Exit...
A few items from my experience which may be useful.
For packing/removal/shipping, we used Allied Pickfords, who were really good at both ends. After 19 years in EK, we had over 110 boxes, and the only breakage was one wine glass. They cleared Customs at both ends, unpacked at destination and took away all the packing materials/empty boxes etc They also bill EK directly. They were the most expensive quotation, but EK did not query the cost.
Retention Payment - it took about ten weeks and several emails to an HR contact for my Retention money to be paid, and a colleague who left at the same time had the same experience. However, no deductions were made, despite some work being done on our company accommodation. Other leavers seem to get theirs quickly, so it seems to vary. There was never any doubt that it would be paid, just a question of when.....
Provident Fund - if you elect to remain in the Provident Fund as a Deferred Member, your last two months Company Contributions to your A Fund will not be paid into your fund. This money is withheld along with your Retention Money at paid to you along with the other Retention Money. Never did get to the bottom of why this is done, but it was paid correctly in the end.
HSBC Premier Mastercard - we tried to get ahead of the game by cancelling our credit cards three months prior to departure to avoid any last minute bureaucratic issues. The bank told us that once the cards were cancelled, we then had to maintain a balance in our current account of not less than the Credit Limit on the cancelled cards for three months "to cover any unposted card charges". Moral - you might want to consider reducing your Credit Limit to an absolute minimum prior to card cancellation to avoid having to keep a large balance in your current account. We managed to get them to do this, but it was a battle - HSBC just couldn't understand why we would want to reduce a credit limit in DXB. This was just over a year ago, and I've been told subsequently that some other banks have the same requirement, so it is worth checking in advance.
Etisalat - there is a guy in etisalat whose job is to act as a coordinator for EK Staff. He was really helpful. Unfortunately I can't now find his details, but the Leaving Coordinators should have it. Having said that, cancelling my wifes mobile roaming service and getting the deposit back involved many visits to etisalat at Al Wasl. We finally got it the day before we left, but were still receiving bills from etisalat for a few fils for her phone three months later. Eventually that was also sorted out, but involved many phone calls. Moral - cancel any post paid mobile phone subscriptions well in advance and get a pre-paid sim.
Best of luck with the process to all. As others have said, there is life after DXB!
7B