Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Labor offices across the Kingdom will have a period of 21 days to amicably settle labor disputes, according to the new mechanism announced by the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday.

If no settlement is reached in 21 days, then labor offices should electronically submit the case to labor courts, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting the ministry.

The ministry has classified labor cases into three categories: Employee and employer dispute, cases concerning domestic workers, and complaints of both employees and employers against the decisions taken by the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) pertaining to subscription, registration and compensation.

In the first category, employee or the employer has to file a case with the competent labor office seeking an amicable settlement in accordance with the directives issued by the Council of Ministers. If there is no settlement within 21 days, the labor office has to report electronically the status of the dispute to the labor court for taking necessary judicial procedures.

In the case of domestic workers, the complaint of domestic workers or that of employers shall be referred to a committee for reconciliation within five days. In the event of a failure to reach a settlement, the committee will pronounce its decision within 10 days. There is a provision to appeal against the decision of the committee at the labor court electronically.

The complaints of workers and employers against the decisions of GOSI have to go through three phases. First, the employee or the employer has to file a case with the competent agency under GOSI. Then the clients can appeal the decision of the agency to GOSI. If the appeal is overturned, the employee or employer can approach the labor court.