Seasonal staff for Umrah companies in Makkah: contracts, attendance and payroll
How to prepare files for supervisors, guides and drivers, track attendance across scattered sites, and reach a payroll nobody disputes.
At peak an Umrah company relies on people who do not work for it all year: hotel supervisors, guides, reception coordinators and drivers. In Makkah they are spread across distant hotels and sites, so it is hard for a manager to know each morning who showed up, or for an accountant to know at month end what each person is owed. This guide organises that work for HR and operations teams.
Before the season: a complete file for each person
Sort the paperwork before the pressure starts. This is an internal working list, not an exhaustive statement of what the rules require:
- ID and its validity, plus any document the role needs and when it expires.
- The contract, its type, start and end dates, and the agreed pay.
- The site, direct supervisor and expected shift.
- The ID number on the fingerprint device, if they will use one.
- How to reach them, and their consent to messages.
Labour law, social insurance and platforms such as Qiwa have their own requirements. This guide does not replace checking them and your adviser.
Rosters: publish them so everyone knows
A schedule in a manager’s file never reaches the supervisor in the field. Publish the week’s roster, and tie it to what is really happening: groups arriving, hotel check-in times and visits. The Ramadan preparation timetable helps here, especially in the last ten nights when more cover is needed.
Attendance across scattered sites
No single method suits everyone. Compare them like this:
| Method | Suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed fingerprint device | Offices and hotels with a fixed team | The device’s connection, and enrolling new staff on it |
| Field app | Supervisors and guides on the move | Weak signal, and the employee’s consent to what is recorded |
| Paper sheet | A stopgap during an outage | Entering it the same day so it is not lost |
From attendance to pay
Most seasonal pay disputes come from having no review along the way. Follow a fixed order:
- Match the published roster to actual attendance each week.
- Have the supervisor settle the exceptions: absence, lateness or a missing punch.
- Add agreed advances and deductions before closing, not after.
- Approve the run, post it to the books, then pay.
- Prepare the final settlement well before the contract ends.
Ending the season
Do not leave this to the last day: recover assets in custody, end access, close accounts, and keep the file for next season. A good employee whose record you know is quicker to rehire than a stranger. If you run staff across several cities, the guide to running branches from Jeddah completes the picture.
Training in one day
Most companies have little time to train seasonal teams, so focus on what someone needs for their first shift. One organised day is enough for a supervisor to cover: hotel locations, how to read a rooming list and programme, how to count passengers and record who is missing, how to report an incident, and who to call in each case. Staff then try it for real on the app or device before the first group arrives.
Pay attention to the language used with groups. A supervisor who speaks the group’s language saves a lot of time, so record each person’s languages in their file and use them when assigning people to groups.
How many people do you need?
No figure suits every company, and we will not give you an unsupported ratio. But you can work out your need from your own plan: simultaneous groups per hotel, daily arrivals outside office hours, tours per day, and the languages required. Map that across the season’s weeks, and you will see which ones need extra cover. Review what actually happened after the season, to improve next season’s estimate.
Who owns what?
Seasonal work stumbles when each team assumes another is responsible. This is a suggested split:
| Task | Owner |
|---|---|
| Opening the file and contract | HR |
| Setting the need, site and shift | Operations manager |
| Reviewing attendance and exceptions | Direct supervisor |
| Payroll run and payment | Finance |
| Recovering custody and ending access | HR with IT |
How Umrah Link supports your seasonal team
In People & payroll:
- A file per employee with contract and documents, and an alert before a document or seasonal contract ends.
- Shift templates and weekly rosters published to staff.
- Attendance from ZKTeco devices and the field app, with no fingerprints or face images stored in the system: only the attendance log arrives.
- Weekly timesheets comparing planned with actual, and a payroll run that is approved and then posted.
- Social insurance contributions, files for GOSI, Mudad, Qiwa and the bank, and final settlements.
Common questions
Does the system store employees’ fingerprints?
No. The fingerprint or face stays on the device, and only the attendance log reaches the system: the number, time and status.
Does a seasonal employee need a system account?
Not necessarily. They can remain a contact who receives messages after consenting, if they do not need to sign in.
Does the system replace checking labour rules?
No. It helps you organise data and files, but the rules are set by the authorities. Review them with your adviser.
Sources
This guide is general information. The rules and dates are the named authorities’ to set, so check their own pages before acting.
