sadly this is FAR from uncommon. In fact, from what I've seen, it's MORE OFTEN used to 'punish' employees than to actually do anything 'good' for Qatar. Employers can deny you an NOC and there is NO recourse for you-- so even if you finish your contract in good faith, they can still decide not to give it to you! I know loads of people who have been essentially forced to stay with employers because they know they won't be given an NOC if they don't renew their contracts, and they and their families will have to leave. This puts all the power in the hands of employers; while there are some good ones, far too many use this control for evil: because you can't switch jobs easily, there is nothing pushing employers to treat their staff well in order to keep them. They see NO reason to give raises, help with career development, or address concerns. Heck, I've even seen employers use their massive amount of control granted by the current visa system to tie up employees visas in paperwork (and without your Residence Permit, their employee then cannot get a car, rent an apartment, etc etc without their say so), and deny employees vacation time that's guaranteed in their contracts. You might get x number of days off, but if your boss won't give you an exit permit, there is NOTHING you can do. My grandmother died a few years ago and I had to beg and plead and grovel to get an exit permit off my sponsor in order to go home for her funeral. Disgusting.
Qatar cannot and will not develop into it's potential if it continues to endorse an unjust system like this!
sadly this is FAR from uncommon. In fact, from what I've seen, it's MORE OFTEN used to 'punish' employees than to actually do anything 'good' for Qatar. Employers can deny you an NOC and there is NO recourse for you-- so even if you finish your contract in good faith, they can still decide not to give it to you! I know loads of people who have been essentially forced to stay with employers because they know they won't be given an NOC if they don't renew their contracts, and they and their families will have to leave. This puts all the power in the hands of employers; while there are some good ones, far too many use this control for evil: because you can't switch jobs easily, there is nothing pushing employers to treat their staff well in order to keep them. They see NO reason to give raises, help with career development, or address concerns. Heck, I've even seen employers use their massive amount of control granted by the current visa system to tie up employees visas in paperwork (and without your Residence Permit, their employee then cannot get a car, rent an apartment, etc etc without their say so), and deny employees vacation time that's guaranteed in their contracts. You might get x number of days off, but if your boss won't give you an exit permit, there is NOTHING you can do. My grandmother died a few years ago and I had to beg and plead and grovel to get an exit permit off my sponsor in order to go home for her funeral. Disgusting.
Qatar cannot and will not develop into it's potential if it continues to endorse an unjust system like this!