Job Discussion Forums

[Cleopatra]

[Sleepwalker]

Hi

Just had a phone interview with a KSA organisation.

When I asked about housing, they offered shared housing in apartments.

I said that it wasn't a situation I was comfortable with, they replied that it was a legal requirement for women.

Is this true?

Any information appreciated.

[johnslat]

Dear Sleepwalker,

In short, baloney. It's NOT!!!!

Regards,
John

[Stephen Jones]

After the AL-Khobar bombings they did start insisting compounds that housed westerners had certain security (going as far as armored cars and gun towers in some cases).

On the other hand there is no regulation that stops westerners living where they want in Saudi (apart from Makkah and Madinah if non-Muslim). It is common to try and designate blocks, or even whole areas as for families only, but this is often a regulation more breached than followed (particularly when there is a shortage of tenants). Single women certainly shouldn't have problems in going into accommodation officially reserved for families.

There are a lot of half-observed or totally ignored regulations in Saudi. However the fact that employers are only ever coming up with ones to their advantage, plus the fact that there are a fair number of palpable untruths being spread, such as the one sleepwalker remarked on, or the mythical postponement of all university classes for a month, suggest you'd do best to check up on anything you hear from your employer, and if you do find out he's been telling porkies, then consider whether you really want to work for him or not.

[scot47]

"Porkies" ? In KSA ? SURELY NOT !

[eclectic]

its a tofu-based substitute.

[tacomaboywa]

In most cases, you have the legal right to choose your housing. That's why most contracts include a housing allowance. Sometimes you have to choose between the housing provided and the housing allowance. Sometimes it is worthwhile to find your own housing that is a bit cheaper than your allowance and keep the difference.

[Stephen Jones]

[tacomaboywa]

[Bebsi]

Why do so many people assume that being on a compound is safer?

Look at it this way: you are a terrorist with a desire to hit a big, high profile target. Would you aim at Joe Bloggs living alone in a neighborhood with loads of Arabs, or target an area with a high concentration of westerners, i.e. a compound? Hmmmmm...

Of course, you would not be able to actually get them, because of guns and armored cars at the gate, right? I mean, when you're on a suicide mission, you'd really worry about not being able to escape, yes?

And waiting for buses and cars to emerge so you could hit them outside would not be fair play, right?

Incidentally, no, there isn't any legal obligation to keep westerners on compounds. However, there's no doubt that many of them are cashing in on a certain degree of paranoia. Since 2004, most compounds have doubled their rates.

Gee, if I owned a compound in Saudi Arabia, I think I would stage a 'failed attack' every few months, and then hit with a 50% increase each time.

Any compounds going cheap?

[johnslat]

Dear Bepsi.

I never assumed that, and I never lived on a compound, a situation that began to look increasingly favorable when the bombings started in 2003.

To quote an old saying: "Scatter - one grenade will get us all."

Regards,
John

[Cleopatra]

[scot47]

Shared accommodation compulsory ? B.......S............... This is a decision by the employer and is a cost-cutting exercise.

Surprising which employers require you to share. BAe is (was ?) one of them.