Kuwait City: The undersecretary at Kuwait's Ministry of Health, Dr. Mustafa Reda, announced that employees of the Ministry can apply for a vacation starting April 15, local media reported.
He pointed out each employee can enjoy up to 14 days of leave. In the case that the employee is outside of Kuwait, they are required to follow the health requirements and the orders of their supervisors.
The number of employees on leave must not exceed 10 per cent of the total workforce at the Ministry of Health to ensure that the number of medical workers that are on duty.
Those prioritised for leave will be employees who have not taken a vacation in the past six months.
The decision comes as several health workers at the Ministry of Health have not taken a vacation in months due to the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Bonus
Last week, the Minister of Health, Dr. Basel Al Sabah, gave the green light to Dr.Mustafa to hand out performance bonuses to employees that have been nominated by their supervisors.
Those eligible for the bonuses are employees that have been nominated between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. In addition, the regulations stipulated that those that can receive the bonus must have not been subjected to disciplinary action and have not taken a sick day of 15 days or more during 2020 (those that have been hospitalized are exempt).
Reward for frontline workers
To praise the tireless efforts of frontline workers, last month the government approved a draft law of 600 million Kuwaiti dinars ($1.99 billion) that will be awarded to employees in the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Interior.
The draft law has been submitted to the Emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Sabah, for approval. The draft law will also be referred to the parliament.
