Saudi Arabia unveils new domestic labour rules
Minimum age of workers is set at 21 with emphasis on contract specifics
Cairo: Saudi Arabia has unveiled new rules for employing domestic workers, setting the worker’s minimum age at 21 years as part of efforts to safeguard contractual rights and enhance the attractiveness of the labour market in the kingdom.
The new regulations published in the kingdom’s Official Gazette, Umm Al Qura, note, among other things, that all dates in the domestic worker’s contract are calculated according to the Gregorian calendar unless the contract states otherwise, and invalidate any terms contradicting these rules unless they are more beneficial to the worker.
The updated regulations, moreover, point out that the dues owed to the worker or his/her heirs are considered first-degree debts.
Contractual provisions between the employer and the worker are regulated according to a contract shaped by mandatory rules set by the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources, with the Arabic text to be the authorised version and translated into the official language understood by the worker in his/her home country.
The contract should have a fixed duration, and if not, it will be considered renewable for one year from the date of the worker doing the job.
The regulations enshrine essential elements in the contract including a job description for the worker, names, nationalities, residences, contact addresses of both parties to the contract, the employer’s official address, the dates of the contract signing and its validity.
In addition, the contract must specify the wages to be paid to the worker, the payment method, and both parties’ rights and obligations as well as the probation period that must be 90 days at most, daily working hours, weekly holiday, overtime, the contract duration, renewal method, termination and insurance.
Both parties are given the right to individually terminate the employment contract during the probation period and it is impermissible for the same employer to put the same worker under probation more than once unless both parties agree to employ the worker in a domestic labour job different from the first one.
According to the new rules, the house worker’s daily working hours are set at 10 hours and the employee is entitled to weekly paid successive 24-hour rest. Meanwhile, the employer bears the worker’s fees related to recruitment, job change, transfer of services, residency, work licence and relevant fines.
The employer is prohibited from keeping the domestic worker’s passport, other personal documents or belongings.
Furthermore, the employer is committed not to subject the worker to physical, or verbal abuse or any other sort of violence or prejudice on colour, gender or ethnic grounds. The employer is also obligated to allow the domestic worker to communicate with his/her family, embassy, human resources firms and competent agencies.
Besides, the employer is committing to providing a suitable housing place and food or offering related allowances for the domestic worker instead.
The worker is, meanwhile, committed to doing the agreed job, preserving the employer’s possessions, not to physically or verbally assault the employer or any member of his family as well as avoiding divulgence of their private secrets.
Moreover, the employee is prohibited from self-employment or working for others during the contract duration, and is obligated to respect Islam and observe systems in effect in the kingdom as well as Saudi society’s traditions.