Muscat: The Labour Law issued by Royal Decree No 53/2023 has enough provisions to guarantee that all employees are paid their dues or salaries on time and as per the contract.
The law ensures that wages and other amounts due to the worker shall be paid in Omani Rials unless it is agreed to pay them in one of the currencies legally circulating in the Sultanate of Oman.
Article 41 states that the worker may leave the work without adhering to the notice period or before the end of the contract period if it is for a limited period while retaining all his rights, including the end-of-service gratuity, and without prejudice to his right to compensation, after notifying the employer of that.
The worker can leave the job without service for a notice period only if the employer does not grant the worker his wages for more than two consecutive months.
Article 86 states the burden of proving payment of wages to the worker falls on the employer.
Article 87 states that the employer shall not be released from the worker’s wages unless he transfers the worker’s wages to his account in one of the local banks or financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank of Oman.
The minister shall issue a decision regulating employers’ transfer of wages and cases of exception.
Article 88 states that minimum wage shall be determined by a decision from the minister after consultation with the Joint Dialogue Committee between production parties.
Article 89 states that the minister shall issue a decision specifying the minimum periodic bonus, the procedures and conditions for its disbursement, and the cases of its suspension and reduction.
Article 90 states that wages shall be paid on one of the working days, taking into account the following provisions, including workers appointed for a monthly wage are paid their wages at least once a month, if the work is for a period of time, and the work requires a period of more than two weeks, the worker must receive every week payment on account commensurate with the work he has completed, and the remainder of the wage shall be paid to him in full during the week following the completion of the work assigned to him.
In other than the two previous cases, the wage is paid to the worker once every week, provided that it may be paid to him or her once every fortnight, or every month if they agree in writing to that. In all cases, the wage must be paid within three days from the end of the period specified. It is permissible, by a decision of the minister, to determine the date of payment of workers’ wages before the specified date, on the occasion of national and official holidays.
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