Unemployment is expected to rise in the UAE in the coming summer, particularly in June and July, according to a survey done by an HR consultancy firm.
In a report by Gulf News, Tuscan Consulting revealed in its survey that businesses will get to have a clear vision of what coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has done to their operations come summer—a reason layoffs could see a rise.
Around 40 percent of the respondents—comprising UAE businesses—confirmed that they have asked some of their staff to take unpaid leave at the height of the pandemic. Around 20 percent, meanwhile, have decided to cut salaries, while 24 percent terminated some of their employees.
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In a statement, the consultancy firm said that only 22 percent of businesses had not done any drastic decisions to reduce costs.
The survey also revealed that one of the first to cut more jobs will probably be the airline industry, especially after commercial flights were brought to a halt. At the height of the pandemic, they were the first ones who got affected the most in terms of operations, followed by the real estate sector. According to Tuscan Consulting, only 30 to 50 percent of real estate companies had only cut salaries.
Gulf News reported that the survey also revealed 57 percent of organizations planning to revise compensation and benefits in the second phase.
“HR teams are likely to be involved in more difficult conversations in the coming months. It is advisable for all HR practitioners to have dialogue, show empathy and take employee consent and ensure legal compliance for any drastic measures on salary and benefits,” Gulf News quoted Tuscan Consulting as saying.
The survey also revealed that some of the HR policies that could be revised include recruitment and on-boarding, remote working, working hours, leave credits, salary and benefits, performance management, training and development, it, health and safety, and return to work.
