Will Covid-19 finally kickstart the Temporary (“Temp”), Contract & Interim Market for Accounting & Tax professionals in UAE?

I would like to start by hoping that everyone and their families are remaining safe during the current Covid-19 Pandemic.

Since I arrived in Dubai 2.5 years ago, the biggest surprise I have found in Accounting and Tax recruitment in the region has been the lack of a solid temporary, or Contract/Interim market. Prior to relocating to Dubai, I worked in London, which is probably the most mature recruitment market in the world. In London the temp market is prevalent and I witnessed first hand the benefits for companies opting for a temporary hire over a permanent hire.

Five benefits of hiring a temporary/Contract/Interim candidate:

1.      Lower Cost : There is a clear cost saving for a company with the hire simply being a temporary solution who does not need an annual salary and additional benefits that would be mandatory if the employee was a permanent one.

2.       Highly Skilled : In general temp staff can be seen as “fixers”, they can come in on a project and work out what needs to improved and implement it to drive the business forward. Then they move onto their next assignment where they do the same thing again.

3.      Fresh Perspective : Companies can then hire an experienced professional for a short period who could really give a fresh perspective on how the company could turn things around. For example a Senior FD/CFO who worked through 2008 global crash could come in 3/6 month contract to give invaluable advise to a company on how to navigate through the current pandemic.

4.       Try before you buy approach : In London there was a massive interest in the “temp to perm” hiring. It’s an excellent option from a client perspective as they can see first hand if the candidate is good for the role and fits the company culture. Should they really feel the candidate is adding value to the company then there would be an opportunity to make the candidate permanent at the end of the contract. Also, from a candidate perspective, it’s a great opportunity for them to see if they enjoy working within the organization.

5.       Immediate Effect : Given all temp candidates in nature are immediately available companies can hire staff that can make an instant impact; you interview them today and they can start tomorrow.. For most permanent hires the candidates are on a notice period of  1-3 months and can’t have an immediate effect.

I believe now more than ever, there is such a clear need for companies in the UAE and wider Gulf region to hire temp resources for their teams. Only recently, just last week, the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE) have provided a new permit for employees who have been effected by Covid -19 and are now on unpaid leave that can get a temporary work permit online which can be approved within 1 day. This is a ground-breaking step towards hopefully igniting the temp market in the region. From speaking with CFOs/HRDs in the last 2.5 years in the region, the main reason they have opted away from hiring temp staff was the admin burden a company would have to go through which is now much simpler than ever before.

Please read the below article for step by step clarification on the new permit

https://gulfnews.com/living-in-uae/ask-us/covid-19-got-an-offer-for-a-temporary-job-mohre-provides-new-permit-through-app-1.1588166361071?slide=3

Four reasons why now is the time for UAE to embrace temp hiring;

1.      Strong Immediately Available Candidate Pool: Unfortunately, Covid-19 has resulted in many Accounting & Tax professionals being made redundant in the UAE. For the vast majority of these professionals it’s been completely out of their hands and not performance driven. Which now means there is an abundance of Top Tier Professionals who are without a job and would be able to start immediately with another company.

2.      Mass Exodus: Every Summer, with the school term end, there is usually an exodus of residents who move back to their home countries after spending several years in the UAE. I anticipate this summer, with a global pandemic underway, there may be more of Mass Exodus from the UAE because people’s desire to be closer to their elderly relatives back home is more than ever before. The knock-on effect will be more resignations than predicted for companies. Companies will need to be agile and this fits in well with hiring temp staff as they can come in immediately and make a positive impact for the company.

3.      Simplicity : With the recent update from the MOHRE it’s never been easier for companies to hire temporary staff as permits can be approved online and within 1 day. The admin burden which was previously the case for hiring temporary staff has now been eliminated and really should drive this market forward in these unprecedented times the UAE is going through.

4.      Remote Working : One positive outcome from Covid 19 is the realization for a lot of employers that employees can work remotely and be productive. Given the nature of Accounting and Tax responsibilities there are certain tasks which can be done remotely i.e producing monthly management accounts, sales reports etc. So even if the company do not plan on returning their team to their offices in the coming weeks they can still hire a staff as a temporary solution who has the right skill set for tasks that need to be completed from a remote location.

Costs

As a useful “rule of thumb” indicator, a good way to measure the cost of a temporary contractor is for an employer to take the assumed gross annual salary were this a permanent hire, and translate this to a daily rate of .05% to .075% of this figure plus recruiter costs which will vary depending on seniority of the role.

In conclusion, I hope the above gives informative insights to my professional network on the matter and hopefully it will help people who are out of a job secure something in the coming weeks.

If you have recently lost your job and seek advice on how to best move forward then please feel free to reach out to me. For my clients, if you would like to understand more about any temporary solutions that I could provide you then please do not hesitate to reach out to me on [email protected]

I hope everyone and their families remain safe during these uncertain times