Thanks all. My friend is a more informed Kenyan tonight and ready for next round of negotiations.

It is extremely important to ensure that you are dealing directly with a reputable organisation (preferably not an agent).

Many are the cases where one agrees on a very "good" package and signs a contract back home but upon arriving in the Middle East you are presented with a different employment contract written in Arabic and lower terms than initially agreed upon. The law recognises only the Arabic version of a contract as valid.

Some industries such as construction are also generally notorious for delaying pay, withholding pay or paying in instalments.

Others such as financial services (banks) and Oil & Gas are among the best employers in the ME. However, some projects in Oil & Gas are being cancelled as a result of the drop in oil prices and some recent recruits for the cancelled projects have unexpectedly found themselves jobless this year despite having signed up for defined contract periods.

If your friend ends up taking the job, I would suggest that he does not take the family with him immediately but rather goes and tests out if the environment will be appropriate for the family.

The downside with that is dealing with separation from spouse and children....

Thank you very much , some of us have worked and lived in the middle east and for those painting a rosy picture , it is sometimes best to go and judge for yourself if its really the best thing to take your family along,money is not everything , but oh well ..each to his or her own as they say.

Aende! Islamic countries are not so bad! bora asifanye vitu fulani
1) asijaribu ku-argue juu ya dini
2) asinywe pombe kiholela holela
3) asimwagie wanawake wa huko mate ama ajaribu kuwa 'katia'
He and his family will be fine! Aende na familia pia.