Kuwait: Cash-for-holiday swap for all government employees
Civil servant must have been in service for at least 5 years
Cairo: A Kuwaiti scheme disbursing cash for workers' unused holidays will apply to all government employees in the country including expatriates, a Kuwaiti newspaper has said, citing a source at Kuwait’s state Civil Service Commission.
Last April, the Kuwaiti government issued a decree permitting employees to be paid in exchange for their unused holiday balance.
Al Anba newspaper, quoting what it termed as an official source at the commission, said that eligible employees have to meet certain conditions.
They include that the civil servant should have been in the service for at least five years and that the holiday balance should not be less than 30 days until the end of the Gregorian year. Another condition is that the employee’s last two performance evaluation reports should be excellent.
“The ministries are reviewing all applications before referring them to the Finance Ministry after they are approved by the employment institutions,” the source said.
Last February, the Kuwaiti government promised parliament to take measures and amend a civil service law in response to a parliamentary proposal allowing employees to be paid in return for unused holidays.
It is not clear how many employees in the country of around 4.6 million would benefit from the scheme.
Foreigners make up nearly 3.5 million of Kuwait’s overall population.