum wages in UAE are some of the highest in the world, so even entry-level job workers are assured of a significant net or take-home pay.

UAE guarantees your salary

Aside from a relatively high minimum wage, the UAE government assures employees that they will receive their salary by penalizing employers for late or unpaid wages. Thanks to the Wages Protection System in UAE, employers are required to pay an employee’s salary within 10 days of the salary due date. Late or unpaid wages can mean a hefty fine for employers. Sometimes, they can have their business permit revoked or be taken to court.

Needless to say, the wages protection system UAE places a lot of protections to ensure employees are paid fairly and on time.

Minimum wages in Dubai and the UAE in 2021

Perhaps you’d like to know what jobs are in demand in the UAE this year, and how much is the minimum wage for them. For sure, there are plenty of job opportunities and careers that you can chase after. Although not much has changed for minimum wages in UAE since last year, it’s worth noting that in Sharjah, an emirate, the minimum wage for citizens was recently raised by its ruler from AED 17,500 to AED 25,000, which should be plenty enticing for anyone looking to start with a high minimum wage from the get-go.

That said, minimum wage rates vary across the Emirates. Below is just a small sampling of sought-after jobs and how low they pay in general to give you an idea of minimum wages in Dubai and the rest of the UAE.

Social media and marketing specialist jobs

A thriving commercial environment means that lots of businesses in the UAE are looking to expand their marketing reach. If you work in the search engine optimization industry, this is your chance to kick start a potentially lucrative career, since marketing and promotion these days are mainly done in the digital realm. Below are some of the digital marketing jobs available along with their corresponding wages in Dubai and the rest of the UAE.

• SEO Specialist (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 10,000 to AED 13,000

• Social Media Marketer (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 10,000 to AED 15,000

• Digital Marketing Specialist (with on-the-job experience of 0 to 4 years): AED 7,000 to AED 10,000

Medical and healthcare staff jobs

Healthcare is essential to any society, and the UAE is no different. This Arab region places the medical and healthcare needs of its people among its top priorities, and so the demand for jobs in this industry is some of the highest in the country. Below are some of the highly sought-after medical and healthcare staff jobs in the UAE, along with how much they pay in terms of the lowest wages in Dubai and the rest of the country.

• Healthcare Assistant (with on-the-job experience of 0 to 4 years): AED 4,000 to AED 13,000

• Nurse Staff (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 8,500 to AED 15,000

• Laboratory Assistant (with on-the-job experience of 0 to 4 years): AED 8,000 to AED 10,000

Human resources and recruitment staff jobs

A booming economy such as Dubai and UAE means there’s wave after wave of urgent hiring, so finding work as a recruiter or hiring staff will be easy. Indeed, there’s a huge demand here for HR professionals, especially those who have a knack for finding good talent. Keep a lookout for the following job vacancies in the UAE relating to HR and recruitment.

• Talent Acquisition Specialist (with on-the-job experience of 0 to 4 years): AED 12,000 to AED 20,000

• HR Manager (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 18,000 to AED 32,000

• HR Business Partner (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 15,000 to AED 35,000

Sales jobs

Any company in any industry with goods and services to peddle will always find the need for a salesperson among their ranks. As the face of the business, salesmen and women are the ones who interact with customers, and more often than not, their salaries are dependent on how much they sell on a commission basis. This means that the minimum wages in UAE for salespeople vary drastically from one job to another. With that in mind, let the info below serve merely as a guide instead of something set in stone, and keep in mind that the more you sell, the bigger the opportunity to earn more.

• Sales engineer (with on-the-job experience of 0 to 4 years): AED 3,000 to AED 10,000

• Sales executive (with on-the-job experience of 0 to 4 years): AED 5,000 to AED 24,000

• Sales representative (with on-the-job experience of 0 to 4 years): AED 3,000 to AED 13,000

Educator jobs

The UAE’s Ministry of Education developed a plan to provide quality education for everyone. This has led to a huge demand for educators in Dubai and across the UAE. However, before a foreign educator can land a teaching job in an Arab country, he or she must first acquire a teaching license from the Ministry. All principals, vice-principals, managers, and teachers working across all public and private schools in the UAE will have to hold a UAE teacher’s license to work here legally.

• Homeroom Teacher (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 21,000 to AED 28,000

• French Teacher (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 21,000 to AED 30,000

• Primary Teacher (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 18,000 to AED 28,000

Tourism and hospitality staff jobs

Dubai is a tourist hub in the UAE, which means it has a huge tourism and hospitality industry that caters to a significant number of visitors from all over the world. As such, there is a perennial demand for professionals who can tend to the needs of its multi-national visitors. Here are some of the minimum wages in UAE for these jobs:

• Chef (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 4,500 to AED 12,000

• Tour Guide (with on-the-job experience of 0 to 4 years): AED 3,200 to AED 7,500

• Cleaning and Housekeeping Personnel (with on-the-job experience of 0 to 4 years): AED 2,000 to AED 15,000

Accounting and finance jobs

A healthy economy for the UAE means that the country’s financial sector is also thriving. With the rapid pace of business, organizations are naturally looking to streamline their financial processes to remain profitable and cost-efficient. Whether it’s a startup or international company, UAE businesses left and right are always on the lookout for accounting and finance professionals who can help them accomplish their business targets. Here are the most sought-after professions for accounting and finance, along with the averages wages in Dubai and UAE to expect:

• Accountant (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 9,500 to AED 30,000

• Financial Analyst (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 9,000 to AED 15,000

• Chief Financial Officer (with on-the-job experience of 1 to 4 years): AED 15,500 to AED 36,200

What to do if you think you’re being underpaid in the UAE

Unlike Sharjah, most jurisdictions in the Emirates do not place a hard line on minimum wage and let employers set their own. This means that once you accept a job offer and sign the contract, you’ll have to wait for some time before you can re-negotiate your minimum wages in UAE.

However, if you feel that you are being underpaid, you can contact the UAE Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (UAE MOHRE) to see if your employer may be violating any of the Emirates’ employment laws. Aside from the wages protection system UAE MOHRE provides, you can also refer to job sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed to check how much they usually pay for the job that you plan to apply for.

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