Dubai vs London: how recruitment actually works differently

About half the recruiters who set up in Dubai come from London. They assume the job is the same, just warmer. It's not. The fundamentals are similar but the details are different enough to trip you up for the first six months if nobody tells you.

Notice periods will slow you down

In London, a month's notice is standard. Some senior roles have three months. In Dubai, one to three months is the baseline and it's enforced more strictly. Candidates can't just negotiate an early release because UAE labour law is clear about notice periods. If a client needs someone in two weeks, you're looking at candidates who are already between roles or on a shorter contract.

This changes how you manage your pipeline. You need to be working further ahead than in London. When a client gives you a role, your first question should be "when do you actually need them to start?" and then work backwards from there. A three-month notice period means you're sourcing now for a start date in April.

Salary packages are structured differently

In London, a salary is a salary. £65,000 base, maybe a bonus, pension contributions. Simple. In Dubai, a "package" means basic salary plus housing allowance plus transport allowance plus sometimes education allowance, flight allowance, and medical insurance. The basic salary might be 60% of the total package.

This matters because gratuity (the UAE's end-of-service payment) is calculated on basic salary only. A candidate on AED 30,000/month with a 60/40 basic/housing split gets a very different gratuity payout than one with a 80/20 split. Smart candidates negotiate for a higher basic. Smart recruiters understand why and can explain it.

Your recruitment fee is usually calculated on the total package, not just basic. Make sure that's clear in your terms of business. Some clients will try to pay you on basic only. Don't accept that.

Client relationships work differently

London recruitment runs on efficiency. Clients want CVs fast, interviews booked, placements made. The relationship is professional but transactional. Send good candidates quickly and you'll keep the business.

Dubai runs on relationships first. A hiring manager here wants to know you personally before they'll trust you with their roles. That means coffee meetings, lunches, attending the same industry events. Business development in Dubai takes longer to convert but the relationships are stickier. Once a client trusts you, they're loyal in a way that London clients often aren't.

Cold outreach still works but it needs to be warmer. A personalised WhatsApp message referencing a mutual connection gets a much better response than a cold email. LinkedIn is used heavily but the conversion happens offline.

Payment terms will test your patience

London: 30 days is standard. Most clients pay within 45. Dubai: 30 days is written on the invoice. 60 days is realistic. 90 days is common with larger companies. Government-linked entities can take 120 days or more.

This isn't rudeness. It's just how business works here. You need to plan your cash flow accordingly. Invoice immediately on placement, follow up at 30 days, escalate at 60. Build the payment timeline into your financial planning from day one. If you're used to UK payment speeds, this will frustrate you until you adjust.

The candidate pool is global

In London, most of your candidates are UK-based or have UK work rights. In Dubai, you're sourcing from everywhere. India, Pakistan, Philippines, UK, South Africa, Australia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon. The UAE workforce is 85% expatriate. Every role is an international search.

That makes sourcing tools more important here than in London. You're searching across multiple countries, multiple job boards, multiple languages. A CRM with AI-powered sourcing across a global database saves hours compared to searching each market separately.

Visa sponsorship is also part of the conversation for every hire. The employer sponsors the candidate's visa. That means relocation timelines, visa processing delays, and medical fitness tests all affect your time to fill.

Tax changes the maths

No income tax in the UAE. That's the headline. But 9% corporate tax was introduced in 2023 on profits above AED 375,000 (roughly £80,000). So if your agency is profitable (which it should be), you're paying 9% instead of the UK's 25% corporation tax. Still a massive difference.

VAT is 5% in the UAE vs 20% in the UK. That matters for your client invoicing and your own expenses. You'll need to register for VAT once your revenue exceeds AED 375,000/year, which most agencies hit fairly quickly.

The bottom line

Dubai is a fantastic market for recruitment if you go in with realistic expectations. It's not London with sunshine. It's a different market with different rules, different timelines, and different relationships. The recruiters who do well here are the ones who adapted instead of assuming everything works the same way.

If you're thinking about the move, read our guide on setting up a recruitment agency in Dubai for the practical steps. And if you're already here and struggling, we wrote about that too.