Job Discussion Forums

[mishmumkin]

Even when the law did not include a 6 mos. ban, friends of mine in the HCT group still had to get a No Objection Certificate from all their previous employers in the UAE. We're thinking about working our way BACK to the UAE, but I'm wondering if HCT will want those letters from my former UAE employers, despite being 3 and 4 years on. Thoughts?

[kiefer]

(steps out from the shadowy alley) maybe it's time for a passport wash (steps back into the shadowy alley)

[mishmumkin]

[Gauguin]

Re LNO,

Mishmumkin,

I've just spoken to the personal bod here at a secret HCT location 90 miles north of Dubai and she said that if you have left the UAE and your original visa was cancelled then you do not need a letter of no objection.

If you wish to PM me with a real contact email I will pass it onto her and you can question away until your heart's content.

HCT is recruiting, it's official!

Gauguin

[mishmumkin]

That's great info. What's interesting, a friend of mine worked for an international school, later a small university, and then finally got into HCT. She had to get LNOs for both former employers despite despite the 3 years that had passed since her leaving the first job. Could this vary from college to college?

[redsoxman]

Does HCT have a fire to hire agenda like QU? Been here 3 months now and haven't heard of anything but just wondering. How do people get notified of non-renewal? Is it above board or backhanded?

Anyone know???

[helenl]

In the December before your contract expires, you will be asked to sign a letter as to whether you are interested in having your contract renewed or if you will be finished at the end of June.

Supposedly, if you indicate interest in a new contract, you will be advised (sometimes you have an "interview" - which at some colleges means the director will dangle the possibility of a new contract before you without actually making a commitment as to whether you are actually wanted) sometime between the December submission of your letter (usually around the 20th of Dec) and advising you of renewal or nonrenewal before you leave for break in January.

It has happened, not often but with enough frequency so that it is not uncommon - that you are not advised until after you return from the January break.

Caveat - HCT sort of changed the required notice period last May arbitrarily where if you do decide to move on during a contract without giving a full semester's notice (and day 1 of semester could be considered as not full notice) your end of service benefits' payout (note, not just your gratuity but it expressly states end of service benefits) are subject to approval at the Vice Chancellor level - not your college director - so potentially you could lose not only your gratuity but also the moving allowance and maybe the price of your ticket(s) home?

Word is they were trying to also include a clause in the contract that would prevent people, whether you give proper notice or not, from going to another tertiary institution in the UAE (like ZU or UAEU, AUS etc). However, federal law at this time does not allow them to place bans on people in this way.

hope that helps

[mishmumkin]

[saluki]

No, if you finish your contract you don't get a ban, you are free to apply for any other job in the UAE. If you leave during a contract then there could be a ban and a problem with gratuity.

[mishmumkin]

[redsoxman]

Thanx

That seems pretty above board to me. My buddy up at QU got me worried about renewals when he wrote me of the concerns people there have. Seems reasonable.
Just didn't know who to ask around here as still finding my way. I want to stay for the length of my contract - love the sport ops here and find the Emirati students pretty neat.

[helenl]

HCT wanted to include a ban on moving to another institution even if you did give proper 6 month notice. Unfortunately, for the VC, the law of the land states (or did until recently) that tertiary level faculty with a Masters degree cannot be banned. This may have changed but I haven't heard differently myself.

[yellofello]

Can I get this clear? Can somebody out there tell me how the transfership system works?

If I have an offer from another institution and give HCT 6 months notice,
can I move to the other place? Or do I have to leave the country?
I have had conflicting information on this. What if you want to quit during your first year?

I think HCT is just not the place for me but I love the UAE. It's a fabulous place to live. Howevr, I find HCT is just too structured and not very personnel friendly - at least my college isn't - I know that some of the colleges are not too bad. I find that there are too many sycophants and brown-nosers in the system. My college is run like a military operation - sometimes I feel like I'm working with Captain Bligh and a team of mercenaries. Whatever happened to educational integrity, responsbility and freedom? I find that teachers are not respected by the management and their supervisors. Some days I feel like I'm a factory worker on an assembly line. Somebody on another post mentioned HCT harassment - One of my colleagues was harassed just for taking sick leave - it was insinuated that he was goofing off - the guy had to go to emergency, he's asthmatic!!! He needs a break and I think I do too.

Let me out of here!!

[globalnomad2]

At the HCT you are not faculty; you're an educational contract worker. As for the UAE being a fabulous place to live, that's certainly a highly objective opinion. I thank God or Zeus or the Wizard of Oz that I'm out of the Middle East, and that includes the UAE. But who knows--good things never last, and I may find myself being forced to job-hunt in the Gulf again later . I certainly hope not, however.

[veiledsentiments]