Job Discussion Forums

[BabyBird]

Hello all!

I have accepted an offer at a uni, and one of the stipulations in the contract is that I am not allowed to take part time/additional tutoring outside of my employer.

Is this common? I ask because I am currently working remotely for a company based in the U.S., and I had every intention of continuing to work with them even though I'll be in Saudi. Does the "no side work" rule apply specifically to KSA institutions for visa purposes? I'm planning to maintain this work via internet,just wondering if other's have experienced this. What are the consequences of keeping online side work, if any?

[I-forgot]

It is a common clause. It is also a commonly ignored clause.

At a guess, I would say 30-40% of teachers that I know do extra tutoring in the Kingdom.

[scot47]

"Don't ask. Don't tell."

[nomad soul]

You should be fine working remotely. My understanding is that this restriction applies to working for more than one Saudi sponsor or for yourself within KSA.

[jaffa]

Jut keep it quiet, even to people you view as friends. If there's money involved, for sure there will be jealousy involved.

During my 2nd stint in KSA my students were adults (WAY easier to teach) and they quite often asked if I'd teach their kids in the evenings. To get out of it I told them I wasn't allowed to, which was true but they didn't really go along with mainly because most of them were in the same boat yet had financial sidelines like cake shops, cement companies, herds of camels or just drove unofficial taxis.

One student in his late 50s had made a fortune from delivering sand to construction sites - all Saudi sand belongs to the King so you need special permission/wasta to sell it, which he had. But he got round the illegal 2nd job clause in his contract by registering the business in his son's name. His son was 7 years old at the time

Cool guy who saw the English courses as some sort of social get-together and his wife/maid was damn good at making cakes which he always treated us to during breaks.

I was doing freelance journalism on the side, more as a hobby than for financial gain. When people found out, I said I did it for free, which they didn't believe a word of, although on this basis I did nearly get transferred to the PR department to write copy but that got vetoed by my boss.

Keep quiet about it. There will be opportunities.

[2buckets]

Get paid upfront.

The Saudis are not known for paying their bills on time, if ever.