Retention Money?

LBHOO

Hello all, I just received an offer from a major company in Dubai and one of the items listed was DHS 4000 "retention money" I asked my HR contact what that meant and she said it was an amount that would be withheld at the end of my service to pay any outstanding costs like telephone bills. Is this a common practice in Dubai? Do you think this is negotiable? I can't imagine I would have that much in outstanding costs and is the first I've heard of the practice! Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks- L

sage & onion

It is an unfortunate sign of the times that Companies find it necessary to make such a rule, and is almost certainly caused by a number of Employees leaving with unpaid bills etc. From a legal standpoint this is not allowed and would certainly not be mentioned in the contract you sign that will be forwarded to the Labour Department. If you feel you have to pay this retention, make sure it is clearly documented and signed from the Company and of course remember that it is there when you decide to leave. With regard to accumulation of debts, it would actually be fairly easy to run up that amount.