JEDDAH: In an effort to standardize employer-employee relations in the Kingdom, the Shoura Council has passed a bill pertaining to domestic workers’ rights. The council, however, deleted a clause in the draft bill stipulating that the domestic workers should not be asked to work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., press reports said.
On the other hand, the bill cautions employers not to demand the workers to undertake chores that were not mentioned in the work contract or to send them to work for someone else.
A worker should get nine hours of rest every day; he or she should not be asked to do a job that is injurious to health or damaging to honor, and he or she should be provided with suitable accommodation and allowed breaks for entertainment, prayer and food, the bill specified. The employer should prepare three copies of the contract in Arabic with translation. The employer and the worker will each keep a copy while the third copy is to be filed in the recruitment office.
The bill also stipulates that a worker should obey the orders of the employer and his family members in addition to looking after his properties. The worker should not do any thing that harms the employer, his children or elderly people in the household.
The bill stipulates that the contract should specify the nature of the work, wage, the rights and duties of the two parties, the period of probation and the circumstances under which the period of contract can be extended. The probation period should not exceed 90 days during which the employer can verify the professional skills and conduct of a new worker. If he is not satisfied with the worker’s performance during the probation period, the employer has the right to terminate the contract without any liability on him. The employer cannot put the worker on probation more than once unless the nature of the work for which he was put on probation differs. The worker should not divulge private or secret information about the employer and his family or any other information he or she learns from the household. The bill also says that the worker should not leave the house without a legitimate reason nor should work for anyone other than his sponsor. The worker should respect Islam, Saudi customs and traditions.
