Meganp

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could help me!

I came home to the UK from Doha for Easter holidays and due to the current situation and airports closing to inbound flights obviously could not return to work as a teacher. They are refusing to pay us, but in the UK there is furlough in place to protect staff - I was wondering if there is anything similar to this I can get or are there any laws to protect me?
I am so stressed as a lot of people are as I can’t afford to live without any income and spent soo much money on documents and getting set up over there in January 😫😫

any help would be muchhhh appreciated!

martinbkk

I think its going to be unlikely you will have much luck. Employers in Qatar are not generally known for benevolence, though there maybe be laws that have been recently enacted to help. You would need to contact the Labour ministry to get an idea of what employers are expected to do. That said I know several people who have simply been let go, employers have used the downturn to simply end their contracts, paid their gratuity and let them go. Did I say employers in Qatar are not generally known for their benevolence. Are schools in Qatar open? If not what is happening to your colleagues who are there?

This might be the time for some hard thinking and tough decisions. It could all come good in 2-3 months, immigration could open, travel might be possible. Then again if not how long will you wait before putting your life back on track.

Have you spoken to DH-SS or whatever they are called these days, as if you were simply a returnee looking for work? Like a lot of people you might well have a summer picking fruit to look forward to. Tough times ahead for a lot.

I have a contract to start in Doha in a couple of months, if they are letting people in and out by then, who knows. It seems hard to imagine the situation will change much in the next 3-6 months either way.

SanDiegogirl

There are flights to Doha with Qatar Airlines from Heathrow.

Schools in Qatar were closed March 10th - is this still the case?

As you only started in January, you are unlikely to be eligible for much compensation, if anything. As said you would have to research labor laws in Qatar.

scot47

Martin. It is now DWP Department of Works and Pensions. DHSS like NAB or Parish Relief are the names from the past. I know because I live there !

martinbkk

There might be flights but my understanding is these are transit or repatriation for Qataris only, no non-Qatari is permitted to enter the country at this time.

martinbkk

Ah, DWP, that's one I've heard of. They'll be writing to me I suspect in a few years. I've not paid tax in more than 30 years but I have paid all my NI dues so I am expecting something at some point.

SanDiegogirl

Thought this was only from March 15th for 2 weeks; but things might have changed since then.

scrubbedexpat141

No chance. Shouldn't have left the country. We've got staff stuck overseas and all are on unpaid leave because they left when they were advised not to travel.
Try and get back as quickly as possible, then at least you're in country and working remotely.

Are you still working and teaching remotely? If so, I'd tell them to stick it and that you'll work if you get paid.
If you aren't having to work then you just have to ride it out I guess.

csdf

Every teacher I know of who left for Easter Holidays has been stuck abroad. Our kid's school heavily warned teachers not to leave on holidays for exactly that reason. Of course some went anyway. And some caught coronavirus, for an extra bonus.

Standanista

Only Qatari nationals and a few special categories like diplomats are allowed into Qatar currently. The border closed to foreign nationals on Monday 16th March, two days earlier than originally announced. That caught many folk out, myself included. Two of us were refused boarding at Gatwick, while another colleague got to Doha on the flight before but was turned around at HIA and sent back.

The Qatar border is still closed and shows no prospect of opening in the near future. Without inside information it's anybody's guess when things may start to reopen. However, I hear that one of the hotels currently being used as a quarantine centre for returning Qataris has been told that they can start taking bookings from December. Sorry to hear about your situation but I would make alternative arrangements for the next few months at least.

Meganp

Thanks all - like I suspected there’s probably not much I can do about it other than suck it up and get on with it! Not ideal with things to pay for but hey ho such is life.

Was just hopeful someone may have been in a similar position and know of blah blah act that entitles me to even 10% of my pay (would’ve been valuable lol).

SanDiegogirl

If you left for Easter in April and the flight ban was in place from 16 March you would have known that getting back to Qatar was going to problematic at least.

You had only started your job in January, so expecting any pay to which you were entitled is wishful thinking.

Meganp

sorry for the misunderstanding - I left on the 10th march before the flight ban.

SanDiegogirl

Goodness, how long were you intending to spend at home for Easter (Good Friday was 10 April)?

Even more wishful thinking to get paid then.....

Meganp

That’s not really the point here haha but we had two weeks “spring holiday.” I just call it an Easter holiday out of habit as it’s the time of year I would usually celebrate Easter. Obviously it didn’t align with Easter Sunday as they don’t celebrate in Qatar. But that’s not really what I’m asking. I was just hoping someone could give me some advice.