Typing centres now assist low income workers send online notification to employers required by the Ministry of Administrative Development Labour and Social Affairs as part of the job change procedure.
Typing centres are now seeing an increase in people availing their facilities for job change.
A number of these centres have started new services that help low income workers to send online notification to employers required by the Ministry of Administrative Development Labour and Social Affairs as part of the job change procedure.
The Law No 21 of 2015 regulating the entry, exit and residency of expatriates allows expatriate workers to change jobs subject to terms and conditions.
The services providers told The Peninsula that the notification procedure is easy, and can be done any where. However, the notification letter requires signature of the applicant, which then needs to be scanned and attached while applying for job change.
"Many workers do not have facilities to do all these online, especially the scanning. So, they approach us at the services centres. We have many workers approaching us asking to help with the formalities," a manager of typing centre at Al Ghanim, told The Peninsula.
The service charges differ from one place to other, usually ranging from QR 30 in Industrial Area to QR50 in Doha.
“We have processed many job-change notifications successfully,” said a manager of a typing centre operating near Dar Al Kutub roundabout.
“We receive a number of job change applications daily, most of them from expatriates who have completed five years with their companies in open (indefinite) work contract. Employees with definite job contract could also apply for job change after expiring the contract period, as per the new rule."
Job change procedures 'very smooth'
“We also sent some of the applicants back as they do not have job contracts, which is a necessary requirement for the job change procedure. Other requirements include commercial registration (CR) copies of both companies – existing and new company, and Residency Permit. The phone SIM of the applicant should be on his name to receive the approval text message from the system. Otherwise, the request of the job change notification will be rejected,” said another service provider.
The job-change notification is usually processed within a few seconds and the applicant receives an SMS immediately informing about the registration. This is followed by another text message, within some time, about the approval or rejection of the application in Arabic and English.
After receiving the approval text message, the applicant needs not go to his existing employer for any type of approval.
Applicants can head to his embassy for obtaining police clearance certificate (PCC), fill in the job change form, take stamp and signature from the new company and go to Passport Office in Gharrafa.
"Job change procedures are moving very smoothly. Many people have changed their jobs through our office. We charge QR50 per request for sending the notification," said an employee of another typing centre.
"Today, an approval came for job change request processed from our office for a Nepali security guard. The applicant worked more than five years with the existing company and wanted to change to another company," he added.
"We have a number of job change applicants and so far, seven requests for job change notification have been processed from our office, all of them successfully. They were two Nepalese, one Pakistani, three Indians and one from Djibouti, most of them laborers. They received the text message from the system as “Accepted," he said.
