Salaries in the UAE are expected to increase by an average of 4.5 per cent in 2024, according to Cooper Fitch’s survey report released in February 2024. 

The report titled 'Salary Guide UAE 2024' also highlights factors affecting employees’ salaries, including the strong performance of non-oil sectors and an increase in the country’s OPEC+ oil production quota.

The key insights from the report reveal that 53 per cent of the organisations in the UAE are planning to increase their workers' salaries in 2024. Additionally, as many as 39 per cent of the surveyed organisations in UAE will be giving an average 5 per cent increment to their workers, while 10 per cent of the surveyed organisations will be giving increments ranging from 6 to 9 per cent to their employees. Around 5 per cent of the surveyed organisations will be giving increments of 10 per cent or more. However, 21% of the UAE organisations are expected to give lower increments to their employees. 

Explaining the report insights, Trefor Murphy, founder and CEO of Cooper Fitch commented, “A larger proportion of UAE-based organisations grew their headcount in 2023, as compared to 2022, and more than half of the surveyed organisations intend to increase remunerations in 2024. This is positive news for job seekers in the emirates as greater demand for talent typically results in higher salaries,”

The report found insights on bonus payouts to UAE workers in 2024 and revealed that over 70 per cent of the surveyed organisations will be issuing annual bonuses based on their financial results in 2023, while the remaining organisations will not be issuing any bonus payouts to their employees regardless of their financial results. 

Additionally, 35 per cent of UAE organisations planning to issue bonuses will provide at least one month’s basic pay as a bonus to their employees. 17 per cent of them will offer two months’ basic pay as a bonus, while 12 per cent will provide three months’ basic pay as a bonus. 4 per cent will issue four months' basic pay as bonuses, with the remaining 1 per cent offering five months' basic pay as bonuses.

Furthermore, employees who work for 2 per cent of surveyed UAE organisations across accounting, chemicals, consumer goods, and hospital and healthcare sectors are expecting at least six months basic pay as their bonuses. 

Interestingly, organisations that are not providing bonuses or salary increments this year plan to offer non-financial benefits to their workers, such as flexible work hours, remote work options, training and development, or additional annual leave, in order to attract and retain talent. To this, Jack Khabbaz, Managing Partner and CEO of Public Sector Advisory at Cooper Fitch added, “While salaries continue to play a crucial role in talent retention, factors beyond fixed remuneration – such as annual bonuses and the ability to work remotely – are playing an increasingly important role in the UAE’s job market”