New from London --urgent advise needed!

1) two weeks are not enough to find a house
2) if they will bay for the hotel. Yas
3) it's not Comen to do that and they maut not to
4. Is helth inchorans inclooded
5. You ask and see ther reply

London_Freshie wrote:

Hi All,

Pleased to meet you. Need urgent advise please
I have a job offer from a bank in Doha. However the below queries making me delay signing the offer! Much appreciate your advise/guidance - thank you.

1. Offer letter only includes two weeks of hotel accommodation to begin with. I thought the usual de facto was 1-month accommodation until I found my own place right, not just two weeks?

In 2 weeks they should provide you the accommodation or Housing allowance, if Housing allowance provided you can find one depend on the work location.

2. Offer letter states that during my stay in the hotel, the bank will cease my housing and transportation allowance. Is this normal?! This point is a bit of a concern for me, naturally.

During the stay in hotel they have to provide the transportation, once you move they will provide you the transportation allowance and housing allowance.

3. The offer letter does not mention the bank's payment to me for shipment to help with the move, which the bank said verbally they will provide. I am worried as I don't want to ask bank to include this point in the offer letter in case they may think I am being overly demanding and specific.

4. Bank provides education allowance for children. I dont have children, but say hypothetically one day I do. The education allowance is not mentioned in the offer letter. Again, feel uncomfy to mention this to the bank as i dont have children!
You can ask the bank to provide Phone allowance and question what else allowance in future maybe entitled

5. Other things such as furniture allowance, and health club membership allowance, are not stated in the offer letter.
Question them: are they going to provide furniture allowance in future if you get married?

How important and reasonable do you think it is for me to get the points 1 to 5 addressed by the bank?
No idea but it depends on the bank and your performance   

Many many thanks All

I work in the education sector, so things might be different, but I've worked internationally for 15+ years, so ...

If you are required to find your own housing, then ask for a month of hotel. It's possible that they don't fully expect you to find a place within 2 weeks and require you to pay for the other 2 weeks of hotel out of pocket - that would be worth knowing about the company, and would be a big clue about what kind of company you're working for.

If they're providing housing in the form of a hotel, then they shouldn't have to pay a housing allowance as well. The housing allowance is for rent. Unless they expect you to pay for the hotel?
Transportation allowance - maybe the hotel they intend to put you up in is next door to your work? Definitely ask about transportation - maybe the hotel will provide a car & driver for you, in which case you shouldn't get the transportation allowance.

Ask for the shipment allowance to be put in the contract. Remind them of the verbal agreement. If they don't put it in, you have no right to expect it.

Education allowance for children - ask about it. It might be that they're hiring you as a person without children and that will be your status for the duration of your contract. (At one of my past jobs in another country about 10 years ago, 2 of the teachers wanted to get married but were hired as single people. When they wanted the benefits of the married couples, the school told them no so they decided to leave.) I also think it's kind of normal for employers not to put all contingencies in a contract.   

If they promised furniture allowance and health club membership to you, they should be in the contract.

I think it's very reasonable for you to ask about all these thing and why they're not in the contract. It just shows that you're thorough - don't feel bad about that. I know it's kind of awkward.
Also ask yourself if you'd do the job without those things. Because if they're not in the contract, you might not get them.

Hi,

Quick reply to all your queries.

Get the point 1 - 5 sorted out before you accept the offer. It is not advisable at all to move to a new country with too many ambiguities in the contract.

The suspension of housing allowance is normal when you are staying in a hotel but yes, there is no way you will find something in 2 weeks. You would need atleast 2 weeks. Better yet, check with the flat share section and share a flat with someone in Westbay for a while till you find a house.

Secondly get everything written in the contract. Shipment allowance, school assistance and membership allowance etc. should all be mentioned in the contract. You work in a bank. You should know that there is no such things a verbal agreement.

Qatar is not an easy country to move and therefore it is strongly recommended that you sort out everything before you move here.

Best of luck.

You'll want to get absolutely everything in writing. Not only in the offer letter but also in the contract.