Job Discussion Forums

I-forgot · Joined: 28 Jun 2015 Posts: 153 Location: Riyadh

KSU does not hire English teachers directly. They use contracting companies.

To be very clear - there is no direct hire at KSU in the PY English program.

As for the rest of the questions, in no particular order.......

You will probably be on the Diriyah campus. Google a map of Riyadh and look to the west of the city. It is quite easy to see on the map - it's the big, sprawling construction site.

It would not be difficult to find an apartment in the area.

You can apply to bring your family over as soon as your iqama. That should take no longer than 3 months.

You should be paid from the date of arrival in Saudi Arabia, not the date they decide to send you to the university.

Al Hussan will book your plane ticket for you. They will reimburse the visa processing fees.

Your first day will probably be more of a 'first night'. You will probably arrive late eveing or in the early hours of the morning. You will follow the hoards of people to immigration and join the queue on the left hand side (first entry). The other queues are for thise people on reentry visas of with GCC passports. As bad as this appears, it is better and quicker than the old system!

A driver will meet you and take you to your accomodation. Assuming you don't arrive on a Thursday evening/Friday morning, they will collect you the next day and take you to the company office and you will sign another contract and submit paperwork etc. They will then tell you when to report to the KSU campus.

KSU is not as generous with holidays as other universities. They run a summer school program so expect a one month holiday in the summer. You will be given time off for both Eid holidays and for the break between semesrs in January. You will not be given a break during the second semester - that is considered PD week which is filled with fun activities to improve your teaching and your bonds with colleagues. Ha! I wrote all of that with a straight face!

hash · Joined: 17 Dec 2014 Posts: 456 Location: Wadi Jinn

I-forgot · Joined: 28 Jun 2015 Posts: 153 Location: Riyadh

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

LOL You can edit... just hit the button in the upper right corner of your post.

VS

halebob · Joined: 03 Jun 2015 Posts: 31 Location: uk

Al Hussan has a building about 10 mins walk from Granada Mall in the East of of the city. It is for women and married couples with or without children. Although, there are single men living there.
Depending on availability, you will be given an apartment. I moved into a studio and then into a bigger one before my husband arrived.
The building has a small pool and some gym equipment in the basement.

If there is no space they will most likely put you in a hotel apartment across the road until an apartment becomes available or you choose to take the allowance.
If you choose to take the allowance, you will receive 3000 SAR per month with 1000 SAR transport allowance.

The company provides transport if you decide not to get a car. Some of the male teachers do use the company bus. The male Campus is closer than Olaysha where the ladies are based. As for the management at Diriyah, I can't really comment as I don't work there.

I paid for my own flight as my visa came through very quickly and they wanted me over as soon as possible. I submitted my receipts for that and my visa when I arrived and I had my reimbursement within 2 weeks. This is not the same for everyone though. I was very lucky as I received my money and my iqama within 2 weeks of arriving. However, other people waited 4-8 weeks.

When you arrive also depends on when you get paid. I arrived on the 14th August just before the cut off date, which I believe is the 15th of each month, so I received my salary from the date I arrived on the the 1st September. Some friends arrived on 17th August and had to wait until the 1st of October to get paid.

I started applying for my husband's visa as soon as I got my iqama, you don't need to wait the 90 days. I was going to apply for the Istiqdam (which gives your spouse an iqama and the company will pay for flights and medical insurance), but this process can take a loooooong time and we decided that a family visit visa would be best. Generally, this process is really quick, but mine took 2 months due to errors with the application. The application is all in Arabic, so I had to get someone from Al Hussan to complete it for me. Having a visit visa means your spouse cannot work or leave KSA. If they leave the country, they will have to return to their home country and you'll have to reapply. The visa lasts for 90 days, but can be easily renewed online for another 90 days.

As stated, we have fewer holidays than other Universities. You are entitled to 30 days holiday from the company which people use in either June or July while summer school is on. I expect the teachers who are just arriving will work both months though, but there are holidays for Eid between 30th June and 10th July.

If you have any questions, just ask and I'll try my best to answer.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

Hi, halebob. Glad to hear it worked out for you in terms of getting your hubby in country. It sounds like Al Hussan is being more attentive to the teachers' needs.

paul.conlong · Joined: 31 Mar 2015 Posts: 84 Location: Rochdale, UK

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

You need to look at the wording in the contract for this. It is normally 30 calendar days, not 30 working days.

VS

halebob · Joined: 03 Jun 2015 Posts: 31 Location: uk

veiledsentiments is correct, it's 30 calendar days. We thought it would be working days too, but sadly, it's not.

nellyp · Joined: 29 Mar 2015 Posts: 58

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

I-forgot · Joined: 28 Jun 2015 Posts: 153 Location: Riyadh

[quote="nomad soul"]
That's to be expected since contracting companies are for-profit businesses. Contrast that with direct-hire holiday benefits which pay teachers for those 60 days [i]prior[/i] to leaving on their summer break.[/quote]

Actually, Princess Norah University do not pay in advance of the summer holiday.

In 2014 (and I think also 2015) teachers left for the vacation in early June and returned in mid to late August. Some people received a pay cheque in June but many had to survive from the end of May until November without a pay cheque. Various excuses were given for this, none of which were remotely appropriate or professional. I think it affected fewer people in 2015. It was a major issue for a lot of people in 2014.

mrpianoman · Joined: 27 Mar 2016 Posts: 171

I was scheduled to meet KSU reps for a job last month in the UK but I couldn't go cos I was teaching in Italy. Now I'm jobless cos of this dirty company so I wish I had gone to the interview now. I think they don't pay that much though from what the recruiter said, about 12500sar I think.