United Arab Emirates
Serving UAE clients from the UK
We are a UK company working remotely for clients in the United Arab Emirates, quoted in AED or USD and scheduled around Gulf time. The UAE is a straightforward market to work with in practical terms - English, no FX risk, a real appetite for delivery - but there are two things that catch people out: the data protection law, and the fact that contracting inside a financial free zone is governed by a different legal system from contracting anywhere else in the country.
- Currency
- AEDQuoted in AED or USD. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so there is no exchange rate risk.
- Our working hours
- UTC+43-4 hours with UK hours. A UAE morning call is a UK early afternoon.
- Local weekend
- Saturday and Sunday (changed from Friday-Saturday in 2022)We work UK hours, Monday to Friday
- On-site meetings
- United Kingdom and Saudi ArabiaWorldwide, scheduled around your working day
UAE PDPL, and cross-border transfer conditions
The UAE's Personal Data Protection Law is Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, enforced by the UAE Data Office. It is significantly broader than GDPR in one respect and narrower in others: it covers a wider range of data, including some categories GDPR treats more narrowly, while the legal basis structure is closer to consent-and-legitimate-interest than the GDPR's six-basis model.
For a UK supplier working for a UAE client, the operational point is the cross-border transfer regime. Transfers outside the UAE require either an adequate level of protection in the destination, or informed consent, with additional conditions for special categories. Some sectors carry additional local-storage requirements. We document what we process, where it is processed and on what basis, and we will tell you before we route any data outside the jurisdiction.
- UAE PDPL-aligned processing, with consent and legitimate interest handled explicitly
- Documented cross-border transfer assessment for any data leaving the UAE
- Special category data handled under the additional conditions the law requires
- Breach notification process aligned to the UAE Data Office's requirements and timelines
DIFC, ADGM and mainland are different legal systems
This is the thing that most surprises suppliers new to the region. DIFC (Dubai) and ADGM (Abu Dhabi) operate as common-law financial free zones with their own courts and their own legal frameworks. A contract executed under DIFC law is not the same as one under UAE federal law, and the two courts are distinct.
If your entity sits in a free zone, we agree the governing law and forum up front rather than discovering the mismatch during a dispute, and we will work with your local counsel on the wording. We are a technology supplier and we are not offering UAE legal advice - but we will make sure the technical contract does not accidentally end up in the wrong legal system.
- Governing law and forum agreed in writing before work starts
- Free-zone and mainland entities treated as different contracting contexts
- We work alongside your UAE counsel on the commercial wording
- IP assignment written to be enforceable in the chosen jurisdiction
AED, VAT and why there is no currency risk
The UAE dirham has been pegged to the US dollar at 3.6725 since 1997 and has been one of the most stable pegs in the world, so there is no meaningful FX exposure on an AED contract. We quote in AED or USD - your choice, whichever matches your procurement.
UAE VAT is 5% and applies broadly, unlike the UK's 20%. Your entity may be in a VAT registration group with your UAE customers, which is worth checking before the first invoice.
- AED or USD quoting at your preference, pegged rate so no FX risk
- UAE VAT at 5% where applicable - check your group position
- Invoiced to your UAE entity and, where relevant, your TRN
- Fixed-price sprints, 30-day exit, code and infrastructure in your accounts
Working with a Saturday-Sunday week
The UAE moved to a Saturday-Sunday weekend in 2022, and this is a frequent source of confusion in scheduling across time zones. It means the UAE working week overlaps UK hours for roughly three to four hours - a UAE morning is a UK early afternoon - which is enough to run every scheduled session comfortably.
We do not work a UAE Friday. If we promise a response time, it is in our hours, not yours, and we say so rather than implying we are available around the clock.
What we do
Services available in this market
Web Development
Marketing sites, web apps and internal tools built to load fast, rank well and stay easy to change.
Learn moreMobile Apps
Native and cross-platform apps for iOS and Android, built once and shipped to both stores.
Learn moreE-commerce Solutions
Storefronts, checkouts and payment integrations designed to convert and easy to run day to day.
Learn moreCloud Solutions
Infrastructure, migrations and cost control on AWS, Azure and GCP — sized for your traffic, not a vendor's revenue.
Learn moreAPI Development
REST and GraphQL APIs, webhooks and third-party integrations that hold up when the systems around them change.
Learn moreCybersecurity
Security audits, hardening and compliance preparation for UK and international businesses — practical fixes, not a 90-page PDF.
Learn moreAI & Automation
LLM chatbots, document processing and workflow automation that save real hours — grounded in your data, evaluated, and cost-capped.
Learn moreBug Fixes & Code Rescue
Bring us the project your last agency abandoned. Contained fixes from £1,000, diagnosed properly and handed over documented.
Learn more
Questions
Working with us from United Arab Emirates
That is a question for your UAE counsel and we will not answer it as legal advice. What we will do is make sure it is decided explicitly before work starts rather than inherited from a template, and that the IP assignment and warranty wording are drafted to be enforceable in whichever jurisdiction you choose. If your entity is in DIFC or ADGM, that is a materially different legal system from mainland UAE and your counsel should be involved from the start.
Wherever you tell us it should be, and we will document the choice rather than defaulting. We will tell you before any data leaves the jurisdiction, what the legal basis is, and whether your provider's transfer conditions are met - the UAE PDPL requires an assessment or consent for cross-border transfers, and some sectors carry additional local-storage requirements.
Yes. Gulf Standard Time is UTC+4, which gives us roughly a three to four hour overlap with UK working hours - a UAE morning call is a UK early afternoon. Note the weekend is Saturday and Sunday, not Thursday and Friday, and we do not work a Friday.
Company
- Legal entity
- QUORIX CONSULTING LTD
- Registered office
- 33 Bedford Road
Northampton, NN7 1DR - Also registered in
- England and Wales (16087333); Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (7053540790)
- Can invoice in
- GBP, USD, CAD, AUD, AED, SAR
- Response time
- Within one UK business day
Our working day is UK hours. We schedule calls into your overlap and keep everything else asynchronous, rather than implying we are available around the clock.
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