Saudi Ministry of Labor to fine businesses for keeping workers’ passports

Saudi Ministry of Labor to fine businesses for employer-related violations

An employer who keeps the passports of his employees will be fined SAR2,000 (or PhP25,000), and one who doesn’t provide a copy of the contract to its workers will be fined SAR5,000 (or PhP62,000), according to the Ministry of Labor’s new regulations.

Furthermore, any employer who forces his workers to do jobs not specified in the contract or who asks his workers to bear expenses which he is liable to pay will be fined up to SAR15,000 (or PhP186,000).

image source saudigazette

Companies will also be fined if they postpone the payment of salaries, compel employees to work extra hours without overtime payment, or compel them to work during official weekends and holidays.

Other violations include forcing workers to work in bad weather conditions without proper precautions, depriving workers from getting recommendation letters, and failure to provide training to at least 12% of the company’s Saudi employees.

Companies will also be fined up to SAR25,000 (or PhP310,000) if they misleadingly claim the employment of Saudis or if they hire expatriates in jobs that are restricted to Saudis. These companies will also be forced to close for five days.

Anyone who sells visas to expatriates will be fined SAR50,000 (or PhP620,000) while employing an expatriate without a license will be fined SAR45,000 (or PhP558,000).

Companies hiring men on jobs marked for women will be fined SAR10,000 (or PhP124,000) for each male employee and will be forced to close for one day. Other fines are for violations which include employing women in mixed areas and forcing them to work during banned working hours. Fines for these violations range between SAR10,000 and SAR5,000 (or PhP124,000 and PhP62,000).

The ministry specified a fine of up to SAR 25,000 (or PhP310,000) for companies violating safety and health standards, as well as employing minors. The ministry will also fine recruitment offices from SAR10,000 to SAR20,000 (or PhP124,000 to PhP248,000) if they do not get license from the ministry before any recruitment process or if they fail to register the services in the ministry at all.

Furthermore, there is a fine of SAR25,000 (or PhP31,000) if a business owner provides false information to the Ministry of Labor and SR10,000 (or PhP124,000) if the business owner creates problems in the work of the ministry’s investigation officers.

A repeat offense will cause the fines to double. A company is required to pay the fine within one month or else it will be considered a repetition of the violation.

Companies can appeal the violation within 60 days.

Source : SaudiGazette