Rappers

I have just received an 'Appointment letter' from a Dubai based consultancy for a position based in Riyadh. Is this a contract of employment or will that follow?

If it is a contract of employment, then it is very sparse being only two pages and does not include some important details which have only been confirmed verbally. Perhaps I am being overly cautious. That said, I am worried that when I arrive things aint what they should be...the proverbial will hit the fan.

I would appreciate any opinions or advice - thanks.

Ray

SamyBesbes

Hi,

I received an offer from one of the Big 4 based in Dubai for position in Riyadh and the offer was 7 pages, however I have been told that once n Riyadh I will be signing a Saudi contract for iqama purposes.

This situation is a bit confusing; I wish someone here can provide us with more information regarding this.

busybee2

you have to go on whatever is in the local arabic contract that is lodged with the min of labour that is the one is "law".

SAP1970

I'm a lawyer in Saudi Arabia and I handle many employment related issues. Send me a copy of what you have received - privately - and I will advise you accordingly.

SAP

weasel decentral

my advise is not to send it to randoms on the net with one post on a forum, who claim to be lawyers in KSA.
however if you forward me your bank account i will transfer some money which i need cleared and you can keep 30% as a fee

SAP1970

Suit yourself. I guess it was a mistake to offer my time and efforts for free in this obviously unfriendly forum.

Rappers

Steady now guys...I appreciate the offer and as someone who also provides legal advice I can see where your man is coming from. Just looking for some 'friendly' advice before taking the plunge.

SAP1970

The appointment letter could be considered to be part of the employment contract if the contract has a statement to the same effect. The main purpose of an appointment letter is to take your written approval on the main items and leaving all the other details to the employment contract, which you need to read carefully in order to make sure it contains all the terms you have agreed upon.

Rappers

Thank you SAP, as I suspected, the main contract should follow. I understand in this part of the world things are done a bit different. However, I did not want to spook my prospective employer by asking too many questions.

Wish you well.

Ray

weasel decentral

don't be precious, surely as a legal professional you would never recommend sending confidential documentation to an anonymous internet user.

its nothing to do with friendliness, its common sense.

1:you have 3 posts on the forum
2:a lawyer offering pro-bono work on the internet!
3:your name is Sap

the defence rests m'lud

To the OP, you ought to make sure the letter of appointment has mentioned all your agreements, if not the main contract will not. in fact even if it does, they will probably try amend things in the contract of employment. In KSA HR or employment contracts are played with very fast and loose.

Rappers

To the OP, you ought to make sure the letter of appointment has mentioned all your agreements, if not the main contract will not. in fact even if it does, they will probably try amend things in the contract of employment. In KSA HR or employment contracts are played with very fast and loose.[/QUOTE]

This is my concern with the Letter of Appointment. It mentions, inter alia, one return flight per year, whereas I was told verbally I would be entitled to three return flights per year. I thought that to be rather generous.

The question is, how do I deal with this? Bearing in mind the job is not a done deal quite yet, however I have tendered my resignation with my existing employer. Therefore I do not want to jeopardise this new role by spooking my prospective employer.

weasel decentral

Typically a single status construction contract will include 3 leave flights per year, 2 weeks off after every 3 and a half months.
Take the letter of appointment and annote it with what you believe to be the case agreed and send it back to them.

Also and I know I am saying this too late, never resign your job until you have the signed contract in your hand. I am sure it will work out ok, but the fickle or slow nature of things in KSA can bite you sometimes.

Rappers

I have just received my Contract of Employment...and my suspicions have been confirmed. There are three contractual discrepencies a) only one return flight during the year, not three as originally told; b) working hours 8 per day and 48 per week, equals 6 day week; not 8 per day and 5 days a week as told; 30 days paid leave after one year of service, presumably none during the first year; again, I was told 30 days paid leave within the term of the annual contract.

Obviously I am disappointed as these discrepencies add up to a deal breaker and show a lack of honesty. I have written an email to my prospective employer asking the MD to explain these anomalies. Not sure if they are just trying it on or they believe they have the upper hand because I have already resigned from my current employer. If they believe the latter, then they have badly misjudged the situation.

scrubbedexpat141

Things like the flights might just be an error, depends who told you three and whether they actually had the authority to give them...

The holiday is standard 'after 12 months' - need to ask what happens if you want a week off in month 5...might just say it's unpaid.

The 5/6 day week thing - i've had that before where it is a 5 day week but as the project hits critical periods they want to be able to make people work 6 day weeks. But you need to get that cleared up.

Rappers

Thanks for the response Scamp.

The contractual issues that I highlighted were told to me by the MD, who presumably sanctioned the Contract of Employment. So, there should not have been any discrepencies.

Surely, they do not expect an employee to work a whole year in KSR without taking some (paid) leave? The flights discrepency is hardly an issue if I am expected to take leave without pay as I would probably only return home once in the year. I was clearly told that 30 days paid leave was part of the contract.

I understand that overtime may be required on a project and if so, with overtime pay, otherwise it is open to abuse.