UAE jobs: More UK candidates flock to Emirates after high-tax budget

Mid to senior talent search for employment locally to escape rise in taxes

There is a rising trend of candidates landing in the UAE without a job in hand and applying for roles when in the country. Getty Images

The UAE employment market has been receiving an influx of candidates from the UK after Chancellor Rachel Reeves presented her budget on October 30, according to recruitment consultants.

This increasing interest in jobs in the Emirates is being attributed to the tax-free lifestyle, which is in contrast to the UK, where the tax burden has reached a historic high.

“We always see a lot of CVs from UK candidates for entry-level roles. But now we are seeing more interest from people who have run businesses in the UK and directors of companies,” says Nicki Wilson, owner and managing director of Dubai-based consultancy Genie Recruitment.

“I attribute it to the increase in different taxes in the UK. For example, private school is now taxed at 20 per cent. Parents with kids in private schools who can no longer afford these fee increases are looking elsewhere. That’s a big driver of job demand in the UAE.

“People who also own businesses in the UK have decided to shut shop and look for different roles in the UAE because the lifestyle here is tax-free and they don’t need to worry about the increase in employers’ national insurance contribution and the rise in minimum wage.”

The UK budget plans to increase employers’ national insurance contributions and increase capital gains tax, while also making changes to inheritance tax and stamp duty. The non-domiciled status will also be abolished.

National insurance contributions by UK employers will rise 1.2 percentage points, from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, while the threshold at which employers start paying them will be lowered to £5,000, from £9,100. The national minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour for over-21s in April.

Value-added tax will be introduced on private school fees from January. “Ninety-four per cent of children in the UK attend state schools. To provide the highest quality of support and teaching that they deserve, we will introduce VAT on private school fees from January 2025 and we will shortly introduce legislation to remove their business rates relief from April 2025, too,” Ms Reeves said.

The UAE jobs market has recovered well from the Covid-19 pandemic thanks largely to fiscal and social measures taken by the government to attract skilled workers with new visas and incentives for companies to set up or expand their operations. It has also introduced an unemployment insurance programme, which came into effect last year.

A February report by global HR platform Deel found that the UAE is the world's most popular country for international talent seeking employment visas.

However, the starting salaries for professional services roles in the UAE have decreased by an average of 0.7 per cent this year as an influx of talent and more competition has created a surplus, recruitment consultancy Robert Half said in a report this month.

“UK employers with many junior staff may not be able to hire as many people after the rise in the national minimum wage. This could cause many entry-level candidates to look outside the UK,” Ms Wilson says.

“I am also seeing a lot of marketing heads, sales directors and lots of admin talent from different industries look for roles in the UAE. It’s harder to find opportunities in the UK in the short term.”

She adds that a lot of her clients are also moving to Dubai with their families for the lifestyle and send their children to private schools. It’s not for tax purposes but “to make a life here from the money they have made in the UK”.

Ms Wilson is currently observing demand for UAE jobs from senior candidates in the UK who specialise in the fast-moving consumer goods and retail industries.

John Armstrong, founder and managing director of recruitment agency JCA Associates, says that there has been a continued growth of interest in UAE jobs from British candidates throughout the year.

It’s fair to say that the budget has been a topic of discussion with many of these applicants, he says.

“There is a consensus that the UK quality of life is dropping for most citizens due to rising inflation, crime and other factors. It is also getting more expensive to run a business and taxes have gone up.”

Mid to senior-level candidates from the UK are looking out for jobs in the fields of artificial intelligence and data centres, Mr Armstrong adds.

However, David Mackenzie, group managing director of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones, says the UK budget wasn’t as bad as people thought it would be for those on a middle to high income.

“The UK went through a complete transition after almost 15 to 20 years of Conservative government into a Labour government, which particularly benefits the working class. We thought we'd see a lot more people inquiring about UAE jobs,” he says.

“With the UAE becoming expensive to come to, especially for schooling and rent among other factors, people from the UK are having second thoughts about coming here.”

However, he noticed a worrying trend of candidates applying for jobs only after landing in the UAE. “We’ve seen a lot of people coming here saying: ‘I’ve got enough money to sustain for three or four months until I find a job’,” according to Mr Armstrong.

He says the UAE is seeing a big influx of talent from Europe and Australasia, especially Singapore and Hong Kong.

Salaries in the Emirates are being depressed because these people are willing to take a lower salary to get into the UAE market than, say, people who were here previously.

“It's getting very difficult for expats to get a visa in Singapore unless you've been there for a long time,” Mr Armstrong says.

“We're finding a lot of people arriving with backgrounds in technology, finance, human resources and legal. Most of these people are looking for salaries between Dh25,000 and Dh100,000.

“We are seeing less demand for entry-level roles. It's more empty nesters, newly married ones, or people with young kids. We're also seeing people coming here in their late 40s, looking for roles.”

Mr Armstrong highlights that with the rise in the cost of living, predominantly for rent and food, people are also actively leaving the UAE.

Some of those are people who've been here 10 to 15 years and decided to go back to their home countries, typically when their children are about 12 or 13 years old so that schooling is free.

“Unless you are earning two reasonable incomes, it's quite difficult to afford good schooling here. Very few companies are offering housing allowances. Some do offer education allowance, but it’s mainly multinationals,” Mr Armstrong says.