Rental Assistance Allowance (RAA) in Aramco

It seems there's still confusion about what the "No Cap" statement means.

Here's my understanding of what I believe it mean...Regardless of what your entry salary is, you will be paid 3x your monthly base salary as the RAA payment and there is no cap, or no maximum amount, on that payment based on whatever the employee's salary is, even if you are offered an unusually high initial salary. It does not mean the company will pay an unlimited amount of money to the employee as RAA...Why would they take the time and effort to develop a formula to determine how much to pay out in RAA if there were no limit to the amount they will pay? This line of thought does not seem reasonable. Also, per a previous post, you stated that the minimum RAA offered was 30,000 SAR for an employee on Family status, so that would be great for someone being hired in with an initial salary lower than 10,000 SAR/month.

Example #1: If your monthly salary at hire is 7500 SAR/month, the minimum RAA of 30,000 SAR would be paid rather than 3x base salary of 22,500 SAR. In this case, the minimum payment is better than the calculated RAA. The statement "No Cap" would have no relevance or bearing in this example.

Example #2: If your monthly salary at hire is $7,000/month, your RAA would be 3x that amount = $21,000 RAA. You would receive that amount as payment for you to find housing that best fits your needs. However, if you choose a villa that costs $30,000, YOU would be responsible for paying the difference between the cost of the villa ($30,000), and your RAA payment ($21,000). You, not the company, would be responsible for paying the additional $9,000 to the owner of the villa.

"No Cap" does NOT mean that the company will pay the entire cost of the housing chosen, over and above the RAA paid to the employee.

stmayo11 & swan
Thanks for reply.
1.But RO said NO CAP means NO LIMIT.
2.In this forom i seen below statment.
All expatriate male employees* (SC 3-10 and 11+) are now eligible to live off camp. Those who do not live in company provided housing will receive an unaccountable RAA of 3x monthly base salary with no cap and a minimum payment of SR 20,000 for single/bachelor status and SR 30,000 for family status employees.

Family status employees are also eligible for an accountable allowance subject to a maximum or actual rent, whichever is less. The maximum allowance, which is inclusive of the unaccountable RAA, is as follows:

Family Size (IK residents) Maximum Allowance
(inclusive of unaccountable RAA)
Married with no children SR 175,000
Married with 1 child SR 200,000
Married with 2 children SR 225,000
Married with 3 or more children SR 250,000

Please clarify...

Hi Swan,
I am on family status with 2 kid.So sure i am applicable to choose villa upto 225000 SAR?
Why they dint mentioned in offer letter or T&C?

I found that statement in forum.But i hope it is in ARAMCO's legal policy.
So i think i can choose 2BHK Villa of 120000 SAR?

Thanks.

Perhaps you're just not understanding what they're telling you, Bhumi.

"No cap" cannot possibly mean the company will pay the total cost of whatever housing you choose, regardless of the cost with no maximum amount. If there were no maximum amount of money paid as RAA at the time of hire, most new employees would choose to live in lavish luxury villas, or even in a palace if there were no limit.

"No cap" has to do with the amount of the RAA paid based on the employee's initial salary at hire. The higher the initial salary at hire, the higher the RAA paid, with no cap, or no maximum amount, based on the initial salary.

Bhumi, I think you're making this more complicated than it really is...

Take the monthly base salary provided by the company in their offer letter to you and multiply that number by 3. Assuming you are Family status, if the answer to that calculation is less than 30,000 SAR, then your RAA payment will be 30,000 SAR and no more, regardless of the costs of housing chosen.

If your monthly base salary multiplied by 3 equals more than 30,000 SAR, then the amount calculated is the amount of your RAA payment (not the min. 30,000 payment), and no more.

Example #1: A new employee's initial base salary offered is 8,000 SAR/month.
8000 x 3 = 24,000 SAR. In this case, the minimum RAA offered to this Family status employee would be 30,000 SAR, and no more, regardless of the cost of housing chosen by the employee. Anything more than 30,000 SAR would be paid by the employee.

Example #2: A new employee's initial base salary offered is 12,000 SAR/month.
12000 x 3 = 36,000 SAR. In this case, the calculation of the RAA of 36,000 SAR is how much would be paid to the new employee as RAA, and no more, regardless of the cost of housing chosen by the employee. Anything more than 36,000 SAR would be paid by the employee.

I do hopr this explanation clarifies the calculation used to determine the RAA payment made to certain employees at the time of hiring. I'm not sure how else to explain it.

Since you are on the Asian payroll, I think it's the same as the Saudi payroll in which the company will not give you any more than 3 times basic salary for housing allowance. Sorry to say it this way, but they are not expecting that you *need* to live inside a compound. You can find very nice housing outside of compounds for 75,000 riyals per year.

Bhumi,

I would spend less energy and effort trying to figure out WHY the company operates the way it does, and use that energy to decide if the offer presented to you makes sense for you and your family. The offer is what it is, and the company uses specific formulas to determine the specific RAA payment made to employees from various payrolls.

Employees that got here before you would have been placed where there was availability. Perhaps there is no availability now and you are being offered whatever the company has available to you. In general, family status employees in GC-11 through GC-14 are offered the same basic types of housing. Also, it is common knowledge that employees from different payrolls are offered different types of housing.

Again, I suggest you focus your energy on the offer in your hand, and not on what others have been offered prior to your offer being made. Over time, benefits and housing availability change. Right now, housing is very limited. That is not a secret and has been discussed at length on this forum. You have to basically take what is offered, negotiate a counter-offer based on your qualifications or past salary or you always have the choice to decline the offer if it is too disappointing to you. No one is going to force you to come here to work if it doesn't work for you and your family.