gjw156

Hi All
First...Sorry if this is the wrong forum.


New to this and have offer for Head of Sales for large company with offices throughout the KSA.

Checked the salary (circa £130k inc of all perks) but am confused as to if I should ask for relocation allowance /payment.

I'm coming over initially alone but if (when) all goes well the missus will be joining me.

Any advice is welcome

Graham

TopNik

Hi Graham,

You can always ask, the worst they can say is no.

Good luck!

gjw156

Thanks Matey

Suppose Im just over concerned as when I was out on dotting i's and crossing t's visit recently the company had "forgotten" to pay for hotel etc.....

Onwards and upwards

Graham

Blue Cat

Welcome to BE, if they want you for the job then they should pay for your relocation. Simples.

wwinit

As far as I know, all employers in this magic country have never offered relocation allowances as part of the contract, as they do not want to deal with the amount of your personal affects and custom clearance at the airport or seaport. Most importantly your shipment from the UK or other places to KSA must be 'door to port' only. Check the items you can or can't bring into this 'wonderful' country. For around £130 p.a., do you mind elaborating your base salary and allowances?

gjw156

Thanks Chaps

I've probably misrepresented the meaning of "relocation allowance."

I suppose what I'm concerned about is the 6 or 12 month deposits compounds are asking for. Can I afford it (YES) do I want to commit £15 - £20K upfront of my own hard earned cash...(NO).

I've an £1800 pcm allowance built in but being a ME sprog Ive no idea how it works and they want me out before Ramadan which makes organisation timescales tight.

Even so...Looking forward to the challenge

GJW

wwinit

It depends on your company as to whether it can provide you with the housing allowance or £1,800 beforehand. Normally you need to sign a compound contract and pay it yourself, i.e. 6 months or one year in advance. My suggestion is you bring with you around £3K cash and change some money at the Saudi Airport, as the exchange rate in the UK is quite low; it is no need to use a traveller's cheque any more. With that money, you can stay up to 2-3 months. Without an Iqama or the magic residence permit (ID card), you can do nothing at all, i.e. opening a bank account or dealing with any official agreements, during the first 2-3 weeks. Buy an illegal SIM card, especially from Mobily, and update it later when you get the Iqama. If you need to sign a compound contract straightaway, you might like to transfer your money online from the UK bank account to your colleague's one in KSA.
Before coming here, just look at some ground rules as follows:
1. Lower your expectations or keep it as 'zero'. Don't expect things to be the same as the UK. Everything is not that organised and full of paperwork plus red tapes.
2. Be very, very patient. Rules and regulations can change every day without notice. No such word as 'punctuality' here. Things which can be finished up in one hour in the UK might take up to one week or month in this magic kingdom.
3. Be prepared for some culture shocks, e.g. filthy toilets without urinals (why?), reckless driving, weird environment with all men in every single service or shop except lingeries and bras, terrible male services, language barriers, 10-30 min break for prayer time, etc. Saudis like to please both the British and Americans, so in one building you might find both 110v. and 220v. outlets or the 'toilet' on one floor and 'rest room or w.c.' on another floor.
4. Be flexible to change and learn new things. Lots of terrible things to learn over a period of time.
5. Control your emotion, as you might experience some psychological problems from time to time, e.g. feeling depressed due to the visa issue or bloody regulations, etc.

Keep up your enthusiasm, since it might evaporate as soon as you arrive here. Enjoy your work in this magic country!

gjw156

Great info chaps.

Contract just arrived......

Its £1800pcm accom allowance


Does that make a difference

Excited now...a bit of recruiting to do also so keep an eye on my future posts

GJW