JEDDAH, 15 September 2004 — The new Labor Law, being discussed in the Shoura Council, fixes the retirement age for men at 60 and for women at 55. It also specifies that the Council of Ministers can fix the minimum wage if necessary upon the recommendation of the minister.
The law also directs that women be paid their full gratuity if their contracts end at the time of marriage or giving birth. It confirms that a worker’s contract does not end if his employer dies. An employer is not allowed to cancel a contract without paying due compensation to the worker or without informing him.
According to a report in Okaz Arabic daily, the 120-member consultative body has already discussed 97 articles of the new labor law. There are 145 additional articles to be debated before the law is sent to higher authorities for final approval, the paper said.
Article 74 says that an employee can continue in his job even after the retirement age if his employer agrees. It also allows a person to retire early if he wants to. “If the work contract is for a fixed period and exceeds the retirement age, the contract will run until its end,” the article said.
The new law directs that a worker receive an end of service benefit (ESB) of half-month’s salary for each of the first five years of service and a month’s salary for all remaining years. The ESB will be calculated on the basis of the worker’s last salary. According to Article 86, amounts received as commissions or bonuses will not be considered part of the salary when calculating ESB.
An employer can terminate a worker’s contract without giving him compensation if the worker attacks his employer or his manager or top officials during working hours, if the worker fails to fulfill his obligations, if the worker intentionally causes damage to the company or remains absent without reason, if he exploits his position illegally for making personal gains or if he discloses the company’s industrial or trade secrets.
An employer is not allowed to terminate a contract because of sickness unless the worker has utilized all his leave entitlement, Article 82 says. The article also allows a worker to link his annual leave with sick leave. Article 61 directs that the employer deal with workers respectfully and abstain from words or acts that would harm their honor or religion.
According to Article 63, the employer must prevent the worker from bringing prohibited things into the work place and must punish workers who violate the law.
