Muscat – This new initiative – expected to benefit a total of 225,981 individuals, including 160,886 Omanis – aims to bolster social protection for families and working mothers.

Benefits encompass maternity leave allowance, paternity leave, child care leave, and maternity leave for women who have ended their employment but are eligible for job security allowance.

Under the new regulations, employers will be required to contribute 1 percent of their employees’ full wages, calculated daily, to the maternity leave insurance branch.

The SPF highlighted that the primary objectives of this branch include providing social insurance coverage for maternity-related risks, empowering working women, safeguarding the rights of both employers and insured individuals, and expanding insurance coverage to include non-Omani workers in Oman.

The SPF’s decision to extend maternity leave insurance to non-Omani workers employed in the public and private sectors, as stipulated by the Labour Law, represents a significant step towards enhancing social protection for all workers in Oman.

The provisions of this section will apply to all Omanis working in across civil, military, security, and private sectors in Oman, including temporary and training contracts, as well as retired workers.

However, it will not apply to self-employed Omanis, part-time employees, Omanis working in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, or Omanis employed abroad.

It also does not apply to expatriate workers employed in state administrative apparatus units and in the private sector commercial establishments to which the Labour Law applies. Additionally, non-Omani domestic workers are excluded from the program.