Saudi Arabia penalises employers for failing to provide health insurance to workers and families

Cairo: Saudi Arabia’s health authorities have imposed penalties on several employers, who have failed to provide the health insurance cover to their employees and families.

The penalties were applied by the Council of Health Insurance Council against those employers, whose number was not given, because they violated the provisions of the Saudi health insurance system by not providing mandatory health coverage for their employees and their family members, and did not heed previous warnings issued to them to rectify the situation.

Under the Saudi health insurance system, if the employer fails to subscribe or fails to pay the health insurance premiums for covered employees and their families, the employer shall be required to pay the due premiums, in addition to a fine not exceeding the value of the annual subscription per individual.

Violators may also be deprived of recruiting workers for a temporary period or permanently.

The measures aim to preserve the rights of health insurance beneficiaries and ascertain access to these rights in the highest standards of quality and efficiency.

The council’s spokesperson, Iman Al Tariqi, said that by imposing penalties on non-compliant employers, the government agency is keen to safeguard the health insurance beneficiaries’ rights as well as those of their family members covered by the system.

She added that compliance with the related rules reflects employers’ keenness on workers’ rights and contributes to promoting a healthy and sustainable work environment.