Payroll & Compensation

Pay Transparency Grows in Importance in UAE

A survey revealed that most UAE workers won’t apply for a role unless they know the salary upfront.   

By Zee Johnson 

Pay transparency has long been a hot topic in placed like the United States, as states across the country have recently passed legislation mandating salary ranges be posted on job listings. And the topic is growing in importance across the globe, like in the UAE, where nine in 10 residents said they want to know what a job’s salary is before applying, Michael Page’s UAE Salary Guide and Hiring Insights 2023 found. 

The survey revealed that many job seekers in the UAE aren’t just applying to any and all vacancies they come across. Ninety-two per cent of job seekers in the region say that advertisements should include a salary range and 22% say that they don’t apply for a position if it involves filling out long forms.  

But not all ad viewers are looking for salary ranges with the intention to job hop. Some like to see how their compensation stacks up against the market. “Not all candidates read job advertisements because they’re interested in applying for the position. Some simply use the information to benchmark the salary and job description of the advertised role against their own terms of employment,” the company said in the report. 

Other key findings include: 

  • 46% say they don’t apply for a position if they feel over- or under-qualified for the role; 
  • 46% say they wouldn’t apply for a position if the job ad was posted a long time ago; 
  • 91% of candidates like to see information about culture; and 
  • 92% of candidates say they look at the company website to learn more about the company, whilst 77% use online reviews on sites like Glassdoor to help them assess. 
Tags: Payroll & Compensation

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