Job Discussion Forums

shibainu69 · Joined: 08 May 2010 Posts: 86

MIght be going to work with them can anyone who has been working with them let me know what they are like?
From previous posts they seem pretty bd but what are they like now 2010?
pm if you prefer

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

Don't assume that they will change as they are what they are and the system is what it is. Some people get along well enough... teach their classes and take their pay and move on after a year or two. Others decamp quickly because they can't cope with either the system or living in the smaller places in Oman.

All of these recruiters are pretty much the same... if you have low expectations and are tolerant of some ambiguity, iffy management, and are able to go with the flow, these are jobs that one can use to get into the Gulf and have something to put on your CV. Many use them just because they want to experience Oman.

VS

shibainu69 · Joined: 08 May 2010 Posts: 86

I kind of want specifics though for the COT in Salalah, what's it like and whats the Bahwan Contract like?

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

Now if only Duffy were around. He knows Salalah... but he hasn't been around for a few days so he may be traveling.

The contracts are pretty standard among the recruiters and much of it is controlled by Omani employment law. Teachers in Oman are all hitting or have already hit the road for the summer right now...

VS

shibainu69 · Joined: 08 May 2010 Posts: 86

basically all I want to know is, do they pay on time?
do they give you summer holiday paid, breaks between semesters paid and national holidays paid?
are there any really stupid things in the contract i.e. petty stuff just to keep you controlled?
I'd much rather go direct but I only have Nizwa so far direct and much prefer salalah's location. Nizwa is paying 1750 all in and Bahwan 1300 well in reality they pay 1400 but 100 is for flight allowance don't really know how it works so money wise its better but in Japan I had to deal with dreaded dispatch companies when I first started there not recruiters as such they were worse as they'd just take a cut all year round and screw you over any opportunity they had.

abayawearer · Joined: 20 May 2010 Posts: 32

Avoid Bahwan. They won't give you a contract until you are there, and then you'll discover they left out some details, such as the amount of time/$$ you must give to get out of a contract early if you must. I know for a fact one agency does give contracts to teachers-to-be BEFORE they get on planes and fly to Oman. Bahwan gives only an offer letter. And one more thing about Bahwan--they will give you a contract that allows them to cut you with only 1 month's notice. You must give them 3 months' notice, but they will give you only 1 month's notice if the contract is to be terminated (it rarely is).

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

As I have said before, offer letters have always been the norm in Oman. Nor do I find it a big deal that you have to give them 3 months notice to leave. Every contract that I ever had from one end of the Gulf to the other required 6 months or a full semester. IMHO people shouldn't take a job without the intention to fulfill a contract. These are only one year contracts for heaven's sake... most Gulf contracts outside of Saudi are for 2-3 years and require 6 month's notice.

I have never heard of any employer NOT paying holidays. If your contract says that you are paid say... 1000 OR a month... that is the amount that you are paid, whether there are classes meeting or not... Omani holidays or not. I suspect that this is in the labor law.

Nor is it a surprise that the contract allows them to pretty much terminate you at will... just like in America. Laughing

If you do something totally stupid, like come to class drunk or hit on a female student or get in a fistfight in the teacher's room, you can be on the plane and out within a couple days.

You didn't answer the OP's main question. Do they pay you what they said they would... on time? To many people that is more important than notice time for quitting.

VS

abayawearer · Joined: 20 May 2010 Posts: 32

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

No that doesn't answer the question at all. You are merely posting your opinion - which as far as I have seen is based mainly on the fact that you want to be able to dump your employer with only 30 days notice. He is an adult who wants to gather the facts and make his own decisions.

The OP said, "basically all I want to know is, do they pay on time?"

So did they pay you what they said that they would... on time? Or are you just afraid that you may have to say something positive about them?

VS

abayawearer · Joined: 20 May 2010 Posts: 32

And that little bell again goes off. That ding that tells the commentators here that somebody has posted something too close to the truth they don't approve of. Like Bahwan's 3-month-notice requirement.

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

usa_in_gulf · Joined: 10 Aug 2009 Posts: 133 Location: Gulf

shibainu69 wrote:

shibainu69 · Joined: 08 May 2010 Posts: 86

oh whoops nizwa isn't paying 1750 or it'd be a no brainer they are paying 1175 all up plus flights. Bahwan is offering 1400 but 100 of that covers the return flight I think?
Any one with experience of the two places Nizwa University of Salalah COT, I much prefer Salalah's location, beach, waves, a mall more shops than Nizwa etc..
Work hours are more like 35 at the COT but only 26 at Nizwa U but COT has better holidays, so not sure which to take.

usa_in_gulf · Joined: 10 Aug 2009 Posts: 133 Location: Gulf

COT teaching hours are no more than 20 --- yes, you need to be at work 35 hours.

Personally, I prefer Salalah much more than Nizwa--more "life"--more culture, etc..............

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

I would guess that the hours are pretty similar. Gulf education employers seem to think that they should be able to see our shining faces all day... unlike what we are used to back home of only showing up for office/contact hours. So, the usual, at even the top level employers is to be there 35-40 hours a week. Contact hours Gulf-wide range from 15-25 with 20 getting to be the norm and the lower range of 15-18 getting rarer and rarer.

Salalah has the beaches, but I would prefer the lower humidity and proximity to Muscat of Nizwa. One advantage to UoN is that it is direct hire with no recruiter middle man. They all have their individual management beefs and UoN has had its problems this year... analyze the pay offers carefully as to what is and isn't offered. (such as make sure that their "ticket allowance" will cover the cost of your flight home)

Good Luck whichever you choose!

VS