Help! A job offer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Saipanne · 20-12-2014 10:34am

booksale wrote: »

hi, Saipanne, I think my job is a bit new for the usual expats who go to work for a company so it's harder to understand why I can trust the agent. Anyway, I do appreciate all the opinions and warnings and all.

You can never trust an agent. All you are to them is a paycheck. That's all I'm saying. Best of luck.

wuffly · 21-12-2014 6:29am

Working for a family is whole other kettle of fish. (I thought you were going to work for a company)
Don't trust the agent and unless your predecessor is out of Saudi don't trust them either.
You can't leave Saudi if you decide you don't like the job, your entry and exit is entirely up to them.
They may very well be fine but some families see all employees as servants and many don't really think you are ever off duty and won't hesitate to call you whenever they think you're needed.
If they are promising anything make sure its in your contract, if its not in your contract it will not happen.
Just because they are telling you something is possible doesn't mean its possible for you, its not so much that they lie they are just very careless with the truth.

booksale · 21-12-2014 12:16pm

Thank you guys for the concerns.

I will be extra cautious when reading the contract and bargain before I go. I am ready to not going if I am not happy with the conditions they listed even when visas are done.

I know how blurred the line can be when working for a family, no matter where you are, in Ireland or in anywhere else. We always talk clearly before we start work (learned from hard experience). Of course I understanc that in Saudi Arabia,it would be miserable if I can't quit when I want to. I know I can trust the agent although you might find stupid to trust what an agent said. But, no harm to do what First Up suggested and give a ring to the Foreign Affair Department. Will do so.

Happy Christmas to you all! Can't celebrate Christmas in public in Saudi Arabia if we are going... Might be the last chance I can say Happy Christmas...!!!

smurfjed · 21-12-2014 3:58pm

I recently met someone who had a igama profession listing him as a servant, therefore when the owner of this "servant" died, the servant became part of the household that had to be spilt and distributed between his heirs.

The guys real profession, manager of chain of restaurants

booksale · 21-12-2014 4:24pm

Smufjed, so who got the servant? Or the manager gets to serve all of them?

Yes, I will pay attention to the category of my work permit. I'm reading some info. from a blog called life in Saudi Arabia and it provides a lot of useful information and stories.

http://life-in-saudiarabia.blogspot.ie/

smcgiff · 21-12-2014 4:56pm

booksale wrote: »

I know I can trust the agent although you might find stupid to trust what an agent said.

Is the agent your relative or friend prior to the job offer?

If not I find this naive. This might sound strong, but you will be putting yourself and your family into the guardianship of the people you are staying with, and they will, to a large extent, have control over you.

It will most likely work out fine, but you need to make sure.

booksale · 22-12-2014 2:20am

But why do you think a person being a relative or a friend is a good reason for trusting them? A lot of 'friends' and 'relatives' do people bad for money!!

I will be extra careful, trust me. For I gain no money from you when I claim this!

I know what I am doing. Please trust me for that as well.

And I appreciate all your advice and the time you spend to warn me out of good intentions! You don't have to do so but you do put your time to share your opinions. I am grateful for that.

wuffly · 22-12-2014 11:18am

I hope you are taking this advise seriously. I don't know how you know your agent but I really hope you are right and that they can be trusted. Unless they are a family member or friend that you know has your best interests at heart, I would seriously reconsider how trustworthy they are.
you mentioned on another thread that you are from Hong Kong, please do not take this the wrong way but your ethnicity may make it harder for you in Saudi, if you don't look western, domestic staff are most Asian and even if you are educated and employed to do another role a local family may very well treat you like a servant.
You have asked for advise but have given a very poor sketch of the situation hence the advice isn't really catered to your circumstances. Racism is not nice but it is alive and well in many parts of the world, unfortunately if you don't like it you won't just be able to leave.
I hope it goes well for you but I really hope you are looking into this properly.

Saipanne · 22-12-2014 11:26am

Anytime I read you saying that you can trust your agent, I physically shake my head.

You. Should. Not. Trust. Him.

The Hill Billy · 22-12-2014 12:47pm

OP - You have been given some very good advice in this thread. I strongly suggest that you heed this advice. Assuming that you are an Irish passport holder I would also recommend that you seek advice from the Dept of Foreign Affairs before you make any binding commitments.

tHB

booksale · 22-12-2014 12:59pm

I don't understand what reasons made you think that I didn't take the advice seriously.

And please understand this is a public forum and I would need some privacy, that's why I would not want to disclose every thing in details about my job offer.

I'm well aware that my skin colour would be a concern. But I will not be the first one from the east working there. And nor will I be the last. I have got information about Asian from Asians working there, positive and negative as well.

To be fair, I didn't ask for an advice about whether my agent is trustworthy or not, and I don't feel I need to explain in details why I can trust the agent.

I do take the advice seriously. And I am grateful to you guys for the information and warnings you give. But on the other hand, I would hope there is no judgement from you guys as you don't know the details I choose not to disclose.

Thanks again.

booksale · 22-12-2014 1:01pm

The Hill Billy wrote: »

OP - You have been given some very good advice in this thread. I strongly suggest that you heed this advice. Assuming that you are an Irish passport holder I would also recommend that you seek advice from the Dept of Foreign Affairs before you make any binding commitments.

tHB

Will do.

The Hill Billy · 22-12-2014 1:10pm

There is no judgement from my point of view, just concern. Regarding the trustworthiness of your agent - you may not have sought an opinion on this, however, people who are familiar with the situation in Saudi have felt that it was important to mention this. This is really worth noting.

First Up · 22-12-2014 1:22pm

wuffly wrote: »

I hope you are taking this advise seriously. I don't know how you know your agent but I really hope you are right and that they can be trusted. Unless they are a family member or friend that you know has your best interests at heart, I would seriously reconsider how trustworthy they are.
you mentioned on another thread that you are from Hong Kong, please do not take this the wrong way but your ethnicity may make it harder for you in Saudi, if you don't look western, domestic staff are most Asian and even if you are educated and employed to do another role a local family may very well treat you like a servant.
You have asked for advise but have given a very poor sketch of the situation hence the advice isn't really catered to your circumstances. Racism is not nice but it is alive and well in many parts of the world, unfortunately if you don't like it you won't just be able to leave.
I hope it goes well for you but I really hope you are looking into this properly.

I hadn't realised the OP is not Irish. Sad to say, ethnicity could be an issue, for exactly the reasons you state. All foreign workers - be they domestic servants or senior business leaders - are treated as "hired help" in Saudi. No question westerners have it the easier but it is no bed of roses for anyone.

booksale · 22-12-2014 1:35pm

Thank you guys!

The reason why I bring my Italian husbAnd is to be our body guard!

Happy Christmas!

First Up · 22-12-2014 5:20pm

booksale wrote: »

Thank you guys!

The reason why I bring my Italian husbAnd is to be our body guard!

Happy Christmas!

This may seem over the top but you will genuinely need to have proof of marriage on you at all times. If you are in a car together in the front seats it is perfectly possible that you will be stopped by the police and asked to prove you are married. Otherwise, you could be arrested on suspicion of "consorting" as an unmarried couple. The fact that one is Asian and the other European will draw attention.

Daft I know but it is that sort of place.

smurfjed · 18-01-2015 6:42pm

This may seem over the top but you will genuinely need to have proof of marriage on you at all times

As both are on the same iqama this won't be an issue, i have to add that i have never been stopped for this reason, nor if stopped at a routine traffic stop have they asked me about the other people in the truck.

So its not as bad a Riyadh

First Up · 18-01-2015 8:47pm

smurfjed wrote: »

As both are on the same iqama this won't be an issue, i have to add that i have never been stopped for this reason, nor if stopped at a routine traffic stop have they asked me about the other people in the truck.

So its not as bad a Riyadh

If you have the right paperwork on you, no problem but I know several cases of mixed race couples being challenged. Can't recall if in Jeddah, but definitely in Eastern Province as well as Riyadh.

smurfjed · 31-01-2015 3:32pm

OP.... did you make it to Jeddah?

booksale · 31-01-2015 4:37pm

Not yet. hopefully mid February.

booksale · 23-02-2015 10:10pm

Hiya, guys. Greetings from Jeddah. We have been here for about a week. Things are good so far. My husband is very happy as he feels like he's back to his home town. He's from the southern part of Italy and it's influenced a lot by the Arabs. And he can find a lot of Italian brands here too, from cooking pots to clothes ... Traffic is crazy but it's ok for my Italian husband who was born in a country with crazy drivers too ( but I think drivers here are more crazy, I wouldn't want to drive here anyway even given the chance )

Jeddah is really a quite open minded city. And you can see people are friendly. I am lucky I can come with my family. People respect families. We skipped queue in the immigration. Baby gets a lot of hugs, kisses, blessings, smiles and and funny faces from people here (men, women, kids ).

The family I work for is great. Working hours is much less than written on contract. They are going to do the resident permits for us now. Compound is great. Neighbour are friendly. So far, the experience is good.

We are now trying to sort out the childcare for baby. I have got a few people contacting us to work as a babysitter. But I am looking for childcare centre instead. Good for baby's social life and also my husband can focus on the work without baby around. The facility in the compound can't accommidate baby that young. So we will see.

Bye for now and thank you for all the advice given!!

First Up · 23-02-2015 10:18pm

booksale wrote: »

Hiya, guys. Greetings from Jeddah. We have been here for about a week. Things are good so far. My husband is very happy as he feels like he's back to his home town. He's from the southern part of Italy and it's influenced a lot by the Arabs. And he can find a lot of Italian brands here too, from cooking pots to clothes ... Traffic is crazy but it's ok for my Italian husband who was born in a country with crazy drivers too ( but I think drivers here are more crazy, I wouldn't want to drive here anyway even given the chance )

Jeddah is really a quite open minded city. And you can see people are friendly. I am lucky I can come with my family. People respect families. We skipped queue in the immigration. Baby gets a lot of hugs, kisses, blessings, smiles and and funny faces from people here (men, women, kids ).

The family I work for is great. Working hours is much less than written on contract. They are going to do the resident permits for us now. Compound is great. Neighbour are friendly. So far, the experience is good.

We are now trying to sort out the childcare for baby. I have got a few people contacting us to work as a babysitter. But I am looking for childcare centre instead. Good for baby's social life and also my husband can focus on the work without baby around. The facility in the compound can't accommidate baby that young. So we will see.

Bye for now and thank you for all the advice given!!

Thanks for taking the trouble to give us an update and it is great to know everything is going well. I hope it all works out as well as it has started.

wuffly · 25-02-2015 1:20pm

Glad to hear its going well for you Booksale. Best of luck!

smurfjed · 25-02-2015 7:18pm

We are now trying to sort out the childcare for baby

There are some kindergardens around, but i don't know the minimum age for babies, generally people have maids who babysit.

Traffic has gotten worse over the years, cars are just way too cheap to buy and to run. Now you just need to learn how to make local hooch and you will be fine

First Up · 25-02-2015 8:37pm

smurfjed wrote: »

There are some kindergardens around, but i don't know the minimum age for babies, generally people have maids who babysit.

Traffic has gotten worse over the years, cars are just way too cheap to buy and to run. Now you just need to learn how to make local hooch and you will be fine

Yes, everyone needs some Siddiqui!

booksale · 26-02-2015 12:33am

Oh, we were taught how to make the juice the first day we arrived! A British in the compound gave us the recipe.

My husband is very careful though. So we might just have some lemonade...

Help! A job offer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

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