I’m going to give some warning advice to teachers considering contracts in Saudi based on some of the blogs from teachers.
Do as much research as you can on-line. Use your contacts to talk to people who live and work in Saudi (teachers and non-teachers) so you can get first hand information. If you can’t do this, talk to people who live in other Gulf countries just to get a feel.
Expect culture shock. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam. It’s going to be strict and pose many personal restrictions – whether male or female. Expect to have problems and be disappointed. Then you can only be pleasantly surprised.
No employer signs a contract BEFORE you travel! What they do is ask you to sign an ‘offer’. In law, this is just like an ‘offer to treat’ in English law. It is NOT a contract so either party can withdraw from the offer without explanation. My best advice is to sign ALL offers and then refute then decide later.
My key advice is to ACCEPT ALL OFFERS AND TAKE YOUR TIME TO DECIDE WHICH EMPLOYER IS THE BEST. Until you arrive in Saudi and sign the contract, you are under obliged to no-one! If employers want you to wait until you get there to sign a contract, then they have to accept that candidates can withdraw because UNTIL you sign that contract, neither party has any obligation to the other.
The employer will start processing your visa and this is when you get to know how organised they are and whether they know what they’re doing.
Regarding passports when you get to Saudi and all countries in the Gulf: You HOLD a British passport, you do not OWN it. It belongs to Her Majesty. You are ADVISED not to relinquish possession, but in all Gulf countries, the ‘fixit’ man will take your passport to obtain your residency. He does not need it for long.
If the employer takes your passport, be sure to retain a copy (this is common sense and you should leave a copy with your friends and family). If they take your passport on arrival, they’re confiscating it so you can’t leave. If they’re a proper company, they should only take it when they need it.
If you are on a contract where they provide a 3 month work visa (no residency ‘iqama’) then you can refuse to give them your passport until they need it. Otherwise, they are confiscating it so you can’t abscond. What this means in reality is that you have low status and therefore, no rights.
All managers (mudeer) in all Gulf countries keep their passports. They are not asked to surrender them and if they are, they can refuse until the passport is actually needed. That’s because they have status in the eyes of their employer.
Regarding what to do if you have a serious or persistent problem: my advice is to go straight to the horse’s mouth and don’t move until it’s resolved.
Regarding what to do if you’re unsure about the key things that worry you is ask before you go. You will begin to sift the recruiters who know their stuff and those who don’t. Ask for photos of accommodation and say it’s a condition of your contract. Add that if they don’t reply and send you a ticket, they are deemed to agree to this condition.
With regard to experiences, I wish more teachers would blog about their experiences. Here are mine. When you experience things like this, it’s best to withdraw – in your mind, if not on paper.
- Justin Hacket - the visa fixer working for KSU is American and doesn’t know that France isn’t in the UK (didn’t bode well). I had to tell him in four different languages before he understood.
- KSU recruitment team didn’t understand that a CELTA is issued by Cambridge University – also not a good sign.
- Recruitment agent – Motivea: provided contradictory information about female accomodation and don’t like questions.
Primetime Solutions – interviewed me without reading my CV – exceptionally unprofessional. Asked a grammar test question which was so easy, a child would have know the answer. Despite withdrawing my candidacy in writing, they continued to communicate with me indicating that their internal communication is poor.
My final advice is: be wary, take your time to make a decision.
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