Saudi Arabia grants grace period for expat workers registered as absentees
60-day deadline to readjust status and transfer services through 'Qiwa' platform
Cairo: Saudi Arabia has unveiled a grace period for expatriate workers against whom absence complaints are filed to allow them to rectify their legal status.
The 60-day deadline was launched by the Ministry of Human Resources giving those expats the grace period starting from December 1 until January 29 to correct their status and transfer their services, according to the Saudi news portal Akhbaar24.
Such workers can readjust their situation through the ministry's "Qiwa" platform and conduct the transfer.
The initiative covers professional employees linked to establishments. The platform, however, noted that the grace period is not applied to domestic workers whose affairs lie outside the jurisdiction of "Qiwa".
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Saudi Arabia is home to a large community of expatriate workers.
In recent years, the kingdom has introduced a series of labour reforms to make its job market more attractive and competitive.
To this end, the Saudi government had earlier this year approved a host of substantial labour changes to preserve contractual rights.
A notice for terminating an employment contract with non-specific duration is now put at 30 days if the notice comes from the worker, and 60 days on the employer's side.
The changes also obligate the employer to shun acts that could undermine or weaken implementation of the principle of equal opportunities among workers.
According to these amendments, maternity leave has increased from 10 weeks to 12.
Another amendment puts the duration of work on a trial basis at a maximum of 180 days.
It is now mandatory for employers to cover the return ticket costs for workers after the end of their contractual relationship.
In 2020, Saudi Arabia unveiled major labour reforms, drastically improving its sponsorship system.