Saudi Arabia: Mandatory professional licences for workers
Licensing for workers in commercial establishments comes into effect from June 1
Cairo: Starting from next month, commercial establishments in Saudi Arabia will be obligated to get professional licences for their workers, the kingdom’s Ministry of Municipal, Village and Housing Affairs has said.
The obligation, set to take effect as of Thursday, covers workers in 40 commercial activities overseen by municipalities, the ministry added.
Licensing is a prerequisite for vocational practices and renewing licences for establishments, according to the ministry, which said that it is mandatory for at least one worker in the first phase of applying the decision.
This requires verifying the workers’ educational or experience certificates and necessary skills to do their jobs well.
The ministry has urged owners of commercial establishments to swiftly apply for issuing the professional licences for their employees via the platform “Balady” to head off halting renewal of their business licences.
The licence gives the commercial establishments an edge for enhancing customers’ confidence as it helps secure protection for beneficiaries from a number of professions and offer them compensation in case of suffering damage related to the delivered products or services.
The system, meanwhile, qualifies workers to obtain the vocational verification certificate issued by the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources.
In late 2020, Saudi Arabia, home to a large community of migrant workers, disclosed labour reforms, drastically revamping the country’s sponsorship system. Millions of migrant workers benefitted from the reforms, which came into effect in March 2021.
These reforms 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.