Reduced working hours to empower persons with disabilities

MUSCAT: The Ministry of Social Development clarified that an employee or worker with a disability, or an employee or worker without a disability who is the primary caregiver of a relative (father, mother, wife, husband, son or daughter) with a moderate or severe disability, is entitled to a two-hour reduction in daily working hours with full pay.
Nada bint Malallah al Sadiqi, Director of the Department of Empowering Persons with Disabilities in MoSD, stated, 'Reducing the daily working hours for employees with disabilities, as well as those who care for them, falls within the framework of the rights guaranteed by the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, along with a package of rights stipulated by the law to empower them and ensure their full participation in society.'
She emphasised that this right embodies the Sultanate of Oman’s commitment to providing a flexible and supportive work environment that considers the needs of persons with disabilities and enables them to perform their job duties efficiently and stably, thus contributing to achieving a balance between work requirements and their health and social needs.
To apply for this right, a disability certificate must be obtained through the electronic self-service portal of the Ministry (https://portal.mosd.gov.om), which is issued only once to the person with a disability or their caregiver. The ministry notes that the certificate proving the level of disability is a supporting document for the card of a person with a disability, and it is used after it is submitted to the employer to approve the reduction of working hours.
The certificate is issued every six months according to the approved procedures, and this right has been in effect since the date of issuance of the law last October.