Among the professional services sector, bankers in the UAE got the biggest pay hikes this year, says a recruitment expert in the country.
“Among the professional services sector, banks [in the UAE] have provided the highest salary increase at 8.1 per cent last year,” Dr Nairouz Bader, CEO of Vision Executive Search, an executive search firm, told ‘Emirates24|7’.
The hike came at a time when many companies in the country were reluctant in giving fatter pay checks to their employees. As per a study released in 2011, Mercer predicted that companies in the Gulf countries were likely to increase base salaries of their employees by six to 7.5 per cent, making the bankers seem the most privileged lot.
Based on the highest pay hikes last year, recruitment experts are hopeful that 2012 may also go down well the bankers with a much better 2013 on the horizon. Aon Hewitt, a global human resource consulting firm, sees a 6.3 per cent average salary increases in 2012 for Middle East companies.
However, a quick comparison of salaries by Charterhouse does not show any changes. For example, average salaries for various positions remain unchanged in consumer banking.
Going into 2013, Aon Hewitt suggests that there will be an average salary increase of 5.1 per cent for employees in the UAE. Pay hikes for bankers is expected to be at par with other industries.
Despite the renewed optimism, many bankers say there has been no change on their monthly pay check. “I’ve not got any pay hike for three years now. The only consolation is the annual bonus,” a senior employee with a multi-national bank in Dubai told this website on the condition of anonymity.
Some in the recruitment industry believe that not everyone is line for a pay hike next year. “Banks will not pay less [than 2012],” said Hasnain Qazi, Middle East Business Manager at Huxley Associates, ruling out any pay cuts.
Dr Bader agrees that there may not be a pay freeze for bankers in the country. “An Aon Hewitt report highlights that fewer organizations in the Middle East are thinking about salary freezes. Only 1.3 per cent of organisations in the UAE have projected a salary freeze in 2013 compared to 4.1 per cent in 2012. The UAE banks [will] probably [fare the] same as [they did in 2012]. [There] may be better bonuses,” he said.
But, will the big hikes come back in 2013 is the big question? “Not everyone is line for an automatic pay rise. Prudence and being sensible are still two themes we will see in 2013. With a pickup in the general economy, this will benefit the banking sector in the mid to long term,” added Qazi.
Professional services sector are those of independent contractors and consultants whose occupation is the rendering of infrequent, technical and unique functions. Examples of which are accountants, business consultants, attorneys/law firms, business development consultants, etc.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.
