Muscat -
The new Labour Law issued in July by the Royal Decree No 53/2023 clearly underlines the importance of the work contract to maintain a healthy working relationship between employers and their employees.
Chapter 3, Article (33) states that the work contract must be established in writing and written in Arabic in two copies, with copies for each party. The contract must be approved by a competent authority.
As for the validity of a contract, Article (34) states that the employment contract may be concluded for a specified period or an indefinite period. If the duration is specified, it must not exceed five years, renewable by agreement of the two parties.
In the event of renewal of the contract, the new period shall be considered an extension of the original period and shall be added to it in calculating the total period of service of the worker.
As per Article (35) of the law, an employment contract is considered indefinite if it is concluded without specifying duration, if concluded for a period of more than five years, and if the duration of the original and renewed contract exceeds five years.
The contract will also be considered indefinite if the contract is not written, or if it was a written contract with a fixed term, and its term expired, and despite that, the two parties continued to implement it without a written agreement between them.
Article (36) states that the employment contract must be comprehensive and all-inclusive with details such as the name of the employer, the establishment, the address of the place of work, the worker’s name, date of birth, qualification, occupation, place of residence, nationality, type of work, its conditions, and the duration of the contract if it is for a definite period.
Details such as the basic wage and any bonuses, allowances, or rewards that the worker is entitled to under the applicable conditions of service and the date of payment of the agreed wage must be mentioned in the contract.
The contract states that the appropriate period of notice must be given to any of the parties who wish not to renew it, provided that the notice period granted by the employer to the worker is not less than one month.
Article (37) states that the worker’s probationary period, if any, shall be specified in the employment contract if it does not exceed three months for those who are paid monthly, and for a period not exceeding two months for those who are paid otherwise.
The worker may not be placed under probation more than once with the same employer, and the probationary period, if the worker successfully passes it, shall be included in his service period.
Either party to the contract may terminate it during the probationary period if it is proven inappropriate to continue working, after notifying the other party of at least seven days.
Article (38) states that the two parties may terminate the contract at any time after the conclusion of the contract based on a legitimate reason by virtue of a notification addressed to the other party in writing 30 days prior to the date of termination regarding workers appointed for a monthly wage, and 15 days for others unless agreed upon in the contract for a longer period.
If the contract is terminated without observing the notice period, the party terminating the contract shall pay to the other party equal compensation for the notice period or the remaining part thereof, calculated based on the last comprehensive wage that the worker was receiving.
Article (39) states that the notice issued by the employer to the worker to terminate the contract if he is on leave shall only take effect from the day following the end of the leave.
In all cases, the employer is obligated to allow the worker, during the notice period, to be absent from work at the rate of ten paid hours per week to search for a new job.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
