A friend of mine is interviewing for a job with a datacomm company that emphasizes that it is world-wide, and you have to travel, which she can do. It’s a hands-on tech job that she has experience in. So far so good.
So we check it on the Web, and along with the rest of the world it covers the Middle East, including Iraq.
So the question here, is if they congratulate her and say she is so impressive they will give her the opportunity to work in Iraq, how much should she ask for hazard pay?
You hear of security contractors who get figures like $10,000 per week (possible dubious or unique figure), so what does a technician, an installer, get?
Second question, what nations and areas of the world would you expect to get premium pay for, and what kind of money would that be? And what are the risks?
My guess is they will offer her a salary, and the hazard pay will be a standard percentage if she works in Iraq. So while her salary is negotiable, it will be negotiable in terms of the U.S. rather than Iraq.
She should ask so much as will adequately compensate her for the risk that she will have to work in Iraq. Or she should ask for hazard pay unrelated to her base salary as will adequately compensate her for the risk she will face if posted to Iraq. Only she can say what these amounts are. How worried is she by the prospect of working in Iraq? Is she worried for herself, or does she have dependents to worry about as well? Etc, etc.
If no amount will compensate her for these risks (or if the amounts that will compensate her are more than the employer is willing to pay) her options are
(a) decline the job;
(b) ask for an assurance that she will not be posted to Iraq without her own agreement as a condition of accepting the job;
I’d say regular pay plus an extra $3000 a week if the duty isn’t especially hazardous. If people are shooting at me it needs to go up to more than they can afford.
If the company’s contract in Iraq is with the US government, then the standard is +25% danger pay and +25% post differential (post diff starts after 42 days in country). There is an act to raise both those rates to +35% for a total +70%.
If the company’s contract in Iraq is with the US government, then the standard is +25% danger pay and +25% post differential (post diff starts after 42 days in country). There is an act before congress to raise both those rates to +35% for a total +70%, but it has not been approved yet. Also, if your friend is out of the US for 330, she is exempt from paying income tax on her first $70,000 earned.