Should we ask or negotiate for School/Education allowance in the salary package?
By katrinatobe •
Hi - We are couple with no kids yet, but looking to start a family next year or 2. We have received an offer for QAR 30,000 (includes housing + Transportation + Utilities), but NO education/schooling allowance for kids because obviously we don't have any yet.
My Question is:
A) Should we or are we able to negotiate in our contract/offer to receive schooling or education allowance for kids, since we are looking at a minimum 5-year period to be in Qatar and start a family next year?
B)How much roughly should the education allowance be ?
How long is your contract for? In my experience many are for 2 - 3 years, at which time if both parties want to continue a new contract is issued.
That said, check with the employer if they do offer education allowances, if yes, just make sure it's in your contract now, it's not as if you can draw on it at the moment anyways - that way you can avoid some uncertainty about future contracts.
Do you think you will be working for the same Employer in 5 years time??
The contract yo usign will refer (probably) to the standard terms and conditions of your company - which will include, or not, school fees.
If they do pay, it will be after the age of 4.
If they do not pay, it is highly unlikely that they will start to make individual exceptions.
The best way forward would be to try and negotiate your basic salary to be higher in absence of school fee allowances. However, given the fact you do not currently have any kids, and in all likelyhood will no longer work for the same company by the time it becomes an issue I would guess that they will not be particularly interested.....
marycatherine - then is it possible to have the employer pay for the tuition fees in the future (say 6-7 years down the line), without mentioning anything as of now at contract signing. What is advisable, push for the clause now or just wait-n-watch when it is needed?
Thanks Ummjake...i like your answer. It would'nt be odd to put that as a clause without the employer frowning , would it?
Also be aware that education allowances rarely cover nursery school fees - they are for regular school fees - so if you were thinking nursery school might be covered you can pretty much forget it.
There should be a clause in the contract that speaks to some sort of tuition coverage for any dependent children (should you have any while under contract), yes.
On 30,000 you will NOT be able to afford decent schooling for your children AND maintain your living standard.
The better schools in Doha (e.g., ASD) will run you between QR 20,000- 50,000 for a year of preK or Kindergarten -- so it's a chunk of change!
However, even assuming you GET pregnant on your first day in country, you're looking at 9 months in utero, followed by 4 years of infancy and toddlerhood, so at most you'd be paying for a year of preschool within your five year period.
But if you extend your contract and stay longer, then paying for schooling will become an issue -- so get the tuition coverage in the contract.
Only your employer can answer this according to their policy.
Its is not a standard entitlement.
Just like furniture allowance