How to calculate leave salary in oman

Oman Labour Law

Introduction to Oman Labour Law

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The Labor Law in Oman was issued by His Majesty’s Decree No 35/2003.

It applies to all Omani or expatriate employers and employees, public and private establishments, organizations and their subsidiaries, which practice their activities in the Sultanate of Oman.

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The Omani Labor Law is divided into ten parts

Part I : General definitions and general provisions

Part II : Employment of citizens and regulation of foreigners’ work

Part III : Contract of work

Part IV : The wages, leaves and working hours

Part V : Employment of juveniles and women

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The Omani Labor Law is divided into ten parts

Part VI : Industrial safety

Part VII : Employment of workers in mines and quarries

Part VIII : Labor disputes

Part IX : Representative Committees

Part X : Penalties.

Part III- CHAPTER THREE- Contract of Work

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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.

If there is no written contract of work, a worker may establish his rights by all means of proof.

The worker shall be given a receipt for the documents and certificates which he might have deposited with the employer

Article 21:

Content of Contract of Work

The contract of employment must include the following information:

the name of the employer, the name of the establishment and the address of place of work;

the name of the worker, the date of his birth, his qualifications, his job or occupation, his place of residence and his nationality;

the nature and type of work, and the period of the contract;

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Content of Contract of Work

The contract of employment must include the following information:

The basic salary and any allowances, privileges or remunerations to which the worker is entitled under the current terms of employment, and the method and time of payment of the agreed wage.

The reasonable period of notice which shall be given by anyone of the parties who intends to revoke the contract, provided that the period of notice which and employer gives to a worker shall not be less than the period prescribed by this law.

Any other particulars to be specified by the law.

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Content of Contract of Work

The contract must be accompanied by an undertaking from the

employee which must include the following:

1. To abide by the terms and conditions stipulated in the contract.

2. To respect Islamic religion, the laws of the country, its customs

and social traditions.

3. To refrain from interfering in any activities prejudicial to the

security of the country.

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Content of Contract of Work- Worker on probation

Article 24 : A worker shall not be placed on probation for a period exceeding three months if he receives his wage on a monthly basis nor shall such period exceed one month if he receives his wage otherwise.

A worker shall not be placed on probation more than once with the same employer and the probation period shall be included in the period of service if the worker has successfully completed it.

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Content of Contract of Work- Worker on probation

The probation period MUST be mentioned in the Contract

Any one of the parties may, after a notice of not less than seven days to the other party, terminate the contract during the probationary period, if it becomes clear that continuation in employment is not suitable.

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Content of Contract of Work- Duration

Article 36 : If the contract is for a limited duration, and the parties have continued the execution thereof after expiry of its duration, the contract shall be deemed to have been renewed with the same terms for and indefinite 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.

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Content of Contract of Work- Duration

Article 37

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 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.

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Content of Contract of Work- Duration

If the contract is terminated without observation of such notice period, the party who terminates the contract will be obliged to pay to the other party compensation equal to the Gross Wage for the notice period.

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Gratuity

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

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Gratuity

Article 39

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.

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Dismissal

Article 40: The employer may dismiss the employee without notice and without paying end of service gratuity in any of the following cases:-

If the employee assumes a false identity or resorts to forgery to obtain the employment.

If the employee commits a mistake which results in grave material loss to the employer provided that the latter reports the incident to the concerned Directorate within three days from the date of his knowledge of such incident.

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Dismissal

If he despite being notified in writing does not comply with such instructions the compliance with which is necessary for the safety of workers or the workplace, provided that such instructions shall be written and hanged in a conspicuous place and the contravention of which is likely to cause a grievous damage to the workplace or to the workers;

If he absents himself from his work for more than ten days without reasonable cause during one year or for more than seven consecutive days provided that such dismissal shall be preceded by a written notice to him from the employer after his absence for five days in the first case;

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Dismissal

If he discloses any secrets relation to the establishment in which he works;

If a final judgement is entered against him for an offence or felony for breach of honour or trust or for a felony committed in the work place or during the course of his work;

If he is found during the working hours in a state of drunkenness or was under the influence of an intoxication drug or mental stimulus

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Dismissal

If the employee assaults the employer or the manager in charge or gravely assaults any of his superiors during the work or because of the work or if he beats one of his fellow employees in the place of work and such beating results in illness or discontinuation of work for a period which exceeds ten days.

If the employee gravely breaches his obligations to perform the work agreed upon in his contract of employment.

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The worker may abandon the work

Article 41 The worker may abandon the work before termination of the contract period and retain his full rights after giving notice to the employer of so doing in any of the following cases;:

If the employer or his representative has defrauded him in respect of the terms of employment at the time of entering into the contract of work;

If the employer does not perform his substantial obligations towards the worker in accordance with the provisions of this law or the terms of the contract of work;

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The worker may abandon the work

If the employer or the employer’s representative commits an act contrary to morals against the employee or any member of the employee’s family.

If the employee is assaulted by the employer or the employer’s representative.

If there is a severe danger, which threatens the safety of the employee or his health provided that the employer is aware of the existence of such danger and fails to take the prescribed measures imposed by the concerned authorities at the material time.

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The contract of work : termination

Article 43 : The contract of wok shall terminate in any of the following cases:

the expiry of its period or completion of the work agreed upon;

the death of the worker;

disability of the worker to perform his works;

resignation or dismissal of the worker or abandonment of the wok in accordance with the provisions of this law;

sickness of the worker to an extent that compels him to discontinue his work for a continuous or an interrupted period of not less than ten weeks during one year;

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The contract of work : termination

The employees’ incapacity or illness shall be proved by a medical certificate and

The proof of age shall be the employee’s birth certificate

If it is not possible to establish the age, then by a medical certificate issued by the specially constituted Medical Committee

the decision of the said Committee shall be final.

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The contract of work : termination

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 covered by the Law of Social Insurance.

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Service Certificate

Article 46 The employer shall give the worker, upon his request, at the end of the contract, an end of service certificate free of charge, wherein he shall state the date of the worker's joining the service, date of leaving it, the type of work he was performing, and the wage and other remunerations and privileges, if any.

The employer shall return to the worker all such documents and certificates which he might have put in the employer's custody.

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Part IV : The wages, leaves and working hours

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The Wages

Article 49 : Wages and other amounts to which a worker is entitled shall be paid in the currency legally in circulations unless a wage in kind is agreed to.

The employer will not be cleared of the employee's salary unless the salary is deposited in the employee’s account at one of the locally approved banks.

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minimum limit of wages

Article 50:The Council of Ministers shall determine the minimum limit of wages according to the requirements of the economic circumstances and may determine a minimum limit of the wages of a specific category of workers who are occupying jobs or occupations, the conditions or nature of the work of which necessitate such determination.

The minimum limit of wages shall be issued by a decision of the Minister

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MD No. 222 of 2013, pursuant to which, effective from 1 July 2013

The Ministry of Manpower issued a MD No. 222 of 2013, effective from 1 July 2013,

The minimum salary of Omanis working in the private sector is increased to RO 325 from the existing minimum salary level of RO 200.

The salary of RO 325 shall be comprised of RO 225 towards basic salary and RO 100 as allowance.

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Wages; How paid

Article 51: Wages shall be paid on a working day and at the workplace subject to the following provisions:

workers who are appointed on monthly wages shall be paid their wages at least once every month.

If the wage is paid based on the number of pieces produced and the work requires a period of more than two weeks, the worker shall get a weekly payment proportionate to the work he has completed, and the balance of the wage shall be paid to him in full during the week following the completion of the work assigned to him.

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Wages; How paid

In cases other than the above-stated, the salaries of the employees shall be paid weekly. However, the salaries may be paid every two weeks or monthly if they agree in writing to such an arrangement and in all cases the salary must be paid within (7) seven days from the end of the period in which it becomes due. A resolution by the Minister may set the timings for payment of employees’ salaries at the establishments under the provisions of this Law before their due date on the national and official occasions.

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Payment of Wages; Right of a worker

Article 54 : The wages, rights, other benefits and all amounts payable to the worker or to his beneficiaries according to the provisions of this law shall have priority over all debts owed by the employer except the amount of alimony adjudicated by Sharia Courts.

Article 58: The employer shall not deduct more than 15% of a worker's wages towards repayment of any money borrowed by him during the period of the contract. The employer shall not charge any interest on such loans and the same rule shall apply to the wages paid in advance

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Payment of Wages; Right of a worker

Article 59 : The wages payable to the worker shall not be attached, or assigned, except to the extent of one quarter thereof for the discharge of alimony, or repay any amounts owed by him to the government, or to the employer.

In case of the existence of more than one debt the priority shall bye accorded to the payment of alimony.

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Transferring the mode of Wage

The employer shall not transfer a worker who earns a monthly wage to category of daily workers, or to a category of workers who earn weekly wages or on a piece basis, or on an hourly basis except with the written consent of the worker.

in the event of his consent to the transfer the worker shall have all the rights which he acquires during the period of his earning a monthly wage according to the provisions of this law.

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Part II- Leave

Article 61 : Annual Leave The provision governing the annual leave entitlement of an employee was amended by Royal Decree 113/2011 to provide that an employee is entitled to take annual leave with full salary for a period of not less than thirty calendar days, upon completion of six months of service.

The OLL further provides that an employee must take at least two-week period of leave in two years.

If an employee leaves the employment before utilizing the full annual leave available to him then he/she is entitled to seek the basic wage for the un availed period of his/her accrued annual leave.

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Part II- Leave

Sick Leave Article 66 of the OLL provides that, an employee is entitled to sick leave for one or more periods which shall not exceed ten weeks in a year regardless of whether the leave is divided or continuous.

Sick leave salary entitlements will be granted in the following manner:

First two weeks leave: full pay

Following two weeks leave: paid ¾ of the full salary

Following two weeks leave: paid ½ of the full salary

Following four weeks leave: paid ¼ of the full salary

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Part II- Leave

The employee must produce a medical certificate to establish his/her sickness, and in the event of a dispute, the matter has to be referred to the medical committee, whose decision in matters of sickness is final. Whilst the OLL grants the employee with the rights to sick leave, Article 43 of the OLL provides that the employment contract may be terminated if the sickness of an employee compels him/her to discontinue work for a continuous or an interrupted period of not less than ten weeks during a year.

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Part II- Leave

Emergency Leave: The Ministry of Manpower issued Ministerial Decision 657/2011 which covers emergency leave at private sector establishments.

It states that emergency leave is to be granted to an employee where an emergency situation beyond the employee’s control has arisen suddenly.

The situation must be legitimate and has to be proven. The employee is entitled to six days of emergency leave with full salary in a year for emergency circumstances.

Each block of emergency leave cannot exceed two days.

The emergency leave is in addition to the thirty days annual leave period.

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Part II- Leave

Article 67:Special Leave The OLL provides for certain situations where special leave may be granted to an employee. Special leave is granted with the full salary and an employee may avail himself of this leave only under the following circumstances:

Three days in case of marriage (once only);

Three days in case of death (son, daughter, mother, father, wife, grandfather, grandmother, brother or sister);

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Part II- Leave

Two days in case of the death of an uncle or an aunt;

Fifteen days for the performance of Al-Haj (pilgrimage) once throughout the period of his service and only after one year of service;

One hundred and thirty days for a working Muslim wife in the event of her husband’s death; and

Fifteen days during the year, in the case of an Omani employee who is also an associate student with one of the schools, institutes, colleges or universities, for the purpose of sitting an examination.

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Part II- Leave

Weekly Rest Day Article 71 of the OLL provides that an employer is obliged to grant an employee not less than two days of rest per week after five continuous working days. However, it is our understanding that employees can work six days per week, provided that this is clearly set out in their contract, and provided that they are either

paid double their daily basic salary for the sixth day, or

given an extra day of annual leave in compensation for each sixth day worked.

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The leaves

Maternity Leave The OLL now entitles working women to a maternity leave of fifty days fully paid, to cover the pre- and post-maternity period.

Working women may be entitled to extra days of leave provided they have valid medical reasons for absenteeism

This is available three times under the same employer

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Part II- Leave

Public Holiday Article 65 of the OLL states that an employee is entitled to their full salary for holidays, festivals and other occasions that may be specified by a decision of the Minister. A holiday specified by a decision of the Minister will be a public holiday. OLL further provides that, if a public holiday coincides with a weekly paid rest day (e.g., Friday), the employee must be compensated by another rest day. Further, if an employee is required to work on a public holiday, then he must be compensated with an additional day of rest, or double basic salary of that day.

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Working Hours

An employee may not be required to work for more than nine hours a day and to a maximum of 45 hours a week with at least half an hour breaks for taking food and rest.

The maximum work hours during Ramadan shall be six hours a day or 30 hours a week for Muslim employees.

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Working Hours ;Overtime

Articles 70, 71 However, workers may be asked to work overtime, if their work so requires, provided that the worker’s total working hours do not exceed 12 hours per day.

Any worker who performs overtime work is entitled to either overtime payment equal to his basic salary per hour plus (i) 25% for extra hours during the day, and (ii) 50% for extra hours are during the night, or time off equal to the amount of overtime worked.

In either case, the worker must agree in writing to perform overtime work and to the type of compensation he will receive therefor.

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References

Oman Law Blog. (2019). Leave Entitlement Under Labour Law. [online] Available at: https://omanlawblog.curtis.com/2014/04/leave-entitlement-under-labour-law.html [Accessed 20 Sep. 2019].

Oman Law Blog. (2019). New Amendments to Oman’s Labour Law. [online] Available at: https://omanlawblog.curtis.com/2012/01/new-amendments-to-omans-labour-law.html [Accessed 20 Sep. 2019].

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References

GLI - Global Legal InsightsInternational legal business solutions. (2019). International legal business solutions - Global Legal Insights. [online] Available at: https://www.globallegalinsights.com/practice-areas/employment-and-labour-laws-and-regulations/oman [Accessed 20 Sep. 2019].

Omanportal.gov.om. (2019). [online] Available at: https://omanportal.gov.om/wps/portal/index/cr/employmentandmanpower/laborandpolicies/!ut/p/a1/hc_LDoIwEAXQr2EpM7SKj12VoKLS4BO7MWhqJUFqAOX3RcNG42N2d3JuMgMCQhBpdItVVMQ6jZJHFvaOB5ZtjThOuL-ykI1wGfC-S_iaVmBbAfwyDP_1NyB-ErdVA4pDRN4dzwZs3kLiEb8ftH2CK3wHk-WMIaFr1-tObeo4zRr8OHIhU_BAqETvn09vWbqnHQUik0eZycy8ZtX6VBSXvGeggWVZmkprlUjzoM8GfqqcdF5A-Crhcg4xHjeGm07O7s2lN_g!/dl5/d5/L0lKQSEvUUt3RS80RUkhL2Vu/ [Accessed 20 Sep. 2019].

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The End/ Questions