You know your rights as an employee?

If you are oblivious of your rights you will not know when these rights are violated Labor laws in general protect the rights of employers and employees and each party should be aware of the corresponding rights, in order to defend them if they are violated. Employers are usually aware of their rights and they strongly defend them when they are violated by their employees. On the other hand, employees are most of the time oblivious of their rights and they do not know when their rights have been violated. Also, in the case of an expatriate employee, it is often the case that he is unaware of the intricacy of the laws of the country he is working in, which makes it even harder for him to protect his rights. In Saudi Arabia, the rights of all employers and employees (including non-Saudi nationals), who are subject to the labor law, are protected under the new Saudi Labor Law, which was issued by the Royal Decree No. M/51 dated Sept. 27, 2005. However, it is often the case that many employees, Saudis and more often non-Saudis, are unaware of their rights under the Labor Law and thus their rights are sometimes violated. As a result, some employers are taking advantage of the employees' ignorance and when employees find out about the violation of their rights, it can often be too late. Therefore, it is significant to highlight some of the most important rights of employees under the Labor Law, in order for employees to take actions when their rights are violated. Some of these important rights, in general, are as follows: For non-Saudi employees, the employers shall pay all fees pertaining to their recruitment, the fees of their residence permits (Iqama) and work permits together with their renewal and the fines resulting from any delay, as well as the fees pertaining to change of professions, exit and re-entry visas and return tickets to the employees' home countries at the end of employment. Generally, employees should not actually work for more than eight (8) hours a day, if employers use the daily work criterion, or forty eight (48) hours a week, if the employers use the weekly criterion. However, during the month of Ramadan, the actual working hours for Muslim employees shall be reduced to a maximum of six (6) hours a day or thirty six (36) hours a week. For any overtime working hours, the employer should pay his employee an additional amount equal to his hourly wage plus (50 percent) of his basic salary hour. Employees should be entitled to one day off per week (usually Friday) and it shall not be less than twenty four (24) consecutive hours. An employee whose illness has been proven shall be eligible for paid sick leave for the first thirty (30) days, three quarters of the wage for the next sixty days and without pay for the following thirty (30) days, during a single year, whether such leave is continuous or intermittent. Employers shall not transfer the employees from their original workplace to other places, which require changing their place of residences, if such transfer is likely to cause serious harm to the employees and is not justified by the nature of work. Employees shall not be assigned new duties, which are fundamentally different from the duties agreed upon, without the employees' written consent, except in cases of necessity dictated by transient circumstances and for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days a year.

 Employees shall not be subject to punitive actions, except after they are notified in writing of the allegations, interviewing them and hearing their defenses regarding such allegations. In case the employers determine to impose punishments on their employees for any offenses, the employees should be notified in writing of such punishments. However, the employees shall have the right to object to such punishment decisions within fifteen (15) days from the date of notifying them of such decisions before the Commission for the Settlement of Labor Disputes, which is required to issue its decisions regarding the objections within thirty (30) days from the date of submitting them. Employees shall not be accused by their employers of any offenses discovered after thirty (30) days from the date of such discovery, nor shall they be subjected to any disciplinary punishments after the elapse of the period of (30) thirty days from the day of concluding the investigations, which prove the employees' fault. If the employment contract is terminated with invalid reason, the employee shall be entitled to compensation to be assessed by the Commission for the Settlement of Labor Disputes. If an employee is dismissed from work without valid reasons, he has the right to reinstatement. Upon the expiration or termination of the employment contract, the employer should pay the employee an end-of- service award, which is calculated on the basis of the last salary of the employee. The end-of-service award and any other entitlements of the employee should be paid within a maximum period of one week from the date of the end of the contractual relation. If the employment contract is terminated by the employee, the employer shall settle employee's entitlements within a period not exceeding two weeks. Any release or settlement of the employees' rights, which are arising from the Labor Law during the validity of the employment contracts, shall be null and void, unless the same is more beneficial to the employees. Upon expiration or termination of the employment contract, an employer must provide his employees, upon their request and free of charge, with certificates of work experience. It should be noted that no cases shall be heard before the Commission for the Settlement of Labor Disputes regarding claims of the rights provided for in the Labor Law or arising from employment contracts, after twelve (12) months following termination of the employment relations. Employees, Saudis and non-Saudis, should be aware of their rights under the Labor Law and they should not remain silent when such rights are violated by their employers. The doors of the Labor Offices and the Commission for the Settlement of Labor Disputes thereafter are always open to receive complaints from employees whose rights are violated, either during the term of the employment contract or upon expiration or termination of the same. Not knowing your rights as an employee or remaining silent when your rights are violated may encourage your employer, knowingly or unknowingly, to violate your rights over and over again. Dr. Qaisar Hamed Metawea, Attorney at Law- Mikwar, Akkad & Metawea Law Firm. He can be reached at: q.metawea@maklawfirm.net