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Increase in expatriate population fuels growth in western-style pay and benefits

Western-style pay and benefit practices are on the increase in the Middle East, according to a regional survey of current practices and plans within multinational companies, recently conducted by Mercer. The survey showed the traditional focus on high basic salaries and cash allowances is shifting towards long-term incentives and "protection" benefits like pensions and medical, life and disability insurance. Additionally, lifestyle benefits such as company car allowances and leave entitlements are increasingly important, while allowances for housing, transport and education remain popular.

The changes in benefit practices are being driven by the continuing increase in multinational companies based in the region, an expansion of the expatriate workforce (some 85 percent of Dubai's population is now expatriate), and greater mobility of expatriates between jobs. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), changes in legislation have also strongly contributed to the trend.

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