Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) revealed that there are four circumstances under which it is allowed to cancel the complaints of huroob (runaway from employer) filed by the employer, and that is without the employer’s consent.

The ministry has recently updated the provisions of the Labor Law in this regard, Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learned.

The circumstances under which it is allowed to cancel the huroob report included cancelation of the establishment’s file (from the ministry’s computer system); transfer of the establishment’s file under process and the employer has not opened a new file within 30 days; the establishment’s Nitaqat status is red; and the establishment’s percentage of commitment to the Wage Protection regulations is less than 80 percent.

According to the recent amendments made in the Labor Law regulations, in the event of one of these circumstances, the new employer wishing to benefit from the worker’s services will be able to cancel the huroob report and can transfer the worker’s sponsorship to his establishment by submitting a letter certified electronically by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The ministry confirmed that the employer has to bear all the outstanding government fees of the worker. There is also another condition that the establishment of the new employer is eligible to request a transfer of service of the worker.

The ministry stated that it is obligatory on the part of employers who wish to cancel the huroob complaint lodged by them against their workers 20 days after filing of the complaint. This will be after fulfilling some conditions, and these include the employer’s pledge in his request to pay the outstanding government fee of the worker during the renewal of his residency permit (iqama) within a period of 10 days from the date of cancelation of the huroob complaint.

The conditions also include a pledge from the employer to bear the consequences in the event of non-renewal of iqama, and another pledge that there is no malicious complaint filed by the worker pending in any labor court, and these pledges shall be duly attested by a Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

There is also another condition that that the establishment’s status on the ministry’s system shall not be “non-existent.”