Adivse for a panicked British nurse please! | ExpatWoman.com
 

Adivse for a panicked British nurse please!

13
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 31 December 2012 - 05:55

Hello all
Firstly apologies as I am sure the origins of my questions are discussed many times - I have found some great info in the Dubai section, but wondered if anyone has any further advise for me?

I am being interviewed in a couple of weeks for a charge nurse position in an Abu Dhabi hospital. All the information I have so far is that they are offering a 'family contract' (we are a family of 4, kids aged 6 & 10) that incluses the following:

"Basic salary+ supplemental allowance (which includes the children's school funding, annual tickets, and utilities allowance) plus annual housing allowance (paid directly to landlord not cash to the employee. the employee is to choose the house that match his/her grade's allowance) However, we do offer "Married" contract benefits only if the family is residing in Abu Dhabi (not overseas)"

I have no idea how much I should negotiate for!! With regards to salary I found an American website that stated $73000 (US dollar) that is 268000 AED? Is this a reasonable salary for our situation? What kind of 'utilities allowance' should I expect?

Looking at the school fee section I guess in the region of 70-100AED/pa school fees (for both children)?

..and what is 'married contract' benefits are they referring to?
Also - should we need to send money back to the UK from UAE at what rate is it taxed?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I don't have long! Many thanks in advance, Helen.

4747
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 04 January 2013 - 11:59
Does anyone know how long the HAAD license takes for someone in Uk/Ireland? I dont have to do the exam. i know some i think its taken 3 years.....
2
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 January 2013 - 23:34
Does anyone know how long the HAAD license takes for someone in Uk/Ireland? I dont have to do the exam.
4747
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 02 January 2013 - 01:24
Thankyou so much Busybee2 & Happy new year! One more question - do you know if we move out with my contract what type of visa would we likely have? Would my husband be able to seek work - I am wondering if it would then be his employer who sponsors him seperately? The area sounds great - good to know you are happy there :) if you come out as a nurse then you can usually sponsor your spouse (only certain professionals such as doctors, teachers, lawers, engineers etc), this means that he would be under your sponsorship and so to an employer it cuts down their costs, they do not have to provide accommodation, health cover etc etc. the other way to do it is that he would get sponsorship himself if he was to work for a company etc etc himself. i have lived here long time, on island and off, and moved off island way before anybody else did, before there were schools etc here, and before it became popular. if you are working at mafraq there are many houses now around to choose from, in fact all the other houses in my compound they all work at the hospital, there are buses that come from kcb but only on certain streets, that go up to mafraq hospital.
13
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 02 January 2013 - 01:03
Thankyou so much Busybee2 & Happy new year! One more question - do you know if we move out with my contract what type of visa would we likely have? Would my husband be able to seek work - I am wondering if it would then be his employer who sponsors him seperately? The area sounds great - good to know you are happy there :)
4747
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 January 2013 - 13:25
Thankyou both so much for taking time to reply, much appreciated and very useful. It sounds as though maybe this package could work? So if I calculate 2000/month for utilities and 10000/month for school fees approximately for negotiation? The rent should be paid for by the hospital (it is the Mafraq hospital: http://www.mafraqhospital.ae/ ) to be moving into a newbuild sit in 2014 I believe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnWG9kANyzw I understand that this is out in the suburbs ?45mins form the centre. Is this a nice area? I have read it has alot of young families and schools? with regard to the 'housing charge' is that like council tax? Is it payable in Abu Dhabi aswel as Dubai? I have no problem with Abu Dhabi being more conservative, my husband spent much of his childhood in Kuwait and would love to return to the middle east as an adult - he is a design technology teacher (secondary school) - we are hopeful his work prospects may be reasonable? ..thankyou again so much ..have just seen my spelling mistakes! I blame it on the night shifts!! :) i live right next to mafraq and the new hospital is coming along a treat. there are a lot of housing close by. yes its out in the suburbs but its not like the suburbs of a uk city, there are a lot of un developed areas in between. have you looked on google. its not really 45 mins out of the town, it would take you 35 mins to go from mafraq to the corniche. near to mafraq there is a brand new mall opened in baniyas just across the road, and there are lots of other infrastructure around, its not like you have to drive 45 mins with nothing into the city to get any infrastructure at all. 2k a month utilties is just us you should survive on less, and school fees, if you are looking at brit curriculum schools in that area then the closest is BISAD if you lived over in mohamed bin zayed city its close to school and still close to mafraq. you are not allowed to live in the local housing areas such as baniyas, shawamekh, fahal, wathba etc which arent that far away. the housing charge is only in dubai and yes its a council tax.
13
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 01 January 2013 - 06:38
Thankyou both so much for taking time to reply, much appreciated and very useful. It sounds as though maybe this package could work? So if I calculate 2000/month for utilities and 10000/month for school fees approximately for negotiation? The rent should be paid for by the hospital (it is the Mafraq hospital: http://www.mafraqhospital.ae/ ) to be moving into a newbuild sit in 2014 I believe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnWG9kANyzw I understand that this is out in the suburbs ?45mins form the centre. Is this a nice area? I have read it has alot of young families and schools? with regard to the 'housing charge' is that like council tax? Is it payable in Abu Dhabi aswel as Dubai? I have no problem with Abu Dhabi being more conservative, my husband spent much of his childhood in Kuwait and would love to return to the middle east as an adult - he is a design technology teacher (secondary school) - we are hopeful his work prospects may be reasonable? ..thankyou again so much ..have just seen my spelling mistakes! I blame it on the night shifts!! :)
4747
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 31 December 2012 - 21:06
my electric bill is usually around 2k a month, this is because i have 3 men in the house that like to live in artic conditions...... in al ain the housing etc is much cheaper than in abu dhabi. the difference with abu dhabi and dubai is that in dubai you will also have to add on a housing charge. if you live in a large apartment block quite often the bills are much cheaper because you are only paying for the chiller costs and not the full cost of the electric etc. so you cannot compare "same same" one of the many fun words you will hear here.
4747
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 31 December 2012 - 21:03
it depends on how you are paid, a lot of companies now give you a lump sum, so they will not provide you with anything. the only thing that an abudhabi worker must get is health insurance and in abu dhabi it must be for worker plus spouse and upto 3 children, not so for dubai and other emirates. most companies are very good and will help you with the "red tape" but again some only do for the worker, there is no hard and fixed rule.
Anonymous (not verified)
0
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 31 December 2012 - 20:06
Generally, when they refer to a married contract allowance, they refer to health insurance, annual air fares, relocation fares, school fees, visa costs emirates ID card costs etc for your husband/wife and kids I live in Al Ain in a 2 bedroom villa plus maids room - we are 2 adults, I child and full time maid and our utilities are about 1500aed per month minimum and I am careful with electricity and water. So you can budget on that least that amount. Also have lived in Dubai in similar circumstances where monthly utilities were only around 600aed - a big difference between cities and Emirates. Don't know about the UK tax system, sorry. You will enjoy the UAE for what it is. My advice is to arrive with an open mind and remember that it is a Muslim country so dress and behaviour are important here. Abu Dhabi is more conservative that Dubai. It is an interesting region. We have been here for a long time and have no plans to leave in the foreseeable future. Good luck!
4747
Posts
EW MASTER
Latest post on 31 December 2012 - 08:52
Hello all Firstly apologies as I am sure the origins of my questions are discussed many times - I have found some great info in the Dubai section, but wondered if anyone has any further advise for me? I am being interviewed in a couple of weeks for a charge nurse position in an Abu Dhabi hospital. All the information I have so far is that they are offering a 'family contract' (we are a family of 4, kids aged 6 & 10) that incluses the following: "Basic salary+ supplemental allowance (which includes the children's school funding, annual tickets, and utilities allowance) plus annual housing allowance (paid directly to landlord not cash to the employee. the employee is to choose the house that match his/her grade's allowance) However, we do offer "Married" contract benefits only if the family is residing in Abu Dhabi (not overseas)" I have no idea how much I should negotiate for!! With regards to salary I found an American website that stated $73000 (US dollar) that is 268000 AED? Is this a reasonable salary for our situation? What kind of 'utilities allowance' should I expect? Looking at the school fee section I guess in the region of 70-100AED/pa school fees (for both children)? ..and what is 'married contract' benefits are they referring to? Also - should we need to send money back to the UK from UAE at what rate is it taxed? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I don't have long! Many thanks in advance, Helen. annual rent you should get a villa in khalifa cities for 150k upwards. schooling in bsak or equivalent is about 20k each term for secondary which is usually most expensive. if you earn your money outside uk and are non resident (ie have been out for a whole tax year) then there is no tax on it. cant say exactly about nurse married contract benefits but i do know a lot of nurses/midwifes etc and they have been here a long while so it must work out ok. which hospital?