Job Discussion Forums

[roxanne689]

I am a current employee with AlHussan. I would highly recommend that you do not sign a contract with AlHussan. They are forcing single female teachers and male teachers to live in the same building which is completely against Saudi law. We have been told since April that the men would move out but it is now August and they've only moved in more male teachers. Female teachers are not allowed to use the ground floor rec area after the men come home which happens to be the same time the female teachers get home. This wouldn't be so bad but the teachers are not provided with TV or internet so there is pretty much nothing to do unless you go out and spend money. The HR person in charge of the teachers, does absolutely nothing to help any of the female teachers with anything. They are constantly told lies about getting wifi and having the roach infestation cleared away. He has also told the female teachers that it is company policy to hold their passports which is yet another lie. They also do not pay on time and will ignore your emails regarding anything and everything. It is common knowledge that it takes forever to get anything done in this country but AlHussan takes it to another level. If you want a constant headache in your life and enjoy being lied to, than sign with AlHussan, but there are much better companies in K.S.A. that treat their teachers better and actually care about their well being.

As for the interview process, not a single teacher is told this, but once you arrive, you will have to do another interview with the actual university. The interview process involves a demo lesson, a speaking interview and a writing interview. It could be weeks before you hear anything from them about this interview. I have known teachers who arrive here only to wait weeks before their demo lesson. If they are not satisfied with your interview than you will be sent back to your home country. Just because you had a phone interview, does not mean you are guaranteed a job.

[nomad soul]

[scot47]

She is being held against her will ?

[Cletus]

Welcome to The Magic Kingdom!

[I-forgot]

Reasons she is still employed:

- A (rare) sense of professionalism prevents 'doing a runner'
- Easier to wait out the contract than try to leave without 'doing a runner'
- Needs the money from the contract
- Doesn't have an alternative lined up yet
- Likes Saudi but not the company she works for

I'm sure I could come up with a few more possibilities.

Roxanne - you described the second interview process. As of last August, this seems to be common practice across the contracting companies. I think the universites were appalled by the standard of teachers they were sent during the 2013-14 academic year and started doing secondary interviews in 2014-15. And, of course, once one university starts, they all have to do it!

Should anyone else encounter this, please note that you are employed by the contracting company and they are obliged to pay you from the moment you arrive in KSA regardless of whether or not they can find a placement for you.

[nomad soul]

I suspect she and the others are on business visit visas. If that's the case, they're currently not legally employed nor bound by any so-called employment contracts, which also means they have no legal recourse against this company.

[I-forgot]

Actually, I would have guessed work/residency visa with an iqama if the company is holding passports. It makes it more difficult to leave.

The companies that hold passports tend to trade them for iqamas - in other words, you can have one or other in your possession but not both.

[Captain Willard]

Employees should be paid from the first day of arrival in KSA. Unless the teacher is direct hire, (now rare) the contract is with the employer, not the university (directly). If the university is unwilling to employ the teacher, it is Al Hussan's problem to find another place for the teacher to work. Al Hussan is still obligated to pay the teacher, even if they don't have a teaching assignment for their employee.

If the teacher has a valid work visa and permit (the iquama) there is the possibility of going to court. (It is frequently more trouble than it is worth.) If the teacher is working on business/visit visa, there is no legal recourse. It is technically illegal (but common) for Western teachers to work on a business/visit visa. That option works as a "gentlemen's agreement" between the parties, and the employer has no right to touch the teacher's passport, or prevent the teacher from exiting the Golden Sandbox at anytime. Not paying from the date of arrival is against that agreement and should be well publicized. Not paying on time is another black mark against the employers reputation.

As long as the teachers aren't cohabiting, I don't know that it is against Saudi law to have separate apartments in the same building. I know that my former employer did the same thing and no one complained. Most Westerners would, in fact, prefer this arrangement. If the building qualifies as a compound, (only Westerners with a wall around it with a gate and a security guard,) the rules may be different and the mutawa may not be summoned.

[plumpy nut]

[nomad soul]

Keep in mind, the OP wrote from the perspective of how the female teachers are treated by this company, which could differ from the men's experience. As for the mixed accommodation, I can understand how some women would find it unsettling.

[sicklyman]

[Captain Willard]

A passport is the property of the government that issued it, and not that of its bearer. (See Bobby Fischer's experience leaving Japan.) For its official purpose, international travel, it works between national governments. Even in KSA, employers have no right to hold an employee's passport. The nation that issued the passport can demand that it be returned to it, or the bearer, at anytime. How assertive different consulates are can vary. Nations spend millions for security of passport data and to prevent forgery. Allowing an employer to hold passports because they like to do so frustrates the interests of the issuing country, as well as the bearer.

[halebob]

I read on one of the other threads that someone contacted the UK embassy and they wrote a strongly worded letter to the employer demanding it be returned.

[veiledsentiments]

Many employers have no problem with just tossing such letters in the bin... and ignore... and there is nothing that the embassy can or will do about it.

VS

[johnslat]

Especially if the employers have big wasta, In my experience, depending upon any effective help from one's embassy is a pipe dream.

The embassy is there for political and business purposes; looking after the concerns of individual expats there is very, very low on its list of priorities, if, indeed, that even makes the list.

Regards,
John