scot47

Write off Qatar and start again ?

carcajou

Yep. Not a chance of pay and absolutely nothing you can do about it. Should not have left the country. All of what happened, was telegraphed in advance - and so they may even be able to class you as an absconder if you press it. If you are intending to return to the Middle East at some point - take this as a lesson in the importance of the grapevine in the region. You need to be sure to cultivate Arab contacts who can understand the language and some of the cultural context as well, and not just be limited to other Western teachers.

With it being May, you need to be thinking about what you will do next year. If you want to go back, this is probably a good time to confirm with your principal that you intend to do so and will come back immediately when the borders open, if they haven't found a local hire to replace you. If your contract is up in June then tell them you would like to return when the borders re-open and ask about the possibility of that. What you have going in your favour is you are already known at the school and the border closure means they can't import anyone else to replace you at the moment, and bringing you back is the easy option even if they don't really want to because of all the time-consuming paperwork and hoop-jumping that has to occur with a new hire from out-of-country.

Good luck.

nonthaburi

The writing was on the wall even by then. I was due to meet my family in Bahrain and then fly on to the UK on the 12th. In the few weeks leading up to that I was constantly checking things with the airline because originally Bahrain was going to be a problem for my wife.

By the end of February the were already no entry orders for people from many countries and that list was growing all the time.

I cancelled everything on the 5th of March a week before traveling, as it was obvious by that time that things were only going to escalate.

WHO declared a pandemic on the 11th. And it was obvious way before that.

If you left on the 10th.......

HiHo

Megan,
I think you need to chalk it up to experience, UK Schools do have staffing issues at present you will be particularly appealing if your a pediatric first aider.

Meganp

Definitely a hard lesson learned in terms on the international employment market and treatment of staff 🤦🏼‍♀️ Hindsight is a great thing!

I think I’ll see how things progress in the next couple of months and take things as they come - I guess it will be difficult to secure a new job also. Who knows!!

scrubbedexpat141

Good lesson to learn, you're earning good money in the international market and the risk is it's not secure, protected or providing any safety nets.
Second lesson is to think about what your responsibility is towards your employer. This is a unique situation, yes, but stopping and thinking about the situation and if travelling is sensible etc.
I'd be super positive with employer and tell them you're desperately trying to get back in country.

Meganp

It’a pure naivety and poor judgement on my part! I’ve made it very clear to my employer about my intentions to return and willingness to work from home though. They’re not great at communication so I will just have to wait it out and see what generic email I get sent next. Thanks - I really appreciate your help. It’s a very unique situation for everyone around the world right now so difficult to gauge on my own.

scrubbedexpat141

Good work. Keep in contact with them, offer to still do some work whilst you're away and remind them you're trying to get back. Don't just deal with Admin / HR, but keep in touch with your line manager and update them.

Showing willing goes a long way, if they have to cut someone you'll be lower down the list as you're trying.

We all **** up at times and nobody knows what's happening next. There are lots of people stuck outside their country of work as it stands, we're about 13 people stuck elsewhere at the moment, all on unpaid leave. Some left at a touch and go time, others left the day before flights were banned. ALL left after the business explicitly asked people NOT to travel. That's why they're unpaid leave.

Keep positive, it'll work itself out.

scot47

Foolish to leave when you did. Hey-ho, we all make mistakes. Start again is my advice. Look to the new school year.

fth

All schools are doing remote learning, so I don’t see how you can’t teach remotely via Zoom etc. It seems as though a few teachers are teaching very remotely from the UK or elsewhere at my son’s school.

Schools are still collecting full fees from parents as well in Qatar for the summer term.

one to watch is that your rent cheques are still being cashed in and bouncing a cheque in this region is a serious issue.