MUSCAT – The new rules set minimum rights for workers and impose strict obligations on employers, including bans on forced labour, document confiscation, and underage employment. The regulation aims to enhance protection, dignity, and working conditions in line with national labour laws.
The rights stipulated in these regulations are considered the minimum rights of the worker. Any condition or agreement that violates the provisions of these regulations, or if it includes a reduction or exemption from the worker’s stipulated rights, shall be null and void. The employment contract may include better conditions for the worker.
Following are the conditions stipulated for employers:
• The employer is prohibited from imposing any form of forced or compulsory labour on the worker or assaulting him with any form of violence or harassment.
• The employer may not retain the worker’s passport or personal documents without the worker’s written consent.
• It is prohibited to employ workers under the age of 21 years.
• The employer is prohibited from charging any sums of money from the worker in exchange for recruiting him, employing him, or transferring his services to others.
• The employer is prohibited from bringing in a worker unless he has obtained a license to do so from the Ministry.
• An employer is prohibited from advertising or promoting a worker based on his or her creed or colour, or in a manner that is degrading to human dignity, for the purpose of transferring his or her services to another employer.
• The employer must provide transportation for the worker to and from the workplace free of charge, if the worker resides outside the employer’s home.
• The employer is obligated to cover the worker’s health insurance.
In addition, the employer is prohibited from allowing the licensed worker to work on his own account or for others; employing an unlicensed worker or a worker who is residing in the Sultanate of Oman illegally; employing the worker in a profession other than the one he is licensed to work in.
Without prejudice to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the employer – authorised to act as judicial police officers from the competent administrative division in the Ministry – must provide the necessary facilities to employees, including:
• Allowing the worker to be interviewed or brought to the competent authority in the Ministry to attend awareness campaigns and workshops organised by it, or in the event of a complaint from him regarding a violation of one of his rights stipulated in these regulations.
• Providing the necessary data, information, documents and papers, provided that they are correct.
• Allowing visits to the worker’s workplace or place of residence – after obtaining permission from the Public Prosecution – if necessary.
The employer is committed to the following:
• Treating the worker well, preserving his dignity, safety and health.
• Providing food and suitable accommodation for the worker.
• Providing the necessary requirements to perform the agreed-upon work.
• Not assigning the worker any dangerous work that threatens the worker’s safety or health or violates his human dignity.
The worker’s place of residence must meet the following:
• To be well ventilated, lit and air-conditioned.
• That the doors, windows and ceilings are intact.
• To be equipped with good sleeping facilities and a suitable closet to store the worker’s personal belongings.
• It should have a healthy, safe, well-ventilated and well-lit bathroom.
• The worker must maintain the cleanliness of his residence and all its contents.
The employer must create a special file for each worker working for him, which must include the following:
• A copy of the worker’s passport and residence card.
• Everything related to the holidays stipulated in these regulations.
• Any data or documents related to the work.
• Payroll deduction notifications.
The employer must keep the file for a period of no less than (1) one year after the end of the employment relationship, and he is obligated to submit it to the Ministry if requested to do so.