[ Chapter -1( Part I – Definitions , Part II - General Provisions) | Chapter -2( Part I- Employment of Citizens,Part II - Regulation of Foreigners Employment )
Chapter
-3 Contract of Employment |
Chapter -4
( Part
I – Salaries, Part II
- Leave
, Part III - Hours of Work
) Chapter -5 Employment of Juveniles and Females [ Part I - Employment of Juveniles , Part II - Employment of female
Chapter
-6 Industrial Safety | Chapter
-7 Employment of Employees in Mines and Quarries |
Chapter
-8 Labour
Disputes
Chapter
-9 Representative Committees Chapter - 10
Penalties ]
Article 1: For the application of the provisions of this Law, unless the context otherwise provides, the following words and expressions shall have the following meaning:
PART II - General and Provisional provisions Article 2 : The provisions of this Law shall not apply to:
Article 3 : Any condition which violates the provisions of this Law shall be null and void, even if it precedes its implementation,unless it is more favourable to the employee. Any discharge or reconciliation or renunciation of the rights emanating from this Law shall be null and void, if it is contrary to its provisions. Any conditions which are considered more favourable to the employee according to the laws, regulations and decisions in force on the date this law comes into force shall be applicable. Article 4: Save in cases where it is specifically provided for, the provisions of this Law shall apply to all employers and employees, establishments of different types, their local and foreign branches which practice their activities in the Sultanate whether they are public or private including private national and foreign educational institutions. Article 5: With effect from the date on which this law comes into force all employers shall provide or at least maintain the minimum standards and conditions of service stated in this law. The standards and conditions of service under which the employee has been employed before the implementation of this law shall not be reduced if the employee remains in the service of the employer after its implementation. Article 6: An employer may establish schemes by which his employees acquire benefits more generous than those awarded by this law, or may provide his employee with other benefits or may enter into agreements with them the conditions of which are more generous than those provided for in this law. If a condition in this law contradicts with any of the conditions in such schemes or agreements, the condition, which is more generous to the employee, shall be applicable. Article 7: The employee's right to make any claim under the provision of this law shall expire after lapse of one year from the date on which such claim arises. As regards cases instituted before the implementation of this law the one-year period shall start running from the date on which this law comes into force. Article 8: Officials specified by a decision from the Minister of Justice in co-ordination with the Minister will act in the capacity of judiciary officers in enforcing this law, its regulations and executive decisions. The rules and procedures organising their work shall be specified by a decision from the Minister. Such officials will have the right to enter into work places, to inspect the books and registers in order to ascertain that this law, its regulations and executive decisions are applied. Before starting their work the said officials shall swear before the Minister to carry out their work with trust and honesty and not to disclose work secrets or information or data which they know by virtue of their work, even after the end of their service. The said officials shall maintain confidentiality of any information reported to them in respect of violation of the rules of this law, its regulations and executive decisions. Article 9: The employer or the employer's representative shall offer to the officials referred to in the preceding Article, the facilities required for carrying out their duties and provide them with all statements and information they require provided that such statements and information are complete and true for the purpose of implementing this law, its regulations and executive decisions. No person is allowed to deliberately impede or obstruct those officials from carrying out their duties. Such officials may, for the sake of implementing their job, seek the assistance of policemen pursuant to the rules which will be determined by a decision from the Minister in co-ordination with the Inspector General of Police and Customs. Article 10: Cases filed by employees or by those who benefit from them, shall be exempted from fees in all stages of litigation.
Part I - Employment of Citizens Article 11: An Employer must employ Omani employees to the greatest possible extent. A decision from me Minister will specify the percentage of Omanis to expatriates in the different economic sectors or activities of each sector according to the requirements of the circumstances and activity of each sector or according to the availability of the required Omani employees. Employers must put all employees on the same footing when the nature and conditions of their work are alike. Article 12: Any Omani capable of work and wishes to work, may ask for registration of his name at the competent directorate, provide details of his age, qualifications, experience, me work he wishes to join and other information, which will be required by the Ministry. The directorate must upon receipt, register the applications under serial numbers and give the applicant a certificate of registration in accordance with a form which will be specified by the Ministry. Article 13: Concerned Directorate will undertake to do the following in respect of Omani employment:
Article 14: An employer or an employer's representative must each year send to the concerned directorate within the month of January, the forms prepared by the Ministry which shall contain the following: -
Article 15: The employer or the employer's representatives must inform the directorate in writing of vacant or new jobs and occupations of any type by stating each one of them, the salary specified for each and the date scheduled for its occupation, within one month from the date they become vacant or are created. The employer must, within one month from the date he employs a work applicant pursuant to Article (13) of this Law, send the certificate of registration of this employee to the directorate from which the certificate is issued coupled with a statement which includes the date on which the employee will report to work, his salary, and the type of work entrusted to him- The certificate of registration and its date must be recorded opposite the employee's name in the establishment's employee register. Article 16: The employer or the employer's representative must record in a specific register the names of Omanis employees working with him and the address, age, sex, and the type of work assigned to each one of them, their status, the amount of salaries and the advantages they receive in cash or in kind. Such register must be kept in the place of work. Article 17: An employer who employs fifty employees or more must appoint individuals of special needs nominated by the concerned directorate provided that they have the professional qualifications which suit their condition. These appointments shall be from within a percentage bracket, which will be determined by a decision from the Minister. Individuals with special needs who have been employed in accordance with the above paragraph, shall enjoy the same rights enjoyed by the other employees. Part II -Regulation of Foreigners Employment Article 18: An employer is not allowed to bring non-Omani employees into the Sultanate of Oman unless he obtains permits from the Ministry. And the conditions for granting permits are:
And Non -Omanis are not allowed to join any work in the Sultanate before obtaining Labour cards and the Conditions for obtaining Labour cards are:
Article 19: The Minister shall issue a decision determining:
Article 20: No person will be allowed to practice the business of supplying foreign employees unless he obtains a licence for that purpose from the Ministry. An employer is not allowed to enter into a contract with any person for the purpose of providing foreign employees unless he obtains a licence for that purpose. A decision from the Minister will specify the conditions which must be fulfilled for obtaining the licence, the rights and obligations of the licensee, the conditions and the particulars which must be available in the contract entered into between the employer and the licensee, and in particular the contract must be in writing and it must include the type of work, the classes and the salaries of the employees according to the job or occupation of each one of them, and the obligation of the licensee to return the employee back to the place from which he was brought, if it is proved that the employee does not satisfy the conditions provided for in the contract. The employer or whoever is permitted to bring foreign employees in, is not allowed to charge such employees any amount in consideration
Article 21: The contract of employment must be made in writing in Arabic and in two copies, one for each party. If the contract is written in a language other than Arabic it must be accompanied by, at least, an Arabic version, which must be approved by both parties and must have the same weight in evidence. If there is no written contract the employee may prove his rights by all means of evidence. The employee must be given a receipt of the documents and the certificates, he lodges with the employer. Article 22: If a party to the contract is unable to read or write or if he does not know the language in which the contract is written, the contract must be authenticated by the legally concerned authority. Article 23: The contract of employment must, in particular, include the following information:
Any other conditions determined by the law
Article 24: An employee may not be appointed under probation for a period which exceeds three months for those who receive their salaries monthly, and one month for those who receive their salaries otherwise. No employee shall be appointed under more than one probationary period by the same employer, and the probationary period if successfully passed, will be counted in the period of service. Any party may terminate the contract during the probationary period by giving the other party at least a seven day notice. Article 25: The employer may not deviate from the terms of the contract or ask the employee to perform any work not agreed upon unless such work is so necessary and temporary, Nevertheless, the employee may be required to perform a work not agreed upon if such work does not substantially differ from the original work. Article 26: The employer must open a special file for each employee, containing particularly the following:
The employer must keep the file referred to in the preceding paragraph, for at least one year after termination of service. Article 27: An employee shall:-
Article 28: An employer who employs fifteen employees or more, shall put in a conspicuous place in his establishment, the regulations of work after their approval by the Ministry. These regulations shall consist of: the rules which organise the work in the establishment; the rights and obligations of the employee and the employer; the rules organising the relationship between the employee, his colleagues and his superiors; the rules governing promotion if the nature of the work so requires; and the specification of salary groups, all types of allowance reimbursements and the place where they will be paid. An employer shall amend the regulations if required by the Ministry pursuant to the laws, regulations and decisions which will be issued. Article 29: An employer who employs fifteen employees or more shall put in a conspicuous place in his establishment a charter of discipline and the conditions of its application. For the implementation of such charter, its rules and its amendments must be approved by the Ministry within two months from the date it is presented to the Ministry. If such period lapses without the approval or non- approval of the Ministry being obtained, the Charter becomes applicable. Article 30: An employee cannot be accused of an offence after the expiry of more than fifteen days from the date on which the offence is discovered, likewise no disciplinary punishment shall be imposed on an employee after the expiry of more than thirty days from the date on which the offence has been proved, in the case of employees who receive their salaries on a monthly basis, and more than fifteen days for other employees. Article 31: An employer may not impose upon an employee a fine which exceeds five days' salary for one offence or suspend him from work and deprive him from all or part of his salary in respect of a single offence for a period which exceeds five days. In all cases an employee may not be subject to more than one punishment for a single offence, nor may his salary be deducted for payment of fines imposed on him for more than five days' salary in one month, nor may he be suspended from work and deprived from all or part of his salary for more than five days in one month. Article 32: If an employee is accused of committing a crime inside the place of work, the employer may suspend him for a period not exceeding three months from the date on which the concerned authorities are notified of the incident. Such an employee will be deprived from his gross salary for the first month and paid half the gross salary for the second and third months, if the said authorities decide not to commit the employee for trial or if the period of his suspension expires or if he is found innocent, he must be returned back to his work. If the employer refuses to reinstate him, his failure to do so will be considered as an arbitrary dismissal and the employer will be obliged to reimburse what has been suspended from the employees' salary in all cases. Article 33: The employer must provide his employees with access to medical facilities in the establishment and he shall, if the number of his employees in one place or one country exceeds one hundred, employ a qualified nurse for providing medical aid and shall assign a doctor to visit and treat them in the place prepared by him for such purpose. The employer must provide the employees with the medicine required for the treatment, all of which must be free of charge. If the number of the employees is more than five hundred the employer shall, in addition to what is mentioned above, provide his employees with all other means of treatment in cases, the treatment of which call for the assistance of specialist doctors or surgical operations or the like and also required medicine free of any charge, except me costs of dental, opthalmic and maternity treatment. If the employee is treated in a government hospital or a private clinic, the employer must pay the costs of treatment, medicine and impatient care, in accordance with the regulations and financial rules applied in such hospitals, subject to the provisions of the Social Insurance law. Article 34: Any employer, who practices work in areas specified by the Minister, shall undertake to provide his employees with suitable means of transport, appropriate accommodation, proper meals and drinking water in places to be prepared for such purpose within easy reach for the employees. Article 35: If an employee causes loss or destroys the means or tools of production owned by the employer or entrusted to him, intentionally or due to gross negligence, he shall be responsible for the value of such tools. The employer may, after making an investigation and notifying the employee, start deducting the said amount from the employee's salary provided that such deduction shall not exceed 25% of the employee's monthly salary. The employee may object to the employer's assessment before the concerned Directorate within one month from the date on which he becomes aware of the deduction and the objection shall be heard according to the procedures provided for in this law. Article 36: If the contract is for a limited period and the parties continue to execute it after the expiry of its period, the contract will be deemed to have been renewed with the same terms and conditions for an unlimited period. Article 37: If the contract is for an unlimited period, any party may choose to terminate it by giving the other party a thirty day written notice of termination in case of employees who receive their salaries monthly, and fifteen days for other employees unless it is agreed in the contract for a longer period. If the contract is terminated without such period being observed, the party who terminates the contract will be obliged to pay to the other party a compensation equal to the gross salary of the notice period or the remaining part thereof. Article 38: Notice of termination of the contract, issued by the employer to the employee, when the latter is on leave or public holiday, will not be valid except from the date following the end of either the leave or the public holiday. Article 39: If
the employment relationship is terminated, the employer, shall, in respect of
the employees who do not benefit from the rules of the Social Insurance Law, pay
to the employee an end of service gratuity equal to the salary of fifteen days
for each year of service for the first three years and a one month salary for
each year for the following years and the employee will be entitled to gratuity
for the fractions of the year in respect of the period he spent in service and
the last basic salary shall be the basis of calculating the gratuity. The
duration of continuous service which began before the commencement of this law
shall be counted within the period of service which will be considered for
determining the payable gratuity period. Article 40: The employer may dismiss the employee without notice and without paying end of service gratuity in any of the following cases:-
Article 41: Without prejudice to his right to claim all his entitlements an employee may, after giving notice to the employer; abandon the work before the expiry of the contractual period in any of the following instances:
Article 42: Subject to the rules of Social Insurance Law, if the employee abandons the work for any of the reasons mentioned in the preceding Article, the employer shall be obliged to pay such employee his end of service gratuity, without prejudice to the employee's right to be compensated. Article 43: The contract of employment may expire in any of the following events:-
The employees' incapacity or illness shall be proved by a medical certificate and proof of age shall be by the same certificate if it cannot be proved by birth certificate or on official printout of the same and the medical certificate must be issued by the Medical Committee, which will be convened by a decision from the Minister of Health in co-ordination with the Minister for the purpose of implementing the law, and such decision must contain the organisation of work procedures, and the decision of the said Committee shall be final. The contract may not be terminated by the employer unless the employee attains, the age of sixty at least. The employer shall, in case the contract is terminated for any of the reasons referred to above, pay the end of service gratuity provided for in Article (39) to the employee or his successors if the employee is not subject to the rules of the Law of Social Insurance. Article 44: Without prejudice to the Law of Social Insurance, if an establishment has a pension fund for the employees and the regulations of such fund provide that the employer's contribution to the fund for the employee's account is paid in consideration of discharging the employer's legal obligations pertaining to his payment of the end of service gratuity to the employee, and if the said contribution is equal to or more than the gratuity payable to the employee, the employer must pay to employee the said amount in lieu of the gratuity otherwise the employee will be entitled to the gratuity. If the employee contributes to the money of such fund he will be entitled to collect what is due to him from the pension fund as well as the end service gratuity. Article 45: Those who establish pension funds in their establishments must obtain the approval of the Ministry for such funds and their internal regulations before their registration. Lack of any objection to the internal regulations by the Ministry within sixty days from the date of their submission will be treated as an approval thereof. Article 46: When
the contract is terminated the employer shall, upon the employee's request, give
the employee a free of charge certificate of service showing the date he joined
the service, the date he left the service, the type of work he used to perform,
the salary and the other allowances and advantages if any. The employer must return to the employee the documents and certificates which may have been deposited with him. Article 47: Dissolution of the establishment, its liquidation, closure, bankruptcy or merger with another establishment or its conveyance by inheritance or sale or lease or assignment or will or gift or the like, does not prevent it from discharging all its obligations. Save in cases of liquidation, bankruptcy and final approved closure, the contract of employment will continue to exist and the successors will be jointly responsible with the former employers for discharging all the obligations prescribed by the law provided that priority will be given to the employee's rights. Article 48: The employers shall be jointly liable among themselves for any violation of this law and the transferees of all or part of the business shall also be jointly liable with the original employer for discharging the entire obligations imposed by the rules referred to above. Article 49: Salaries and other amounts due to the employee shall be paid by the currency legally in circulation unless it is agreed that it shall be in kind Article 50: The Council of Ministers shall determine the minimum limit of salaries according to the requirements of economical circumstances and it may determine the minimum limit of a certain category of employees who hold jobs or occupations the circumstances or nature of which require such determination. The Minimum limit shall be determined by a decision to be issued by the Minister. Article 51: Salaries shall be paid on one of the working days subject to the following rules:
Article 52: If the employment relationship comes to an end, the employee shall be paid his salary and all amounts due to him immediately, except when the employee abandons the work by himself in which case, the employer shall pay the employee's salary and all his entitlements within seven days from the date he abandons the work. Article 53: The employer will not be discharged from payment of the employee's salary unless the employee signs the register designed for this purpose acknowledging that he has received his salary, or signs the pay roll or a specific receipt designed for such purpose or unless the salary is transferred into the account of the employee in one of the locally approved banks provided that the particulars of these documents must state the details of the salary. Article 54: Salaries, rights, other benefits and all other amounts due to the employee or his successors according to the rules of this law shall have priority over all the employer's debts except the maintenance awarded by the Sharia Court. Article 55: An employee shall not be compelled, to buy either foodstuff or commodities from certain stores or the employer's products. Article 56: The employer is under an obligation to repatriate the non-Omani employee to his country after the expiry of the work relationship, unless the employee's sponsorship is transferred to another. If the employer fails to discharges this obligation the concerned Directorate must repatriate the employee at the expense of the government and recover the amount paid from the employer. Article 57: An employer may not transfer an employee who receives his salary monthly, to a group of employees who receive their salaries daily or a group of employees who receive their salaries weekly or by piece or hourly, unless the employee agrees to such transfer in writing. The employee shall, in case he agrees to be transferred, enjoy all the rights acquired during the period in which he receives his salary monthly in accordance with the rules of this law. Article 58: An employer may not deduct more than 15% of the employee's salary in repayment of any money borrowed by the employee during the continuation of the contract, and the employer shall not charge any interest on such loan and this rule applies to salaries paid in advance. The Minister may amend the percentage referred to above or fix an interest on the loans if the employer introduces a loan system approved by the Ministry to enable the employees to build their houses provided that it shall not exceed the maximum interest laid down by the Central Bank. Article 59: Salaries payable to employees shall not be attached or assigned except to the extent of one quarter thereof for discharge of Sharia Maintenance debt or payment of amounts due from the employee to the Government or the employer, and in case of competition between creditors, payment of Sharia Maintenance debt shall have priority. If the employee's service is terminated, Government and employer's dues if any, shall be deducted from the end of service gratuity and from any other entitlements. Article 60: If a shift employee or an employee whose salary is determined on an: hourly; daily, weekly; half weekly, or a monthly basis, is absent from work without permission or reasonable justification, he shall only be paid the salary for the hours he actually worked. The hourly salary of the employee who receives his salary on monthly basis, shall be calculated by dividing the gross salary by the period for which he will be given the salary then divided by the number of the original hours according to the contract of employment or according to law whichever is lesser. The hourly salary of the shift employee shall be calculated by dividing the gross salary of the work shift (upon the assumption that he has worked the fall shift), by the number of the original hours excluding the overtime hours. The salary of the employee shall not be deducted when he absents himself from work for any hour or day if he is called to attend before the court or the public prosecutor as a witness. Article 61: An
employee shall, upon completion of one year of continuous service with the
employer, have a right to an annual leave with basic salary, for a period of
fifteen days, to be increased to thirty days for every year thereafter. An employee shall have the right to a four day emergency leave with gross salary during the year in emergency cases, and it shall not exceed two days per each case. The duration of the continuous service, which starts before the application of this Law, shall be deemed to be part of the duration of service, which will be considered when determining the leave period to which the employee is entitled and the employee may not waive his leave. Article 62: Save in cases of juvenile employees' leave, it is permissible to schedule the leave according to the work requirements. The employer may, pursuant to the preceding paragraph, delay the employee's annual leave for one year. An employee must at least take leave of not less than two weeks, once every two years. If the employee agrees in writing, the employer shall pay him his basic salary for the days of annual leave, which he has not taken. Article 63: The employer may deprive the employee from his salary for the period of leave, or recover any salary given to such employee, if it is proved that the employee has worked for another employer during such leave. Article 64: An employee will be entitled to the basic salary of the remaining leave days if he leaves the employment before making use of such days. Article 65: The employee is entitled to his gross salary during the holidays of festivals and occasions which will be determined by a decision from the Minister. If an official holiday coincides with a prescribed weekly rest day, it shall be compensated by one other day. However, if the official holiday falls within the period of the employee's annual leave, the employee will not be entitled to any compensation in respect thereof. An employee may, if the circumstances of the work so require, be asked to report to work on an official holiday in which case he will be entitled to either receive his gross salary for the official holiday with an excess of not less than 25%, or take a rest day in lieu of it. Article 66: Subject to the provisions of the Social Insurance Law, an employee whose sickness is proved shall have the right to a sick leave not exceeding in total ten weeks in one year whether such weeks are continuous or separate and the sick leave shall be granted as follows: The first and second week, with gross salary. The third and fourth week, with three quarters of the gross salary. The fifth and sixth week, with half the gross salary. The seventh to the tenth week, with a quarter of the gross salary. Proof of sickness shall be by a medical certificate. However, in case there is a dispute, the matter shall be referred to the Medical Committee, provided for in Article (43) of this Law. A sick employee may make use of the remaining annual leave in addition to the sick leave he is entitled to. Article 67: An employee is entitled to special leave with gross salary, according to the following circumstances:
In order to be entitled to the leave provided for in paragraphs 2, 3 and 6, the employee must present proof of death from the relevant authorities. Article 68: An employee may not be required to actually work for more than nine hours a day and for a maximum of forty-eight hours a week which shall not include the periods specified for taking food and rest. The maximum hours of work during Ramadan, shall be six hours a day or 36 hours a week for Muslims employees and the time for close of work may be determined by a decision from the Minister. Article 69: There shall be one or more periods during working hours for taking food and rest, the total of which shall not be less than half an hour provided that the continuous period of work shall not exceed six hours. A decision from the Minister shall determine the cases and works which, for technical reasons and operational circumstances, require continuation of work with no rest period and exhausting and hard labour for which an employee will be granted rest periods which will be considered as part of the actual working hours. Article 70: If an employee is required to work for more than the hours prescribed for in Article 68 the employer must either give such employee extra payment equivalent to the ordinary salary to which his is entitled for the overtime work, plus at least 25%, or grant him a permission of absence from work in lieu of the extra hours which he has done, provided that the said employee agrees to such an arrangement. With regard to the work that takes place at ports, airports, on vessels, ships or aircrafts, the employer and the employee, may, after obtaining the approval of the Ministry, agree on payment of a fixed allowance for the employees in lieu of the overtime payments. However, the Minister may add any other similar works. Article 71: An employer must grant the employee not less than twenty-four consecutive hours of rest per week after at most six continuous working days. Accumulation of weekly rest periods for not more than eight weeks may be permitted by the Minister in respect of certain places of work specified by him if the employer and the employee agree to this in writing. The weekly rest shall, in all cases, be payable. Article 72: The employer is not bound by the provisions of Articles (68) and (69) of this Law in the following cases:
Article 73: The employer shall grant the employee, in respect of the cases provided for in the preceding Article, an extra salary equivalent to the salary to which he is entitled for the overtime period plus 25% at least for e day time working hours, and 50% for night time working hours. If such work is performed during the weekly rest day or during the official holidays the employee shall, unless compensated with another day during the subsequent week, be entitled to double salary for such day, unless he is granted another day in lieu thereof within the following week. Article 74: An employer shall display on the main entrances, which the employees use for entering their place of work, and on conspicuous places in the establishment, a schedule showing the hours of work and the weekly periods of rest and the time of the weekly rest. A copy of this schedule and any alteration thereto shall be sent to the concerned Directorate.
Part I - Employment of Juveniles Article 75: It is prohibited to employ both male and female juveniles. Such juveniles are not permitted to enter places of work before attaining the age of fifteen. The Minister may, by a decision, raise this age in respect of some industries and works if the nature of such work so requires. Article 76: Juveniles whose ages are below 18 shall not be required to work between 6.00 p.m. and 6 a.m., nor shall they be required to work for more than six hours a day. Such juveniles shall not stay in the place of work for more than seven consecutive hours and there must be, within the work hours, one or more periods for rest and meals which shall not be less than one hour in total. Such period or periods must be fixed so that they will not work for more than four consecutive hours. Article 77: In all cases it is not permissible, to require juveniles to perform overtime work or keep them in the place of work after the prescribed time nor shall they be required to work on days of rest or official holidays. Article 78: The employer shall, when he employs one or more juveniles: -
Article 79: Subject to the foregoing provisions, the Minister may specify the system of juveniles work and the circumstances and conditions of employment, works, jobs and industries in which they work according to the different levels of ages. Part II - Employment of Females Article 80: Without prejudice to the provisions of this Chapter, all the rules regulating the employment of employees are applicable to female employees without discrimination in work between them. Article 81: Females shall not be employed to work between 6.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. save in cases, works, and occasions which will be specified by a decision from the Minister. Article 82: Females shall not be employed either to perform a work which is harmful to health or hard labour or such other works which will be specified by a decision from the Minister. Article 83: A female employee, who has been working for a year with her employer, shall have the right, upon presenting a medical certificate showing delivery date, to maternity leave before and after delivery for a period not exceeding, in total, six weeks. However such a female will be entitled to choose either to consider her period of absence from work as a maternity leave without pay, or as a sick leave pursuant to Article (66) of this Law. Article 84: The
employer is not permitted to dismiss a female employed for being absent due to
sickness, which will be proved by a medical certificate to be attributable to
pregnancy or delivery, and that she cannot resume her work, provided however
that such a period of absence shall not in total exceed six months. Article 85: The employer shall in case he employs a female employee or more, display in the place of work, a copy of the female employees rules. Article 86: Subject to the foregoing provisions, the Minister, shall issue a decision specifying the rules for employing female employees and the circumstances in which their work may be performed as well as the works, jobs and the industries in which they work.
Article 87: Every employer or employer's representative must, before hiring an employee, acquaint him with the hazards of his occupation and the preventive measures, which must be adopted. The employer must take the necessary precautions to protect the employees during the work from injury to their health and dangers of work and machinery by: -
The employer is not allowed to charge the employees or deduct from their salaries any amounts for the provision of such protection. Article 88: The employee must refrain from any action intended to obstruct implementation of the instructions or the misuse or causing of damage or loss to the means provided for the protection, safety and health of his fellow employees. He must use means of protection and undertake to take care of those means which are in his possession and to carry out the instructions prescribed for preserving his health and protecting him from getting injured. Article 89: The following may be determined by a decision from the Minister in co-ordination with the concerned Governmental entities: -
Article 90: The Ministry may appoint inspectors to check that employers are carrying out the instructions mentioned in the Minister's decisions regarding the precautions stipulated in article 89. Such inspectors shall have the right to enter places of work and examine the records of employees and question whoever they wish and to make reports. The concerned Directorate shall on the basis of these reports, give a written warning to an employer who violates such regulations, to remove the violations within a prescribed period. If there is a danger to the safety and health of employees, the Ministry may take the necessary actions to entirely or partially close the place of work, or to stop the work of one or more equipments until the reasons of danger are eliminated. The Ministry may, if necessary, seek the assistance of the Omani Royal Police.
Article 91: For the application of the provisions of this Chapter, industries of mines and quarries shall mean:
Article 92: The employer shall not allow any employee to work in the operations to which this Chapter applies except after subjecting such an employee to medical examination and proving his fitness to work in such operations. However, this will be in accordance with the rules and conditions which will be issued by a decision from the Minister in coordination with the Minister of Health. The said Ministerial Decision must provide that the employee will be subject to a periodical medical examination at least once a year if the employee is from those who work inside the ground or carrying out drilling works. A medical examination must also be carried out on the employee upon expiry of his contract of employment, to ascertain his condition and verify whether he has contracted any occupational illness. Article 93: Entry in places of work and related premises is not permissible except for the employees or the officials who are authorised to inspect the mines or quarries and other persons holding a licence from the concerned government authorities or from the management of the establishment. An employee is not permitted to enter the place of work and related premises at times other than working hours. Article 94: Employers shall prepare a special register for recording employees entry in and exit from the places of work. Article 95: It is not permissible to let employees stay in places of work whether on the surface of the ground or inside the ground, for a period that exceeds eight hours a day. However, such period shall include the time the employee spends in reaching the place of work inside the ground from the surface of the ground and the time he spends in returning back to the surface of the ground. There shall be one or more periods for taking meals which shall not be less than an hour, in total. Article 96: Non compliance with the provisions of Article (95) may be exceptionally and temporarily permitted if the work is intended to prevent the occurrence of an accident or the avoidance of danger, or repairing the damage which results therefrom or for the preparations or maintenance provided that:
Article 97: The ordinary leave provided for in Article (61) above, will be calculated from the time when the employee (having left the mine), reaches the nearest city where public transport to his home town is available, and expires when the employee returns to that same city. Article 98: The employer or the employer's representative shall draft the regulations of safety precautions and occupational health. Article 99: The mine or the quarry manager or his representative shall: -
Article 100: The employer or employer's representative must establish a front rescue point near the place of work which shall be equipped with rescue equipment and the necessary aid and there must be a suitable means of communication inside this place fit for immediate assistance and shall appoint a medically trained employee to supervise rescue operations and first aid. Article 101: The employer must allocate in any mine or quarry in which, at least, fifty employees are working, a suitable place containing a room equipped with means of rescue and first aid and another room for nursing in addition to a room or more for changing dressings. Mines and quarries the employees of which are less than fifty and located in circles the diameter of which reach twenty kilometers, must participate in establishing a place for rescue and aid in a central location. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article (33), the means of rescue and aid shall be specified by a decision from the Minister. Article 102: Drinking water must be kept in special containers perfectly sealed to prevent pollution. Such containers must be put in places within easy reach for the employees. The water must be changed daily and containers shall be cleaned at least twice a week in a hygienic approved manner. Article 103: An employer who conducts a work as defined in Article (91), must: -
The Minister may issue a decision stating the places from which the employees may return to their residences.
Article 104: The provisions of this chapter shall apply to any dispute concerning work or work conditions, which takes place between an employer and one of his employees or between one or more employers and all or any of their employees. Article 105: Any employer employing fifty or more employees must put in a conspicuous place a procedures for complaints and grievances to be approved by the concerned Directorate. The aforesaid procedures must provide that the employee shall have the right to submit his complaint or grievance to the employer or the employer's representative. Article 106: An employee who has been dismissed from work may apply to the concerned Directorate within 15 days from the date he has been notified of the dismissal of his notice, to cancel the decision of dismissal. The concerned authority shall take the necessary measures to settle the dispute amicably. The directorate must reduce it to writing and follow up its execution. If the employer refuses to execute the agreed settlement, he shall be obliged to pay an amount equivalent to the employee's salary for the period from the date of settlement until the date he executes the same. If the dispute is not settled within two weeks, or if settled and any of the parties refuse to execute it, the concerned authority shall refer the matter to the competent court within a period not exceeding two weeks from the date of the expiry of the aforesaid period or from the date of the refusal to execute it, together with a memorandum containing a summary of the dispute and the parties' arguments. The Secretariat of the court shall, within three days from the date the matter is referred to the court, present the same to the president of the court to fix a date for a hearing within a period not exceeding two weeks from the date of referral. A summons for the date of hearing, with enclosed copy of the said Directorate memorandum, shall be served on the employee, the employer and the concerned Directorate. The court shall make a decision in respect of the application for staying the execution of such dismissal, if any, within a period not exceeding two weeks from the date of the first hearing session and the court judgment shall be final. If the court decides to stop the enforcement of the dismissal, the employer shall be bound to reinstate the employee or to pay him an amount equal to his salary until the subject matter of the dispute is adjudicated. The court shall pass its judgment on the dispute within a period not exceeding one month from the date the enforcement of the dismissal is stayed. If it is proved to the court that the dismissal of the employee or the termination of his services was arbitrary or contrary to the Law, it may decide to either reinstate the employee or oblige the employer to pay him fair compensation in addition to:
The amounts which the employee may have received in execution of the judgment, shall be deducted from the compensation amount awarded to the employee or from any other amounts due to him. Article 107: An employee who has a complaint shall first adopt the system applied by the employer. If such system does not exists or if it exists but the employee finds no solution for his complaint, he may submit an application to the concerned Directorate for the settlement of his dispute with the employer.
Article 108: The employees of any establishment may establish, among themselves, a Representative Committee for the purpose of protecting their interests and defending their legally established rights as well as representing them in all matters pertaining to their affairs. Article 109: Representative Committees in establishments may select a Principal Representative Committee for representing them in meetings and the local, regional, and international conferences. Article 110: The Minister may issue a decision establishing the rules appertaining to the formation and tasks of the Representative Committees and the Principal Committee.
Article 111: Notwithstanding any more severe penalty provided for in any other law, the violations referred to in the following articles shall be punished by the penalties provided for therein. Article 112: The employer or the employer's representative who refuses to provide the necessary facilities or accurate information or who provides false statements to official employees, will be imprisoned for a period not exceeding one month and with a fine not exceeding RO 100 or both or by one of the two penalties. Article 113: Whoever violates the provisions of Articles 14,15 and 16 of Chapter One in Part II will be punished by a fine of not less than R.O 10 and not more than R.O 100 for each employee and for violation of Article (17) by a fine of not less than R.O 50 and not more than R.O 100. Such punishment shall be doubled if such violation is repeated. Article 114: Whoever employs non-Omani employees without having a license for that will be punished with a fine of not less than R010 and not more than RO 100. The number of such penalties shall be multiplied proportionately with the number of such employees in whose respect the violations are committed. Such an employer shall, at his own expense, give the employee the costs of his repatriation. Further, the employer will not be allowed to bring into the Sultanate of Oman, any non-Omani employees for a period of not more than one year. A non-Omani employee who works in the Sultanate, without a licence from the concerned Directorate, or works with any employer, other than the employer, who obtained a licence to bring him to Oman, shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month and punished with a fine not exceeding R0100 or by one of the both, in addition to the cancellation of the licence issued to the employer if any. Any employer who willfully allows any of his employees to work with another employer will be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month and fine not exceeding R0200, for each employee or by one of these two punishments and the punishment will be multiplied by the number of the employees in respect of whom the breach has been committed. Such employer may not be allowed to bring into Oman any non-Omani employee for a period not exceeding one year. Any employer who does not comply with the prescribed percentage of Omanisation shall be punished with fine equal to 50% of the average of the total salaries of the non- Omani employees, who represent the difference between the percentage of Omanisation which will be observed by the employer, and the percentage which the employer actually achieves. Any recruiter of foreign employees who contravenes the provisions of Article (20) and the decisions which organise labour permits and their conditions, will be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month and a fine not exceeding RO 200 or by one of these two penalties both in addition to the cancellation of the labour permit or its suspension for a period not exceeding one year. Any employer who violates the provisions of Article (29) will be punishable with a fine of not less than RO 50 and not more than R0 200. Article 115: Whoever violates the provisions of Chapter Three and the decision issued for its execution shall be punishable with a fine of not less than R.O 10 and not more than R.O 100. However, such punishment shall be multiplied according to the number of the employees in whose respect the breach is committed and the punishment shall be doubled in case of repetition. Article 116: Whoever violates the provisions of Part I and n of Chapter Four shall be punished with a fine not exceeding R.O. 100. However such punishment shall be multiplied according to the number of the employees in whose respect the breach is committed and the punishment shall be doubled in case of repetition. Article 117: Whoever violates the provisions of Part Three of Chapter Four shall be punished by a fine of not more than R.O. 100. However, such punishment shall be multiplied according to the number of the employees in whose respect the breach is committed and the punishment shall be doubled in case of repetition. Article 118: Whoever violates the provisions of Chapter Five will be punished with a fine not exceeding R.O 100. Such punishment shall be multiplied according to the number of the juveniles and the female employees who have been employed in breach of such provisions. If such violations are committed again within one year from the date of judgment, the employer may be punished in addition to the fine, with imprisonment for not more than a week. Article 119: Any employer who violates the provisions of Article (92) shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of not less than a week and not more than one month and any employer who violates any other provision in Chapter Seven shall be punishable with a fine of not less than R.O 100 for each employee. Such punishment shall be doubled if the violation is repeated. Article 120: Any employer refusing to lay down a procedure for complaints and grievance as stipulated by Article (105) will be punished by a fine of not less than R.O. 100 and not more than R.O. 300. Whoever refuses to execute the amicable settlement provided for in Article (106) shall be punished by a fine of not less than R.O 50 and not more than R.O. 100, such punishments shall be multiplied by the number of the employees in whose respect the violation is committed. Article 121: Any employee who discloses any job secret, during the course of his employment, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding R.O 100 and an imprisonment for not more than three months or by any of the two penalties. Article 122: Any person who deliberately obstructs or interrupts a government official from exercising his powers or performing his duties shall be punished by a fine not exceeding RO 100 and an imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month or with both penalties. Such penalty will be doubled if the violation is repeated.
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