By Abdul Rahman Al-Misbahi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmed Suleiman Al-Rajhi has introduced a number of amendments in the executive regulations for the labor law. They included new regulations preventing employers from keeping the iqama residency cards, passports or medical insurance cards of their employees.

Under the amendments, the establishments and companies will have to correct violations if any within 10 days, instead of the previous 30 days, and pay any fines imposed on them within 60 days, instead of 15 days previously.

The ministry has warned the violators who do not pay the fines that they will have all of the ministry’s services severed until they pay up and correct the anomalies.

The amendments clarified situations where a worker may be fired without being paid his/her end-of-service benefits. These include absence from work for 15 consecutive days or 30 days intermittently during a contractual year.

The worker is also subject to losing his after-service benefits if he physically attacked one of his colleagues at work.

The employee will not be paid any after-service privileges if he/she verbally attacked their managers or superiors even by electronic means.