Job Discussion Forums

[hsm]

Hello,,,

I'd like to know how much the recruitment agency charges for its services the newly recruited native speaker?

Will s/he be reimbursed by the Saudi employer?

Actually, I'm from the Middle East working in Saudi Arabia but the recruitment agency charged me ONE SALARY for their services. Is it the same for native speakers from England, USA and Canada? Could you tell your experience on this point?

And the Saudi employer did not reimburse me? There is no reference to reimbursement in the contract though some native speakers were reimbursed.

thanks

[Cleopatra]

[hsm]

[Cleopatra]

Well, unfortunately if your friend has already paid the agency a month's salary it's unlikely there's anything he/she can do to get it back now. As I say, it sounds distinctly dodgy to me: we've had complaints about recruitment agencies on this board before, but this is the first time I've heard of them taking money from the employee. That's a warning sign straight away.

As for having to pay visa costs, that is not so unreasonable given that your friend did not fulfill his/her contract.

[John.Dwight]

The recruitment agency usually charges an amount between 1500 - 2000 US$ that's to be paid by the employer. Countries such as Jordan, the law says that the employee must pay the recruitment agency 9% of his/her annual salary. But when recruiting native teachers in Saudi, the employee is reimbursed for his medical check, tickets, and visa agent fees. That's how it goes with many schools here !

[hsm]

Thank you Cleopatra for the helpful information,,,,

Having read what Cleopatra said and what I've experienced and seen in the company, John.Dwight, I'm not sure if charging the employee with one salary by the recruitment agency is really a law.

If you have any link to a government document or whatever, could you post it?

I was reimbursed for the medical check required for iqama but not for the medical check for the visa!

I came to Saudi Arabia by bus not by airplane, so I was reimbursed for half of the airline ticket value.

I was not reimbursed for any of the visa agent fees!

This is true for other non-native speakers too...

[veiledsentiments]

hsm... are you in education? The situation outside of education is different.

Are you also referring to someone who is local hire? Local hire using local recruiters is a different situation too.

The reality is that the rules and contracts for non-native speakers with North American or European passports are different from those from Arabic speaking countries or Asia.

I have never read here of any Western teacher paying a recruiter anything. It is the responsibility of their employers.

VS

[hsm]

Yes, I'm in the education and training sector teaching English to high school graduates or government employees.

The recruitment agency is local located in Asian and African Arab countries like Egypt, Jordan...it contracts teachers from those countries to work in Saudi Arabia; the employer knows that the recruitment agency is charging teachers with one salary.

[Cleopatra]

[veiledsentiments]

[scot47]

This practice is illegal in the United Kingdom. Any fees must be paid by the employer, not the employee.

Why not just go for direct hire ?

[hsm]

[Stephen Jones]

Nearly every laborer I knew in the Kingdom paid a years salary to some scam artist in his own country.

The really idiotic thing is that when you tell them they are being scammed they don't pay any attention and still pay.

And then it's the Gulf employer who gets all the flak.

[johnslat]

Dear Stephen,

Maybe because unscrupulous practices deserve more flak than desperation does.

Regards,
John

[trapezius]

^ FTW (for the win).

^^ Are you really blaming poor as dirt laborers for doing whatever they can to feed their families?