MARITAL STATUS UPDATE NEEDED FOR PREGNANT WIFE

janscat wrote:

Hi! I am a Filipino Expat working in Riyadh since 2012. After a year, my wife joined me through her employment in a hotel wherein apparently, she was under "single" civil / marital status. Upon her arrival, we immediately provided their HR office all our official documents (marriage certificate stamped by Saudi Embassy in the Philippines + Arabic translation). At this point, the HR has confirmed knowledge that we were lawfully married. Now my wife is pregnant with our first child and we asked their HR office to update her civil status from single to "married" but they refused saying that she was hired as "single" I did some research and learned that according to Saudi Labor Law, a company is obligated to provide medical insurance coverage to pregnant women workers. Also, there was no agreement or waiver of any kind from the company prohibiting her to marry nor to  become pregnant during her contract. Any suggestions and what we can do next? I was planning to send an official email to the HR office just to get a documented response as their initial answer was verbal.

I guess, you can't be demanding this much for your situation...company is right - she was hired as "single" and will get benefits being one. Even if she was single, and marries (legally) here, the company can still abide by their contract of their knowledge that your wife is single - marrying also requires the company's letter if done by makkamah...i dunno with Phil Embassy... (you can't say "there is no waiver for blah, blah...because, still, she is signed as "single" by the company - just think about it in the phils., if a single woman - got pregnant...what will be her benefits - or how will the company deals with it)...if you want her to get a medical insurance coverage as a married woman expecting a child soon, you can just ask the company to upgrade her coverage, and you can pay for the difference. 
I think you can't say "my wife joined me thru her employment in a hotel..." - 'coz she was never your dependent...it shoud have been "i was able to be with my wife, when she got employed by a hotel..."
And how about  your status in your company? single or entitled (to have dependents)?
To sum it, it's all about you and your wife's communication/relation with her company...and that greatly depends on HOW you/your wife deal with them.
Be careful though, they might get annoyed, become ballistic and just send your wife back to Philippines (of course, they can do that!).