Foreign Domestic Workers Salary Survey – Middle East – 2016 Edition

• Employers in the UAE pay marginally higher salaries than those in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, though the average pay in all three countries is strikingly similar

• The HelperChoice survey covers the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait
• At a city level, employers in Dubai pay the most: average salary of US$462 (AED1,697)
• The highest individual offer came from an employer in Doha and was $961 (QR3,500)
• Important to note is that the salaries do not reflect the total cost to employers, which varies greatly depending on the domestic worker’s nationality and the employer’s home country
• Salaries are listed on the HelperChoice website in local currencies, though all amounts have been converted to US dollars for comparison purposes
• Average wages in the Middle East are similar to those in Singapore, but behind Hong Kong

Employers in the UAE pay their domestic workers slightly higher salaries than their counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, according to a data survey by HelperChoice.

The survey also found that domestic workers in Dubai tend to earn the best salaries compared to those in other major cities in the region.

HelperChoice, the global online platform that connects employers with domestic workers at no cost to workers, analysed data from about 2,000 recent job ads posted by its users.

Hundreds of employers in the Middle East connect with domestic workers through the HelperChoice site every month. The platform, which is widely used in the Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore and other countries, started operating in the Gulf in 2012.

The survey focused on four key Gulf states, and follows a similar HelperChoice survey in Asia.

The mean salary offered to domestic workers in the UAE was US$433 (AED1,592), marginally higher than the average of $431 for both Saudi Arabia (SR1,615) and Qatar (QR1,571). Employers in Kuwait offered an average of $388 (KD117).

“Despite most countries in the region not having their own minimum wage for domestic workers – with base salaries usually determined by each worker’s home country – the average pay offered to domestic workers was surprisingly very similar between the states,” says HelperChoice founder Laurence Fauchon.

Fauchon, who started the platform in 2012 in an effort to improve the hiring process and make it fairer on domestic workers, says that while the data reflects average salaries for workers, it does not take into account the extra costs that employers need to pay.

“The total cost to employers varies depending on a number of factors, including domestic workers’ nationalities and the fees set by governments in each Gulf country,” she says.

Filipino domestic workers, for instance, must be paid at least $400 according to Philippine labour laws (the Philippines still has a de facto ban on sending new domestic workers to the UAE). According to HelperChoice data, most employers in the Gulf region offer more than this required rate, while those who offered less still met or exceeded the minimum wages for other nationalities.

In addition to wages, one-off and annual costs that employers need to pay add up to more than AED10,000 in the UAE (including expenses such as agency fees, workers’ airfares, medical fitness tests, visa fees and refundable deposits).

Some sending countries also require employers to pay security deposits to their consulates.

This means that the total cost to employers depends on each individual hire.

Additionally, the packages offered generally exclude benefits and bonuses, and they reflect starting salaries – many employers raise wages after a period of employment, particularly when contracts are renewed.

Though employers offered the least in Kuwait, the country has been a pioneer in terms of regulating working conditions for domestic workers in the Gulf region. In July, the government introduced a minimum wage of KD60 ($199). It also granted domestic workers other rights, including a weekly day off and annual paid leave. NGOs have urged other Gulf countries to follow suit.

Meanwhile, at a city level, employers in Dubai offered the highest salaries, with an average offer of $462 (AED1,697). Employers in Doha and Jeddah offered the next best rate, both at $440 (QR1,603 and SR1,651 respectively).

This was followed by Riyadh ($428 or SR1,604), Al Khobar ($402 or SR1,507), Abu Dhabi ($397 or AED1,460), Hawally ($394 or KD119), and Kuwait City ($384 or KD116).

Some employers offered wages that were far higher than the minimum required rate – sometimes at least doubling the base rate for Filipino domestic workers.

In Doha, the highest offer from an employer was $961 (QR3,500), while in Dubai, the highest offer was $817 (AED3,000). In Riyadh the best salary was $800 (SR3,000), while in Hawally it was $729 (KD220).

Most of HelperChoice’s registered employers, whether locals or expats, search for domestic workers who are able to care for young children or for pets, in addition to performing usual household duties.

According to HelperChoice’s survey of key Asian states, the average offer in Singapore was US$437 (S$597), while in Hong Kong it was US$567 (HK$4,397).

Nearly 60,000 helpers have joined the HelperChoice platform along with more than 20,000 employers.

نظرة ختامية

يُظهر هذا المسح لعام 2016 حول رواتب العمالة المنزلية في الشرق الأوسط صورة واضحة: فبينما تختلف الأجور قليلاً بين دول الخليج ومدنها، تبقى معدلات الرواتب متقاربة جداً في المنطقة. ومع تصدر دبي أعلى الرواتب، وظهور إصلاحات تقدّمية في دول مثل الكويت، يتّضح أن سوق العمالة المنزلية في تطوّر مستمر — مما يؤكد أهمية الشفافية والممارسات العادلة عند التوظيف.

ومع اختلاف هذه العوامل، يلعب HelperChoice دوراً أساسياً في تعزيز التوظيف الأخلاقي وتزويد أصحاب العمل والعمالة المنزلية ببيانات واضحة وموثوقة.

هل تبحث عن توظيف عادل ومسؤول؟ استكشف ملفّات العاملات المنزليات الموثّقة عبر HelperChoice — حيث لا تدفع العاملات أي رسوم، ويقوم أصحاب العمل بالتوظيف بثقة.