International
Dubai & the UAE
I work with UAE-based companies in two situations: when they are hiring or building a team in India, and when Indian businesses expanding into the Emirates need their India-side people function to keep pace.
What makes the Dubai market different
A large share of UAE businesses either recruit substantially from India or run delivery and back-office operations there. The India side of that arrangement is where I add value — employment contracts drafted for Indian law, salary structured correctly, statutory registrations at the right thresholds, and compliance that holds up under inspection.
The recruitment corridor between India and the Gulf is long-established and heavily intermediated, which means quality varies enormously. Companies hiring Indian talent for UAE roles benefit from someone assessing candidates against the actual role rather than forwarding whatever an agency supplies. For senior and specialist positions this is the difference between a hire that works and one that unwinds in month seven.
For Indian companies opening a Dubai office, the common failure is treating the UAE entity as an extension of the Indian one. The two operate under entirely different employment frameworks, and the India-side HR function usually needs restructuring to support a genuinely multi-country operation — different contracts, different payroll, different leave and different termination rules.
There is also a growing pattern of UAE companies establishing Indian delivery centres rather than simply recruiting Indian staff into the UAE. That is a full India-entry problem: entity-side employment setup, first hires, compliance thresholds and eventually a local HR capability.
To be explicit about scope: I advise on Indian employment practice, not UAE labour law. For UAE-side employment matters you need local counsel, and I work alongside them rather than in place of them.
What I do for Dubai employers
- India-side employment setup for UAE companies building teams in India
- Employment contracts, salary structuring and statutory registration under Indian law
- Senior and specialist recruitment from the Indian market, assessed against the actual role
- India-side HR restructuring for Indian companies opening a UAE office
- Fractional CHRO support for the India operation, delivered online
- Compliance review of an existing Indian entity before it becomes a problem
Most relevant here
India Entry — HR & Employment Setup
For overseas companies hiring their first employees in India. Entity-side HR, contracts, payroll structure and compliance, advised online.
Leadership & Specialist Hiring
Retained search for the senior and hard-to-fill roles, run by someone who has hired over a thousand people.
Fractional CHRO
CHRO-grade judgement on a part-time retainer, for companies that need the thinking without the salary.
Statutory Compliance Audit
PF, ESI, minimum wages, bonus and contract labour — verified against your actual records, not your assumptions.
HR in Dubai — common questions
Do you advise on UAE labour law?
No, and I would be cautious of anyone who claims to do both well. My expertise is Indian employment practice. Where an engagement touches UAE-side employment matters, that needs local counsel, and I work alongside them.
We are a Dubai company setting up a team in India. Can you help?
Yes — this is one of the engagements I am best suited to. It covers employment contracts drafted for Indian law, salary structured correctly from the first hire, statutory registrations at the right thresholds, the POSH Internal Committee at ten employees, and your first HR hire in India. Delivered entirely online.
How do calls work across the time difference?
The UAE is only ninety minutes behind India, so scheduling is straightforward. Most of the documentary and advisory work is asynchronous in any case.
Elsewhere
International