Expat workers can now review, approve job contract

Muscat: The Ministry of Labour has launched a new electronic service to register the work contract of non-Omani manpower. Under the same service, the employees will get a chance to review and approve the contract, which has been registered by their employers. According to the ministry, the new service will enable employers to register work contracts for their employees through its electronic portal once the worker arrives in the Sultanate and his resident card has been issued The contract can be registered even after the work permit is renewed and the resident card is issued or after completing the transfer of the service and the card is issued. The contract needs to be registered after an authorized change in profession, or upon its expiry. The Ministry of Labor confirmed that the contract can be modified, including changes in the details of the employees. It said that to ensure the accuracy of the contract, the employee (second party) will access the contract of work service in individuals’ services using a PKI-enabled identity card or mobile number. Once the approval of the employee is obtained, the employer will access the system once again using their PKI and pay the work contract service fee. Following the payment by the employer, the work contract application is approved and a work contract is created. It may be noted that as the government decided to scrap the no-objection certificate rule from 2021, it promised enough protection to the employers. As per the details listed recently, apart from giving a grace period of six months to implement the rule, the new decision will allow employers to have mutually-beneficial clauses in a job contract. An employer will be allowed to have a legal (non-disclosure) agreement to keep the work secrets even after the worker has moved to work with another company or a business owner.