If you were hired in 2007 or before and you were at EK for 10 years and you are over the age of 50, then you get the tickets. It's not as beneficial as doing 15 years because you don't get OAL but otherwise, get your ass out of there if you are only waiting to get tickets.
Besides, EK can change the rules at any point in the future. They can suddenly decree that past obligations are not going to be honored.
NEVER stay just for the tickets, it's so minor once you get back to reality and deal with normal people.

Reviving this thread….

Can some of you who've been thru the process offer some insight to the following questions:

* If leaving mid month, when will that last few weeks actually be paid since you won't be receiving that paycheck at the end of the month you're leaving… with the provident fund perhaps?

* Were there any issues actually leaving DXB at customs e.g., having no visa etc?

* Provident Fund - Is it recommended to change all your current funds into US Dollar account from it's current position in order to save money on the actual Provident Fund transfer from Dubai to whatever institution you're sending it to?

* Does one need a "letter" from EK of sorts to stop any of the utility type services such as stopping OSN TV service, Du/Etisalat phone and internet?

Thanks for any intel on this guys…

Kap

Leaving tips
 

Kapitanleutnant

I left mid March this year. Here is my experience;

1) you are paid pro rata for no of days worked, so e.g 15 days x daily rate = X

The people at ESC on 2 nod floor are very helpful. Ask before you leave of a print out of any deductions that they know of. Leave is also taken back in monetary terms if you have taken more than entitled.

2) No issues with visa removal. Again all done by ESC. Drop all passports with visa off, then collect 2-3 days later with the visa cancelled. On exit through DXB you have to go to the very left corner of economy passport/security to a small kiosk and wait for this......PAY ..yes pay 20 dhs for the pleasure of exiting UAE. I told the guy I would pay 10 times that to get out...he did not get my sarcasm.

3) my provident fund was not a huge amount, having only been at EK for 4 years. I collected all monies owed in a cheque in Dhs. Went to NBD in EGHQ and cashed it. Then went to the money exchange on the way to the metro and transferred back to the UK. 2 days later money in my UK account.

4) we rented from day one so our accommodation situation was maybe different to people in staff accomadation. We left rented apartment about 2 months before my last day at work. I kept all final bills stamped obviously ! From Du, Dewa and I only had a PAYG phone so no contract to close. Also I had no credit cards from UAE bank. A friend of mine who left had issues with both etisalt and C/c when trying to leave. His advice was initiate these 3 months before departure date if possible. Again just get a PAYG sim. I also closed my NBD account 2 weeks before leaving and had no issues when cashing my final cheque. I also got a letter of good conduct from the lovely helpful hard working Dubai police. Online form, fee and obligatory knowledge fee! Lol . Went into rashidiya police station to verify my identity and an online letter is sent to your e-mail.

5) I had no exit interview, just an online questionare. I was honest in my answers, not malicious. Mine were health, family and sick of been a second class citizen. The 92 hrs every month with less days off and more night turns on the 777 at least was killing me. The last bit of advice is use the guys and girls at ESC, they are very helpful and will either give you the answers you want or point you in the direction of the person you have to contact. Don't ask 777 fleet manager or is it manager fleet as she is as much use as a chocolate teapot!

Definitely the best decision I ever made, In the 3 months of leaving I have lost 4 kgs without trying, my blood pressure is down and I am no longer irratble and always in a bad mood- at least that's what my wife says!
Hope this helps-

A few days before you leave, your co-ordinator will contact you with a detailed breakdown of what you owe/what they owe, pro-rated for your exact number of days served. In my experience it was very accurate and included provident fund payout. On your last day, when you hand in your ID etc, they will provide you with a cheque for your final settlement which you can cash right away. They will withhold an amount that will be held for a few weeks - it can be paid direct to your home bank account.

No issues whatsoever. I went to the airport at the given time. You go to Marhaba services which is by the economy check in area. I didn't have to pay anything. They then escort you off the premises (i.e. through passport control), then you're freeeeeeee.....

I withdrew everything I could some months before I left. I didn't do anything with what was left, it was paid out in AED with the final settlement.

The biggest nightmare of leaving is sorting out all the useless Dubai companies. Emirates is the easy part. I didn't get any letters, but getting the likes of Etisalat to provide a final bill is nigh on impossible. Make sure that you give them a month's notice. Although they'll still muck it up. Even after the notice is up they still won't know until the following month how much you actually owe them - but it won't stop you leaving the country.

p101. I think you'll find it's the other way round. Doing 10 years and then leaving within 10 of your retirement age (Dependant on when you joined) will give you the 8 A & C tickets and OAL travel when you reach your retirement age. Assuming you leave before you get to within 10 years of retirement the 15 year deal is only 2x SRC A's and 2x C's forever. (The 10 & 10 deal is the same till retirement age)

World….

GREAT POST!!! Appreciate the detail of it all. Thanks!

SOP….
Got it!!

K

Cheers World, useful info!

Training Records
 

Hi Guys,

I've heard it is an easy task to get training records, can someone 'pm' me specifics please...


Also wanted to keep this thread on page 1; it's too useful & important to slide into obscurity!

Regards

Good question re training records but could can you make the response public?

(It's probably not sensitive information)

Training Records
 

Getting the training records was the easiest part to date!

I emailed the 'Flight Training Support Manager' - she forwarded on my request to the admin ladies and there you have it; a disc with everything on it (pdf files) was ready for me to pick up within 24 hours.

No need to get any approvals from 'control hungry personality types'.


Also wanted to bring this thread back to the fore...



kapitanleutnant - check your pm's

Renting out owned property?
 

I own my place in Dubai free-and-clear. I was considering holding onto it after leaving EK to use as a rental. Anyone have experience with this?

Guys….

1. Where does one obtain a letter of no incident/no accident? I'd heard the company provided this but that is incorrect/has changed.

2. How/where does one return the Captain's Mobile given to us by EK?

3. Has anyone else had to get a clearance letter for closing out a bank credit card? The checklist says YES but my HR coordinator said not needed, only the loan clearance letter.

4. I'm unable to access my online checklist to update anything… Can I presume this is done by the HR coordinator when an item is accomplished?

5. When does the accommodation department (The Dept of NO!) send someone to my home to do the maintenance check? I've sent two emails and talked to a person there…. still nothing from them. How long before leaving do they normally come out?

Thanks for any headsup and previous experience on this!

Kap

SOPS:

As well as sending that SMS, will you post here?
There are so many leaving who can benefit from each other's experience that we might as well make it open.

I'll post a few answers for Kap:
5) The accommodation department will contact you at about the 1 month to go mark. They will schedule a visit, look around, and tell you what needs to be done. Expect a paint job back to uninspiring white. Expect a garden returned to it's former dust with all grass and plants removed. They know its daft, we know its daft, but that's what it is.
3) On the HR portal, under the heading "bonds and guarantees", there may be any loans and credit cards. Go to the bank with those details and they will give you a no liability letter for those and any other accounts. Visit HR with that letter, they will take a copy, and make an entry on the portal to say done. Your EOS "to do list" will tick off green as done.
4) I think so, but open to correction.
1&2) I don't know.

Thanks Rotaiva, for the good info. I'm going to follow your advice.

Good luck and best wishes to all.

SM

Fair point Snake, so I will post here.

1 don't know

2 return it at the Fleet Admin office, near where you drop off the flight plans and the other stuff.

3 I got a letter from the bank for my account and credit cards. You DONOT need on your last day a head wobble saying you need a letter. I also had one from Etisalat to say my internet had been paid, no one wanted that however.

4 the check list seems to go automatically green, but I could be wrong.

5 despite numerous emails and phone calls to those hard workers at the accomodation dept, no one ever came to my villa. I actually got a phone call the afternoon before I left from some one saying....sorry we a very busy when can we come to your villa....I told them anytime they liked but I would not be there.
You have to return the villa back to the way it was, and leave your garden as sand.

Just a few observations from my notice period so far, that may help others.

• One of the first things you are informed about when you resign is that all tickets booked on TRIPS, must be paid for in person at the ESC. This is wrong! The salary deduction payment method is still used until 45 days prior to your leaving date. Between resigning and 45 days prior to leaving, your tickets will still be paid by salary deduction but the tickets have to be manually processed by Staff Travel, which will take a few days. For short notice travel, a quick visit to the ESC is required to get your ticket issued, yet it's a non event.

• Shortly after you resign you are asked if you would prefer to use Skycargo or an external sea/air freight moving company. The allowance for moving out is far more generous than what you encountered when you moved to Dubai. My advice is do not use SkyCargo and use the Air/Sea Freight option, as EK are willing to make a reasonable contribution to the latter and may cover all that you wish to take with you. It's all in the staff travel manual but the amount that EK is willing to pay is based on your designated Annual Leave Destination and length of service. 10 years or more service sees EK contribute 44K AED for moving to the Americas and 36K AED for moving to Europe. Therefore it is something not to overlook. Taxes, customs fees and insurance should still be paid by the staff.

Very helpful, keep it coming. I am about 7 months behind you.

I'll add my two fils here two in my process…

The "checklist" you'll get on the portal is, in my opinion, written like our FCI's… it will often times generate more questions than it gives answer to. And as is somewhat typical of EK manuals, there are little tidbits of information all over the place and not necessarily in the section you'd expect. Just my opinion about it. And the checklist on the portal has different color codes for what you've completed, what is in progress and what you have not accomplished yet. Evidently, this is something you cannot do yourself. You either have to call or email your HR coordinator for them to do it.

Re the moving: I've been told that if you select DNATA Cargo for the move, they will only move it to the city (airport) you've asked it to be sent… not to your new home/house/apt. I was told by more than one person that Allied was good.

One of the strangest things was when I went to get a Letter from HR to stop my phone/internet service with du… There actually is NO LETTER for this. I looked 3 times both on the portal and then at HR kiosks. So I went to HR services and told the lady and she looked in her computer and could't find a letter for it either! So she called an accommodation person and they had a banter for about 5 minutes, one saying there is no letter and the other saying to just make one up.

After this conversation I asked… "How can it even be possible there is no letter for canceling du service?" Shrug of the shoulders and was told the letter would be put in my mailbox.

Clearance letters from your bank for previous loans no matter how long ago that were paid off, are required and it takes about a week (they tell you 4 business days). And then you must go online to the bank's website and make a request for that clearance letter which takes another "4 business days". That with flying etc.. can be almost 2 weeks, so just realize it's not an instant thing.

The checklist says you need a clearance letter to close a credit card from your bank. My HR advisor said it's not necessary. I applied for it anyways and at my particular bank, it's a 45 day process from the time you request it. Plan ahead….

If you're going to another pilot position as I am, you might need a Letter of no Incident/Accident. I've been told by a few that it's a simple process by going on the GCAA website and filling in a form. For some reason, my experience has absolutely not been like that. I've tried 3 times now and have yet to figure out just where to click. There is really no icon to click for this request. So I have not figured out the process, even with two colleagues telling me how to do it. It just didn't work in my situation… so I'm still without it.

The Letter of Good Conduct from the Dubai Police was actually quite easy. I took a metro to one of the several police stations around dubai with a passport, passport copy and passport photo, filled out a short form and they said it would be done in 3 days. Sure enough… done. It has to be made out to a particular organization and I think the cost was 35 dhs (?). Realize that it's only good for a certain period… 90 days maybe? I could be wrong on this though….

For those who are selling furniture, friend of a friend of a friend told me there is a company called Cashcoverters that will come look at your stuff and give you an offer for it all in cash. It's kinda lowball but if you just need to move some things quickly that are in good shape, it might help out.

I've had good luck selling my things on my own and still have a lot of time before my Last day of service.

K

If you need to get rid of stuff..ie you don't want to sell it, just get rid of it.....Take My Junk....is great. They will take almost anything for free.

Ah, dont you just love Dubai - nothing is ever the same

When we left we checked in at the normal Business check-in and just told the immigration guy at passport control that we were leaving Dubai. He did ask to see our end of service letter but when we said it was in our carry on he told us to forget it and move on.:p

When we leave, do we go to the normal staff travel desk to check in, or some other desk.

And did they ask if you were leaving DXB for good…. or did you just offer this in casual conversation?

I wasn't aware we had to have an End of Service letter. Maybe something not to mention?

Thanks for the intel.

K

We had confirmed business seats and had done the online check-in so we just went to a normal desk to drop off the bags.

The immigration guy asked why our visa had been cancelled and we told him we were leaving permanently and that was that basically. The end of service letter is what they give you at EGHQ with your last cheque - I got mine at the end of May so it included the bonus, I actually walked out of the country with $35,000 USD in cash :E


FWIW today our retention money arrived in the bank - almost 8 weeks to the day from leaving. To be fair to EK they paid everything, even our outstanding Medical and Dental claims.

What is "retention money"?

What method did you choose to receive your Provident Fund proceeds?

I'm still waiting for my retention money, but if 4000 AED is the cost of getting out of the place, I will wear it.

O got a cheque for my provident fund...cashed in OZ ok.

I had a letter given to me in Arabic that I had to give to the immigration person, that said I was free to go.

they keep back 4000 Dhs from your last paycheck - not sure why, but it is Dubai..

I did direct bank transfer to my bank account in Jersey - arrived in my account 2 weeks after leaving.

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

Sadness
 

It is really sad to see so many good guys leaving.........
I wish you all the best and i really hope that this bunch of clowns will some day understand the damage they did to the company..........
I am looking forward to follow you.........as soon as my son will be out of here ......
Enjoy all of you the after EK life
:D:D

To answer what retention monies are:

As I understand it, it is money that is withheld from you as you leave and is used to cover any unforeseen expenses like EK accommodation having to do some extra cleaning of your villa/apartment or changing the garden back to original state, or perhaps a last etisalat/du phone bill that wasn't quite paid in full etc.

I've been told this amount is about 4000 dirhams. But you are supposed to get it back at some point.. have heard as quick as a few weeks to several months as one poster mentioned above.

During the out process checklist, you will be asked to put a bank account as to where you want these retention monies sent after you've left. I just gave them my bank account number in my home country.

K

Can anyone tell me what the allowance for cargo repatriation is please? If we use either EK Skycargo or External Seafreight?

Can't find it anywhere in the manuals.

Thanks!

Ah...Mr Good Cat, you have the same problem as me. Where is cargo repatriation allowance. You silly person, you should know to look in the Staff Travel Manual. It's all in there. What, you never thought of that?:ok:

And another experience. I paid off my HSBC credit card, two weeks before I left. I did this at the HSBC Head Office in Dubai. I also closed my current account at the same time. The very helpful person there told me to come back 3 days before I was due to leave Dubai. When I returned, they provided me with a letter saying that my accounts were all closed, I owed no money on loans ( not that I had one ), or any credit cards. They then gave me a cheque for the approx 40000 AED that remained in my current account.
I deposited that cheque into my bank in Australia, without a problem.

So once again, everyone seems to have different experiences. But that's Dubai.

In my case, I had my sister come to Dubai for the last 3 weeks, to help with the final 'shut down'. I loaded her Australian credit cards with money, because once you close down your account in Dubai, you no longer have access to local money.
Anyway, I am sure we all do it differently, good luck to all.

Just to add, the HSBC branch I dealt with, was the one next to the Westin Hotel in Deira.

Ah thanks SOPS!

I'll get on to it now!

I second what SOPS said, sort out your credit cards an bank account in plenty of time.

I cancelled my local credit cards 3 months before leaving and then 7 days before my last day I transferred all the money in my bank account out to my offshore account (HSBC Global transfer) - 3 days before leaving went into the HSBC main branch in Jumeirah and closed the (now empty) account.

Sorry, I made a small error. The HSBC branch I delt with in Deria, is next to the JW Marriott hotel, not the Westin.

Leaving before 90 notice period ( any financial consequences?) ?
 

After a long heart to heart with my wife and kids it looks as if our time here at EK is coming to an end and we will be packing our bags for home.

I do have another job opportunity but the start date will occur almost a month prior to the end of the EK required 90 day notice period.

Here is my question:
If I leave at 60 days instead of 90 days, what, if any, are the financial implications ( re EK) for leaving early?

( background: 9 years, living out and receiving acmdtn allowance monthly)

This will be interesting so do let us know what develops. My guess would be that you can use any vacation balance you have to reduce the notice period but beyond that you will probably owe them money.

I'm sure there are implications Desdi, but I don't know what. I don't even know if they will let you leave early.

Perhaps a question fit the ladies on the 'leaving desk' at HQ. They are very helpful.

Or the answer might be in the employees manual, or whatever it is called.

Sorry to see you go..
 

Desdi,
Sorry to see you go. I had the same conversation with my family.


The lady at the leaving desk is very helpful and will answer all your questions. Make a list of them before you go there so you don't forget any. Arrive early so you can grab a number the leaving line gets long by mid morning. This is what she told me about a few of my questions.


Education- You will owe the company the remainder of the term your kids did not attend. e.g. If your last day is October 10th you will owe the company the tuition from Oct-11 through the end of the term. So best to have a leave date at end of term.


Housing Allowance- Will be prorated against the amount you used.


They will subtract your basic salary for every day shy of the three months you served.


EK will give you the 3 days off before your last day to pack up your house and get it shipped. (Not sure if that only applies if you give 3 months.) If in company housing you must be out by your last day. Conversely your allowance is figured to your last day.


The sooner you let them know the better.


Hope this helps. Glad you made it out alive.


CR

777boyo

Thanks for the detailed insight and especially into the situation with your credit cards. I will pop into Emirates NBD tomorrow to get get the ball rolling!!! :ok:

How does the math work for the leaving date? Do they just add 90 days to the date of your resignation email?

Correct Dropp. What ever day you send your good bye email, add 90 days, and that becomes your last DOS.