Urgent
Good day I have a few serious questions that I need to ask.
I started to work at a company in Qatar in 25 January 2019.. I was working on a visiting visa and the company was aware of that because they also advised me if my visa expires I can go out of the country and come back until they get a working visa for me. When the company finally received a visa for me in March, I had to go out of the country again and come back into Qatar with the working visa of my company. I had to pay for all the flight expenses...
Something that was extremely strange to me was, on my visa it says that I am a babysitter... but I am working as an English teacher in a nursery school..
It's been a month now and I still did not go for medical. Yesterday I asked my manager for my March salary because we haven't received March salary yet...it came as a shock to me when I saw the manager deducted QR 1000 off my salary for the 3 days that I was traveling to do my visa change.. she told me she is deducting the money because I was not working.. yet, the work send me to do a visa change because I had to come onto their sponsorship..now she's telling me that officially I only started working their on the 6 of March 2019... but I've been working there since January.
When she interviewed me in the beginning we agreed upon a certain salary, accommodation and travelling..
After a month I had to beg for a job offer because I refused to leave the country without a job offer.. she gave me a ridiculous job offer with salary I did not agree on, she fired the driver so there was no transport, and she no longer provide accommodation, only 500riyals allowance.. which is ridiculous because where can I find a place for 500 riyals in Qatar.
My questions that I would like for you to assist me with is:
1) Was I supposed to pay for the expenses of leaving the country to do a visa change if the company sends me to come onto their sponsor.
2) Can they put babysitter on my visa and Qatar ID even if I am working as a English teacher? I think they avoid paying the salary that a English teacher should get
3) Can they deduct 3 days of work that i missed off my salary, even if my company send me out of the country for those 3 days to do a visa change?
(Also, my manager asked me to leave on working days, and not a weekend because if I leave on a weekend, then they couldn't process my visa).
This is all very alarming to me, and I'm afraid that they might take advantage of me and my rights..
I would appreciate if someone can clarify these questions to me. Thank you so much.
Zandre: Welcome to Qatar. Welcome to a new world where you will get many new experiences with your employer and also get to hear many stories of other employers. Qatar is full of them. Reason: Such employers know of all the loopholes in the system and thus play with employees. You are one of the many. Furthermore, if the employer has a Sheikh as a sponsor, then he acts like a mini ruler of the land. That's because no authority can touch him. Period. I am saying this from first-hand experiences when I came across one Amjath who works for BEMCCO. Possibly, he is the cruelest person in Qatar. He plays with people without the slightest fear, even of God. When people suffer from his cruelty, he laughs on their faces!
Coming to your queries: You are in the trap of one such unscrupulous employer. If the employer is a good one, then they would pay for your ticket and also for the number of days you were away. But since your employer is not willing to do so, it is evident she is playing dirty.
Having said that, since you are working on a visit visa, you are not covered by the Labour Laws of Qatar. The Labour Laws give protection on worker's rights only when the employee is on a work visa. A visit visa is not an employment visa and as such does not fall in the purview of Labour Laws of Qatar. As such, there is a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y nothing you can do to your employer. Lastly, with regards to your the profession on your work visa, usually that does not make much of a difference as there are many people here with different profession on their work visa from what is their actual profession. It is very common here. But, the important thing you need to check now if a visa for a "babysitter" is entitled to gratuity and End of Service benefits. I am saying this because people working under "maidservant" visa are not entitled to such benefits under the Labour Laws.
Please make sure that you sign a contract with your employer where everything should be spelled out in black and white. The contract must be attested by the Labour Office and you must be given a copy. This should be done by your employers.
You state in your post, "This is all very alarming to me." Ha! Ha! Just stay a bit longer here and you will get to see or hear things that are more ALARMING.