Saudi Arabia: Employers responsible for workers’ final departure
Employer obligated to file for visa cancellation, absence alert if employee fails to leave
Cairo: Saudi authorities have said employers have to make sure that their expatriate workers given a final-exit visa have left the kingdom.
The Saudi General Directorate of Passports has stressed the employer’s responsibility for following up the expatriate’s departure in case a final-exit visa is issued for him/her.
The employer’s responsibility is not only limited to get such an employee the visa.
If the employer fails to know where the employee resides in the kingdom after the issuance of a final-exit visa for him/her, the former, i.e. the employer, must apply for cancelling the visa and lodge an absence report with authorities, according to the directorate.
Saudi Arabia is home to a large community of expat workers.
In recent years, the kingdom has introduced several labour reforms to make its job market more attractive and competitive.
Earlier this month, the Saudi government 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.
Moreover, a three-day paid leave is granted to the worker in case of his/her brother’s or sister’s death. According to these amendments, maternity leave increases from 10 weeks to 12 weeks.
Another amendment puts the duration of work on a trial basis at a maximum of 180 days.
These amendments will take effect 180 days from the date of publication in the kingdom’s Official Gazette.
They aim at improving the Saudi labour market, strengthening job stability, safeguarding rights of parties to contractual relationship, consolidating training opportunities and increasing employment opportunities for Saudi citizens, the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources said.
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.