Job Discussion Forums

[genericusername]

I just got an offer from AETC. What is it? Is it a government office or what?

The offer was very low, so I wrote back and told them they had to raise or I won't come.

[nomad soul]

Uh, they made you an offer, yet, you didn't interview with them? That's a red flag. But are you referring to AETG?

[genericusername]

Yes, sorry, AETG. No real interview, just one short phone call with some guy.

They only offered $33,000 plus 700 SAR transportation allowance. I don't like when they express the pay in USD but say they will pay in SAR because they can play games with the exchange rate thus reducing it below the already paltry amount. This is only a safe job waiting for another formal offer that I now have verbally that pays more than double this amount.

[nickelgoat]

.....

[scot47]

Al Faisal Academy !!! Renowned as an AWFUL place to be with very high turnover !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Westword]

I recently accepted an offer through AETG. Everything I heard from the recruiter sounded decent but stupidly I didn't research them before committing myself. Now that I'm doing research on the internet I'm realizing they have a really bad reputation. I actually fly to Riyadh next week so I'm very committed at this point. I have a 90 employment Visa. I'm wondering if it's possible to switch companies once in Riyadh, or am I pretty much beholden to AETG for as long as I'm in Saudi? Is there any particular advice anybody could give me on how to deal with challenging employers? Are there ways to switch employers if I find them to be UN-acceptable? I'm fairly easy going so, if it's not awful, I think I can swing it.

[nomad soul]

[genericusername]

Westward, it sounds like you don't have an "employment visa" but a 90 day business visa which is what they told me they would do. It other statements in this thread are true that if you work on a business visa you get no severance, that means you are not a legal employee under the Labour Law. Accordingly, if you leave during or after that visa, they can't claim that you broke the contract and a no objection letter would not be necessary because they are lying to the government by claiming you are not an employee but a contractor or business associate coming in to do some particular business. They will be held to that status of non-employee whether it hurts or helps them.

You will probably have to make a border run at some point to renew another business visa or leave and come back for your iqama. If you want to quit, would suggest that you get all of your pay before make a border run and don't come back. Companies that show no respect to their employees deserve none in return.

I have no knowledge of Saudi law, but I am a lawyer with extensive experience with UAE Labour Law and immigration.

[Westword]

I inquired about the status of my Visa on another thread and I'm quite sure I have the 90 day Employment Visa. So I got that going for me.

[hsm]

[laylow]

This place sounds horrible, however I am unemployed and am looking for something until I find a better position, which is why a business visa would suit me better. With such a visa, I could just stay there until I find something else or if I was unsuccessful in finding another position while in Saudi, I could just return home and not worry about the No Objection Certificate, thus return in maybe a couple more months or sooner. Does anyone know if they will only provide you with a business visa, if you so desire? And if not, at what point is it too late to avoid needing the No Objection Letter? The worst thing I want to occur is to have gotten in too deep and then decide I want to quit but have to wait until it has been a year to return to Saudi, because I know they, like most other employers will not allow you to go to another employer. They will most likely force you to wait until it has been a year to get another teaching position. Also, what is the discipline of the students like? Do they at least generally have respect for instructors or can it be a real nightmare in terms of student conflict? Thank you for any comments. Feel free to PM me.

[Sirens of Cyprus]

If you want to be sure you don't get in too deep, don't sign anything. Many, if not most, employers in the Middle East nowadays overbook teachers the way airlines do. They think nothing of reneging on a deal at the last minute, but if you try to back out after even signing an offer letter, you could end up on a blacklist, possibly permanently, depending on the wasta. They love it being made known what the consequenses could be if you back out, and they don't mind it being known that they reneg because they know Cambrigde University will provide them with fresh hoards of naive, grovelling CELTAs every year, and they probably also have a considerable oversupply of MAs.

[Azad]

They are not so bad. Just make sure you get a proper employment visa and try not to get too comfortable in one location as you will probably be relocated during your term

[cleverclogs]

Hi there,
I worked for AETG for over a year, and they are the worst employer in Saudi. Stay well away from them.
For starters, they are the lowest paying amongst all agencies. They have recently had a new guy as executive vice president who has brought in a lot of even more negative changes. They are all compulsive liars.
I will advise everyone to ask for a contract copy before signing anything, this is a standard procedure amongst other agencies, but AETG will never send you one.
They operate on a split-shift basis, you will be working 8-12 and 5-9pm there is no choice.
They have recently lost all the contracts with good universities of Saudi, and only have one or two contracts in the furthest corners of the country and they will send you there or threaten to sack you if you don't want to go.
They also refuse to pay people any housing allowances and will try to force you to live in their accommodation.
The first guy to watch out for is Salem, he is a recruitment manager, and will tell you what you want to hear. When you go to him for whatever he promised he will simply say, the company policy has now changed and there is nothing he can do to help. A friend of mine was personally told by the VP, called Ramzi, that don’t listen to anyone else they don’t know anything about company policies.
When I worked for them they broke every promise they ever made, the managers are called Salem, Suleman, Eesa, and the accountant is called Rifaat. He is actually the worst of them all. They will all tell you different lies and then refute each other.
Things to note in the contract: there will be a clause that if you leave in the middle of the contract, you will pay them one month’s wage, which is not normal practice. Also, you will not be paid housing allowance, they will make you live in their housing which at the moment is in a secluded place out of the city. They will also dock three days pay of you are absent for a day without reason (they will choose to accept or not to accept the reason you give them).
They will also keep two months pay if you want to leave the country for whatever reason other than your annual holiday, no other company will do this. I can go on forever. These are just the highlights to be honest. My advice is to just avoid them, ask around especially people who know anything about ESL in Saudi, and definitely don't sign on anything until you get a copy of the contract.
I had heard bad things, but went ahead thinking it’s just internet negativity, but they turned out to be worse than I heard.



BEWARE - THEY DON'T HAVE ANY CONTRACTS WITH PNU
THEY DON'T PAY WOMEN HOUSING ALLOWANCE, EVER
THEY LIE ABOUT EVERYTHING
THEY WILL NEVER BRING YOUR FAMILY OVER
THEY CAN LITERALLY GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING

DON'T EVEN GET YOURSELF INTO THIS UNSTABLE/DODGY COMPANY TO TEST THE WATERS