Job Discussion Forums

[dorothy1]

Beware of Globenet Oman! They will demand you to surrender your passports. Do not do it. Globenet's outrageous demand is clearly against Omani law: Royal Decree 35/2003 (April 26, 2003) and a Ministry of Manpower decision on November 6, 2006. Read this excellent article on the topic of private companies and expatriate passorts in Muscat Daily:

http://www.muscatdaily.com/Archive/Oman/It-s-like-being-blackmailed-it-s-embarrassing-insulting

Globenet is currently in hot water over this issue - and many others. It is long overdue.

Thanks to Mr. Dave Sperling for allowing this public service post. Much appreciated.

[veiledsentiments]

This will continue to be an issue as long as employers are responsible for all employee debts if they abscond. They do have a point in controlling their employees' ability to leave the country.

The key is your employer. My last employer in Oman held our passports and it was exactly zero problem. If I needed it... say a spur of the moment decision to head to Dubai on Wednesday afternoon, all I had to do was stop on my way out, ask for it, and I was out the door in the time it took them to open the safe and hand it to me. And, they never took my labor card...

VS

[Middle East Beast]

From the link:

The Ministry sees the passport of an employee as the property of an individual that represents his national identity and no company has the right to retain the same for any purpose unless the employee gives it on his 'own free will and not induced by persuasion or coercion�, Salim Al Badi, Director General, Labour Care, Ministry of Manpower told the Observer, quoting the ministerial decision.

If it's against Omani law, then it's against Omani law. The companies have no valid excuse, and no point.

What's the point of the decree if companies can still do what they want?

MEB

[veiledsentiments]

Um... MEB... have you been out of the Middle East too long? Are you forgetting reality versus laws?

As I recall, it is also against the law for employers in Saudi to hold passports.

That said, Oman is pretty good about following its own laws, and I suspect that my ex-employer no longer holds passports... at least of teachers.

VS

[Middle East Beast]

No, I understand that well, VS. I'm not completely nuts!

I just wanted to make the point that they have no point if it's illegal.

What they do is what they do. It's up to the government to enforce the law, and it's up to the employee to challenge the employer (or not).

MEB

[usa_in_gulf]

[veiledsentiments]

[Sleepwalker]

The sponsor is responsible for debts. That's why they give the bank a letter saying that they will pay final gratuity to the bank and the level of a loan is normally tied to the gratuity level.

That being said, there is no reason to hold on to the passport as the bank will have the money.

[usa_in_gulf]

When expats want to take personal loans, car loans, credit cards�or whatever---there are two popular ways that banks like to guarantee those loans. One way is to have the company that they person works for to be on the banks �approved company� list. A company gets on the �approved list� by agreeing to a few things with the bank---one, that they will not stop depositing the employee�s salary to that particular bank unless there is a clearance paper from that bank�and two, that if the employee does not clear all bank debt prior to leaving the country that the employer will deposit any earned indemnity in the employee�s account. (Some banks, like HSBC Oman, do not have an approved company list but ask for a paper stating similar conditions to the above prior to making loans to expats.)

A second way that numerous banks use is to have a non-expat co-signer who has their salary deposited to the bank.

The above procedures are ways that banks guarantee their loans AND employers help their employee take advantage of bank products. Banks do not usually give expats personal loans exceeding their earned indemnity--HSBC Oman was an exception--because the agreement is for companies to deposit the employee�s indemnity�not for companies to be responsible for the employee�s debt. Employers ask for the bank clearance paper to see if they give the bank or the employee the indemnity.

Companies are not responsible for employee debts. Some companies will assist their employee�s in supplying a salary transfer statement as mentioned above.

I would have to guess that a lot of companies would be out of business if they were responsible for employee debts. We all know of expat teachers who take off and leave a ton of debt behind. There was a brother-sister team, and a third teacher, in Ibri, a year or so ago, who all left/ran away owing huge debt. (The brother claimed he had stomach cancer and had to go to India, or some other eastern country for treatment. Much to everyone surprise, a week or so after leaving, he submitted his CV to one of my husband�s companies in Kuwait. He was in perfect health and teaching in Vietnam. He simply ran away.) They all had taken out huge amount of debt from HSBC Oman. All took loans for 8500 OR, each had two credit cards�one with 1100 OR limit, the other with a 2200 OR limit, and car loans. The brother-sister team were Globnet employees and the third teacher was an Al Nawa employee. Surprise, surprise�HSBC Oman has drastically tightened the requirements for expats to get a loan, etc.

My husband owns, and operates, companies here in Oman and other GCC countries.

[veiledsentiments]

[usa_in_gulf]

veiledsentiments wrote: