Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has proposed some amendments to the Table of Violations and Penalties of the Labor Law and its Executive Regulations. These updates include penalties for violations in some new categories, including maritime and agricultural sectors. The amendments will become part of the Labor Law and its Executive Regulations after reviewing the opinions and suggestions received from the public.

The updated table, which the ministry published on the Istitlaa platform, includes a wide range of new classifications of violations and their penalties. It also includes tougher penalties for some violations that were part of the existing regulations.

The new updates aim to clearly and accurately define violations for both establishments and inspectors, reducing the need for personal judgment and interpretation in the application of regulations across different categories of establishments. These updates contribute to addressing ongoing changes in the work environment, such as flexible work. Clarifying penalties provides transparency, motivating establishments to comply with regulations and ensuring the rights of both workers and employers.

It also clearly redefines violations, stating that an employer's failure to comply with the maternity leave prescribed for a working woman is a violation, subject to a fine of SR1,000. Penalties for violations of the rules governing recruitment and provision of labor services have been tightened. In addition to financial fines, these penalties include a warning and license suspension for a period not exceeding six months in some cases and not exceeding 12 months in others. The license may also be revoked in certain cases.

The updated violations include providing labor services without documenting labor information in the ministry's systems and approved platform; and failing to inform and educate the recruited worker of the rights and duties stipulated in the contract.

The new updates to the Labor Law Violations Schedule included a new category of violations related to maritime work, with penalties ranging from SR300 to SR1,000. Among the violations that warrant these fines are the employer's failure to comply with the maritime labor contract regulations; the employment of a person under the age of 18 on board Saudi ships and naval units; and the employer's failure to adhere to the working hours and rest periods for seafarers stipulated in the maritime labor contract regulations.

Maritime labor violations also include the employer's failure to pay the seafarer's wages at the time and place specified in the maritime labor contract; the employer's failure to adhere to the working arrangements and conditions stipulated in the Maritime Labor Contract Regulations; the employer's prevention of the captain from making decisions necessary for the safety of the vessel and those on board; and the employer's failure to provide suitable housing for seafarers if they cannot be accommodated on board for personal reasons beyond their control.

The updates also include violations specific to the provisions of the agricultural workers with fines ranging from SR300 to SR20,000. Among the violations specific to agricultural work are the employer's hiring of a worker under the age of 21; the employer's failure to provide the worker with the daily and weekly rest stipulated in the regulations; and the employer's failure to grant the worker the vacations stipulated in the regulations.

Violations in the agricultural sector also include failure to provide workers with suitable housing inside or outside the workplace; failure to provide food or financial compensation; subjecting workers to forced labor by employers; preventing workers by employers from contacting or communicating with their families, their country's embassy, ​​or the office or company that mediated their recruitment.