Job Discussion Forums

[08mansoor]

Hello,
So my company requires all staff members to provide a doctors note to clear us for any days missed. Is this common in Saudi Arabia? I really tried to avoid the doctors in KSA, or in the US, for any minor illnesses like dealing with a cold, or flu like symptoms, etc. When I visited the local clinic, I had to wait over three hours and get a prescription that the pharmacist had already prescribed. On top of that the local clinic claims that they could only provide a sick 1 day leave, while the doctor told me to rest for the next three to five days to get over the hump. Overall lengthy process to get cleared for a sick day. Any feedback would be great. Thanks in advance!

[CANDLES]

Yes it is. Unlike the Western world where 3 days is the norm before getting a medical certificate.

In KSA the doctors give 3 days medical certificate (personal experience) for aches, flu's etc. Of course major issues are dealt with differently.

[nomad soul]

[jaffa]

It's one day because otherwise you'd have every Saudi and his camel lining up out of the hospital doors wanting a 5 day sick note for every cough and splutter.

When I got poisoned from an insect bite, my boss said teach in the morning then you can go home. I did squeeze one day out of the doctor

[sicklyman]

I heard a rumour that a doctor's note is only required if you don't actually report for work due to illness. But if you report and then bow out at, say, morning break because you're feeling grim and need to go to "see a doctor" then a note is not required.

Anyone got any experience to back this up?

[scot47]

Doctor's chitty required from Day One by most employers.

[veiledsentiments]

That seems a detail in Saudi... but in Oman, the UAE, and Kuwait, it was never even suggested. In my years in the Gulf, I never had to provide a doctor's note... and I find the idea of going to the doctor for 99.999% of sicknesses causing a day or two of work loss to be ridiculous and useless.

Wouldn't go to a doctor for a bug in the US and certainly wouldn't overseas...

VS

[rollingk]

Right VS. And if you've a medical condition that actually needs a procedure, leave. I didn't and as a result have logged in almost 3 months of sick leave as a result of a botched surgical procedure. And when things go horribly wrong here, you have no real recourse. It follows then that things go wrong with a frightening frequency.

[scot47]

Not for me, Al-hamdulillah. I had a quadruple by-pass in Saad Hospital in 2004. I am fine ! It cost me 50SR with the insurance picking up the rest of the cost. It saved my life. An Egyptian doctor in Jeddah told me a year prior to that that I was suffering from indigestion ! That was the most dramatic medical treatment I had, but not the only one.

The private health insurance that was available to KFUPM teachers is a thing of the past now. They either pay out of their own resources or rely on the University Teaching Hospital for major treatment.

[rollingk]

Good for you Scot. You're a lucky one. I've talked with so many people with horror stories, and even the head of the orthopedic surgery department at the hospital asked me why I thought things would be any different inside a hospital as opposed to outside. That was an eye opener. I was very angry, but mostly I felt embarrassingly foolish to have permitted them to put a knife to me here. The hospital, by the way, is a well known, private (and expensive) one with branches in 3 or 4 cities in KSA.

Because of the mess they made of my leg, I'll have to have it re-broken so as to have it properly set as soon as the outlandishly huge incision has healed enough to provide sufficient blood flow to the region of the fracture. The hospital charged my insurance company for putting a plate in, for doing a bone graft and other procedures they didn't do, but should have, as these were part of the agreed upon surgical plan. The hospital still awaits payment from the insurance company of that false, outlandish bill; the hospital, despite having assured me of withdrawing it, has not.

All the medical director of the hospital could say was that the surgeon would be punished. The end. The hospital refused any accountability, despite admitting the gross error of their surgeon.

When it became obvious that a couple of local doctors that comprised a "team" representing the insurance company were on the dole and would be no help whatsoever in forcing the hospital to take responsibility, my health insurance provider flew me out of KSA to the US for a proper evaluation. Before they agreed to do this my employer had set into motion organizing an emergency evacuation. That's my story of health care in KSA.

The generals, colonels, captains, etc. I spoke with showed no surprise whatsoever at what had transpired with me. In fact, they had stories of their own of relatives and friends to relate. They wondered why I'd have had anything done here in the first place. Stupidity is why, and I've learned a very humbling lesson.

As a trainer for the military, I get danger pay for working here. And believe you me, that doesn't begin to cover all the dangers of working here.

[scot47]

I had my by-pass at the same as Bill Clinton had his. He had to get his done again. Mine is still okay - ten years down the line. Thanks to the team at Al Saad Hospital !

[veiledsentiments]

Sorry for your surgical problems rollingk, but we were talking about medical visits for those minor bugs that one might miss a day or two of work now and then... like the sniffles, a sore throat, or a night of stomach flu... that keeps one awake all night and in no condition to teach (not to mention probably contagious)

I find it ridiculous to require a doctor visit for such trivialities.

VS

[veiledsentiments]

[plumpy nut]

[rollingk]