Aspire Zone Foundation job offer

how time time did ur visa approval take?

Hi ALL, I've accepted the offer for Aspire and looks like my concern is related on this thread....Is it normal that the Education allowance noted on the contract is NOT given to you directly? Instead you will submit an invoice to the employer from the child school and they will be the one to pay directly? So I might as well find a good school to maximize the allowable education allowance right?

btw.. i'm just a new member from Pinas and looking forward for new career in Qatar.

Did you take the offer? How's your work? are you still connected with them?

Cost of living is high, expenses are going to increase further.

I agree. I was willing to get expatriated initially because of the supposed savings I would get if I were given the verbal offer. Plus, here in the Philippines, we pay a huge amount on taxes. Whereas in Qatar where salaries are tax free. Unfortunately, this "benefit" is countered by a very high cost of living.

Well, that's another thing they didn't disclose to me. I guess the set basic salary for me then was really 7500 for the HR Officer who interviewed me then to inform me that I can bring in my family. It's too bad that they brought it down to 4500.

Thank you, Mandi for your inputs.

i think you already know the answer then, if what you are being offered here is not more than what you are earning back home, then why come here. you must be able to save when you are here, thats why people move out of their homecountries, to make a career and to save money for their future. designations are very important, especially for a woman in any career. I am sure you know this.

You cannot sponsor your husband and child on a salary of 4500. The minimum is 7500 base salary. In addition, it's very difficult for a woman to sponsor her family, it takes a lot of support from your HR and a lot of salary. Sorry.

Mandi

Hi, Ricky.

They won't be sponsoring my husband and child. I will shoulder those expenses if I intend to bring them to Qatar.

I'll try to renegotiate with them again. They already told me that they already offered me the maximum allowable basic salary. If that's the case, I guess it's not worth it at all. I'm already being offered a Project Manager post here in the Philippines and if I were to compare basic salaries they would be at par. The allowances offered by Aspire would be cancelled out due to the expenses we would incur if we do expatriate.

You both are right about communicating with the HR.

Bottomline: uprooting me and my family for their offer is not a good decision to make. I just hope they're willing to budge fr a better offer.

Should basic salary be higher than housing salary?

Usually its on par with one another. A person getting 10K basic might not be given 2K for housing, or a 5K basic might not get a 10K housing.

Is promotions a norm in Qatar? No such thing. Its dependant on individual company. some have yearly bonuses, some have fixed yearly increments based on performance, some might just give raises as and when you excel in your area of work. But all these have their own rules and limitations.

Dont get confused with what a Qatari, an American/European or a Asian Gets.There will be major differences in the allowances, but if there is a fixed salary structure in the company, then it usually applies to all employees of that company.

Most qs answered by Han already .At QAR 13400 per month , your likelihood of making end to end with family is tough or end to end .

Also you need clarity from your employer about you sponsoring your husband and child , with annual tickets , medical etc .

Even if you get a sharing room and will live there , Rent maybe QAR 2000-2500 per month or studio maybe QAR 3500-4000 per month .Good 2 BHK accomodation will be QAR 6000 per month +Electricity and water per month = QAR 200

Tel expenses QAR 300-400 per month .

Grocery = QAR 3000 per month

Car & petrol =QAR 1500-2000 per month

Other expenses QAR 1000 per month

Shopping -add based on your lifestyle .

Above provided you are running end to end .

Ideally anthing below QAR 18,000 per month , not worth going for ..........negotiate and you should get as ASPIRE are big organisation .

As Han said , HR team will get back to you and not any local person will be in touch with you . Locals are only the top bosses here , middle management will be asians only .

Run thru this forum or any forum in UAE or Qatar , thumbrule is that basic salary is always higher than HRA +other allowances . HRA is normally 40-50 % of basic salary . Basic salary if offered lower than HRA , then you could be having an underpaid offer , as you have no middle-east experience at all .

On the staffing grade, I am not aware if the post falls under a junior category. The offer states it will report to the IT & Media Manager. Aren't promotions in Qatar a norm?

Well, experience-wise, I've been doing project analysis for almost 6 years already. To some degree, I've also done project management for more or less 4 years. I agree about not being pushy. I think the trick here is to balance my desire to work for them and still come across as deserving of the basic salary I was originally informed of.

I know about the end of service gratuity. I wish I could push for the basic salary that I know I deserve and want but I'm willing to let that go in favor of better allowances. Just a question, is it a general truth that the basic salary should be higher than the housing allowance?

whats your qualification and experience?how is their grading done? does the company have something called a senior or junior staff category.heres again where the problem arises, because if you are a junior staff, its not easy to cross to a senior staff.you will get stuck in the position.

check on all these issues, and be firm about the basic salary, because your end of service benefits is calculated on the basic salary.so having a higher basic salary is important.

many people come here thinking that they are getting a good offer when compared to what they are getting in their hometown, but if you are experienced and a very well qualified person, you will get dissappointed very easily.

ofcourse, you also have to consider the needs of your child as well. so think about this calmly. dont rush to judgements.

negotiation is a tricky area, so you should know when to draw the line, and not be so pushy that they say that they dont want you.at present, you want to join them and they want you on board.

thanks, han19. I'll try to continue negotiating on the other terms.

I hope someone from Aspire can shed some light on this. :)

It is indeed very concerning. I am very much interested to work for the company but of course, I want to receive what is due my experience and skills.

Thank you for your inputs on the allowances and the offer letter. Much appreciated.

you will not be negotiating with a qatari employer, he has a team of HR people who take these decisions based on HR policy.

yes, you can negotiate on all conditions, provided they are falling within the allowable ranges in their company.since you are a sponsored employee, you should get the same privileges as that of a male employee in the same company.

the worst that can happen in a negotiation, is that they will say "NO".But be firm on what you want. Once you come here and then decide that you are not happy, you cannot just jump jobs, some sponsors will not release you, and then you just have to leave and cannot return for 2 years.

So negotiate, think properly about it, and then take a decision.

allowances come by different categories.

whats concerning is that the salary agreed during the interview is much higher than what is offered. Why is that? didnt they know the ceiling in the salary structure before offering it to you.they are offering almost half, which must be checked again. you accepted the offer based on the salary offered by them.

if you are a company sponsored employee, the company can provide you with additional allowances, since you are handling the expenses of your family, whether your husband works or not.

in the offer letter, additional allowances will not be detailed. an offer letter is only a formal agreement that you are willing to join the company on a specified salary.You can always refuse the offer, if you are not happy with the contract.

your contract will have all the details and it should cover, your annual leave, annual passage for you and your dependants, overtime, housing allowance, travel allowance,school allowance, ie. the tuition fees is paid by the company (usually for 2 children, if not 3).

Hi, Ricky.

Very insightful feedback.

I've tried reasoning out with the HR who is handling my application of the said concerns. She informed me that that's the maximum basic salary for the job grade. Is there a table where I could refer to for this particular post? How open are the Qatari employers to negotiating the offer? If they really are firm with the basic salary, do you think there's a chance that I can ask for an increase in the other allowances instead? You mentioned schooling allowance but is there some sort of "family allowance?"

Thank you.

Thank you for your feedback. I guess I wasn't clear about the allowance I was referring to. I was informed by the interviewer that they will provide a family allowance but since I'm a female, the only person covered by the allowance is my husband. It was my understanding that only men are given family allowances to cover for the wife and children. I'm not sure if this is a benefit for Qatari government employees.

Also on the International School, is it a given that all government employees' children are sent to this type of schools?

Thank you very much.

Noted that your basic salary is far less than HRA Which is normally not the case . For your post Basic salary must be atlesat 8000-10,000 QAR per month +HRA QAR 8000 +Other alloawances QAR 2000 ,so about QAR 20,000 Per month to live with family comfortably . Schooling QAR 1000 per month/ child .

Negotiate with them and write to them your concerns . You should be able to get about QAR 20-24 ,000 per month salary .

Imperative that you get a salary that you deserve based on experience and post .

All the best .

Thanks nbg_21

Hi, Ricky_2005. Sorry about that. Here are the details:

Position: PMO (Project Management Organization) Analyst

Job grade: 8

Job offer:

Basic salary: 4500QR (during the interview, I was informed it was at 7500QR)

Housing allowance: 7500QR

Transportation allowance: 1400QR

Now that I've disclosed the offer, may I also ask if it's a fair offer? Can I bring my husband and daughter with me and live off on the salary given and still manage to save up? My husband also plans to look for work in Doha once we're settled.

Nowhere in the offer did it state the benefits for my daughter although it was taken up during the interview. Can I take their word for it?

Thank you.

I don't have experience working in Aspire but most companies really do that. The offer in the letter is lower from the amount agreed during the interview.

To give you some insights for your daughter's allowance.

There are 3 Filipino schools here.

Since your company will pay for your daughter's education you will be exempted from;

School Fee (Filipino School)

Tuition (Monthly) 400-700QR (depending on the grade level)

Bus Fee (Monthly) 400-500QR

Miscellaneous Fee 1500-2000 QR (whole year)

For Internation School ( it might be doubled or tripled)

other expenses

My daughter is in grade 4 and I allot;

300 QR (Monthly school allowance for snacks, projects and other school requirements)

400 QR (Monthly Food Allowance)

Madam

Your Question is too vague . Kindly provide the position and the details of the job offer -to comment on it by the forum users .

With a vague Qs , how can any one provide any inputs ?

i dont know about the offer of aspire job but there is a filipino school not very far from the aspire its next to egyption school