Private sector employee can do two jobs in Saudi Arabia

Cairo: A private sector worker in Saudi Arabia can do two jobs at the same time, the labour authorities in the kingdom have said.

“Private sector employees are allowed to combine two jobs,” the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources said.

The ministry added that in such a case, the worker’s employment contract and bylaws of the employing establishment should be checked to ensure they do not have a term proscribing keeping two jobs.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has sought to regulate its job market, and boost its attractiveness and competitiveness.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Human Resources unveiled an authentication plan via its Qiwa platform obligating private sector institutions to document 20 per cent of their employees’ contracts in the first quarter of 2023, 50 per cent in the second half, and 80 per cent in the third quarter.

The plan is designed to preserve rights of parties to the contractual relationship, provide a stable labour environment conducive for the employee’s productivity increase and boosting the job market in the kingdom.

In 2020, Saudi Arabia introduced major labour reforms, drastically improving its sponsorship system.

The reforms, which went into effect in the ensuing year, allow job mobility and regulate the exit and re-entry visa issuance for expatriate workers without employers’ approval.

Employee mobility allows expatriate workers to transfer between employers upon the expiry of the binding work contract without the employer’s consent.

The exit and re-entry visa reforms, meanwhile, allow expatriate workers to travel outside Saudi Arabia without the employers’ approval after submitting a request.

Saudi Arabia, a country of around 32.2 million people, is home to a large community of foreign migrants.