Fakeih said media reports that the ministry had set a particular age restriction for those wanting to work in lingerie shops were not correct.
"No age has been specified in the rules regarding the employment of women. This clarification is made to remove the confusion caused by some media reports that there will be an age restriction for working women," Fakeih said.
The minister further clarified that a particular ministerial order referred to women workers’ age only for the calculation of Saudization levels as part of the Nitaqat scheme and that is only in the case of those who work from their homes.
"Even in that order employers were given the freedom to hire women without looking at their age,” the minister said.
According to media reports last week, the ministry said women would be counted within the Nitaqat program if their ages were not less than 20 or more than 35 years, as long as they were registered with the General Organization for Social Insurance and that they were working full time.
The ministry also warned establishments who register women in bogus jobs to meet Saudization targets of severe punishments, including embargoes on foreign recruitment and transfer of iqamas (residence permits), and fines. Women who accept such positions would be barred from receiving support from the Human Resources Development Fund for three to five years, the media report said.
The minister concluded his statement by saying that his ministry issued orders to employ Saudi men and women workers in line with the directives of higher authorities.
