Ask the Law: What penalties can an employer impose on a worker

Question: I am a company owner. What are the penalties that an employer is legally entitled to impose on a worker? Is it necessary to inform the employee and the Ministry of Labour about the penalty?

Answer: The penalties, as per Article 39 of the Federal Labour Law no. 33 of 2021 , are (a) Written notice; (b) Written warning; (c) Deduction of not more than (5) five days per month of wage; (d) Suspension from work for a period not exceeding (14) fourteen days and non-payment of wage for the suspension days; (e) Deprivation from the periodic bonus for a period not exceeding one year… according to the provisions of the employment contract or the establishment’s regulations; (f) Deprivation of promotion for a period not exceeding two years; and (g) Termination of service while preserving the worker’s right to end of service benefits.)

Note that none of the penalties set out in in the law may be imposed on the worker except after informing him in writing of the charges against him, as well as hearing his statements and defence, and recording the foregoing in a report to be deposited in his private file and annotated with the penalty at its end.

The worker shall be notified in writing of the penalties, as well as the grounds for their imposition and the penalty in case of recurrence. These sanctions are internal, which means it is not necessary for the employer to inform the Ministry of Labour after the penalty is imposed.

The employer shall draw up a schedule of penalties clarifying each of the disciplinary sanctions set out in the law.

The worker may not be accused of a violation that was detected more than (30) thirty days ago, and no disciplinary sanction may be imposed more than (60) days after the date of completing the investigation of the violation and establishing it against the worker who shall have the right to file a grievance claim with the management for the penalty imposed against him.