Legal Regulation of Overtime in Saudi Arabia - Research Paper Example

Lecturer Essay # Legal Regulation of Overtime in Saudi Arabia Introduction Workers may sometimes work beyond their prescribed threshold, making it important to have regulations that govern overtime. All countries formulate laws that are aimed at guiding both the employer and the employee on matters relating to overtime. These laws are required to protect the workers against exploitation by their employers, and at the same time ensure that employers get the best out of their employees. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the KSA Labor Law is the main piece of legislation that relates to employment. Among other things, this law is used to guide the overtime hours and the types of jobs that do not attract overtime. In addition to the law, Ministerial Resolutions are used to supplement the KSA Labor Law. This research focuses on how overtime is regulated and calculated in Saudi Arabia. Labor Law and Overtime The Labor Regulation, which is the Royal Decree No. M/51 of 23rd Shaban 1426 Hejra or 27th September 2005 is the main statute the deals with issues relating to labor. According to the Saudilegal.com website (20150, this law came into force in 2006, thereby overriding the then existing Labor and Workmen Regulation. The Labor Regulation is thus used to guide employer-employee relations, including matters relating to overtime. Under the KSA Labor Law, Article 98 states that if an employer uses the daily work criterion, a worker is not supposed to work for over eight hours in a day. For employers who use the weekly criterion, the law limits the workers to work for not more than forty eight hours in a week. In addition, during the holy month of Ramadan, the working hours for Muslim workers are reduced to not more than six hours in a day or for not more than thirty six hours in a week. Other employees who belong to different religions are not affected during the month of Ramadan. If the employer requests his employers to work hours beyond these limits, then the additional workers hours are deemed to be overtime. The employers are then required to pay their workers for these additional hours. Overtime is usually restricted to only two hours per day (L&E Global, 3). This means that an employee should not be asked by his employer to work for more than ten hours in a single day. Article 99 of the Labor Law provides that the labor minister can change the total number of working hours described in article 98. These hours may be increased from eight to nine hours in a day for certain types of workers or industries. This may be done in cases where the worker is not required to work continuously. In addition, the number of these hours may be reduced to seven hours in a day for those workers or jobs that deal with hazardous or very harmful activities. Therefore, based on the provisions of Article 99, the definition of overtime will change in the event that the total working hours in a day have either been increased or reduced. For workers operating in such companies or performing such jobs, it is important that they understand how their total working hours in a day are defined. This will help them understand whether or not they are eligible to get overtime pay from their employers. Furthermore, Article 100 of this Law says that in companies or firms where work is performed in shifts, the employer may seek the approval of the ministry to increase the total working hours to more than eight hours in a day or forty eight hours in a week. This should be done as long as the average working hours in three weeks does not exceed or is less than the eight hours a day or the forty eight hours a week. This article means that in cases where firms increase their working hours to more than eight hours a day or forty eight hours a week, the excess hours do not automatically qualify for overtime. Article 106 of this law stipulates that the Ministry of Labor has to determine the maximum number of overtime hours that can be allowed in a year. Under article 107, an employer is required to pay a worker for overtime working hours an amount that equals to his hourly wage plus an additional 50% of the agreed basic wage. In other words, the overtime rate is calculated to be 150% of the agreed normal wage rate. Under this article, it is also required that if the company or firm operates based on weekly working hours, the extra hours a person works beyond the legal limits are deemed overtime time. The employer will thus have to pay for these overtime hours based on the criterion described. In addition, the law also requires that all working hours undertaken during the period of Eids and holidays be treated as overtime. The law further requires that a certain categories of employees should not be entitled to overtime pay. There are four main types of work for which one is not entitled for overtime pay. First, persons occupying high ranking positions whose main job is to manage and direct work. This includes those persons who have supervisory roles over other workers as given by their employers. Secondly, persons working on preparatory or supplemental work which need to be completed either before or after they have been started. In other words, persons who undertake activities which have to be completed after being started will not get overtime pay. Thirdly, the law does not cover workers who are engaged on work that is characterized as sporadic or random. This means that persons who engage in non-continuous work will not be paid for overtime even if they stay at their places of duty beyond the regular hours. Finally, guards and janitors are not entitled to overtime pay. However, civil security guards are paid overtime. Given that overtime pay is governed by the Labor Law, there are certain occupations that are not covered by this law. Article 7 lists the occupations that are not covered by the law, and therefore the provisions relating to overtime pay do not apply. First, family members of the employers; namely the spouse, descendants and ascendants, who make up the only employees of the firm or company, are not protected under this law. In this case, if a firm is operated by these family members only, then the employment law does not apply. Secondly, persons working as domestic helpers and those in similar capacities are not covered. Persons working as domestic workers do not get the protection of the Labor Law. Instead, it is required that the ministry coordinates with other authorities to draft regulations that guide how domestic workers relate with their employers. Thirdly, the labor law does not cover Non-Saudi workers who enter the country to carry out a specific task for a period of not more than two months. Forth, certain categories of agricultural workers are not covered under the law. The only exceptions are outlined in Article 5 of the law. Fifth, sea workers that are working on board vessels that carry a load of not more than five hundred tons are also exempted under this Law. Finally, the labor law does not cover players and coaches of various federations and sports clubs. How overtime is calculated in Saudi Arabia: Illustration Under the Labor Law, it is required that employers pay their workers an additional 50% of their hourly wage for every overtime hour. This implies that overtime wages are calculated as 150% of the standard or usual hourly wage rates. As an illustration, let us consider an employee whose monthly basic salary is SR.3000. In order to calculate his daily wages, we divide the monthly salary by 30 days. In this case, this will give daily wages of SR.100. In order to get the hourly wages, this figure is divided by 8, giving SR. 12.50 per hour. This means that this employee is paid SR. 12.50 per hour during the regular working hours. However, assuming the employee has worked for an extra fifty hours as overtime for the month, the wages for these extra hours will be calculated as 150% of SR.12.50. This gives SR.18.75 as the hourly earnings for the overtime. Since he had worked for 50 hours overtime, his total overtime earnings will be 50×18.75=SR.937.50. Therefore, his total earnings for that month, including the overtime, will be SR.3000+937.0 = 3937.50. As noted in the article by Shiyas Kunjhibava (2011)the overtime is calculated using the basic salary only. In addition, if a person works from eight in the morning to five in the evening with a lunch break of one hour, his working hours equal to eight. Time spent during lunch time is not considered as working hours. Workers need to understand their basic salaries and the total number of hours they are required to work in a day. Cases of Employees not getting overtime pay Although the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has an elaborate law governing the issue of overtime hours and pay, there are documented cases where employees have failed to get paid for extra work done. In a research conducted by Amnesty International (2014) on immigrant workers in Saudi Arabia, it was found that there are employees who were not been paid for their extra hours. For example, the report documents reports the plight of Shafeek Abdul, a migrant worker who came to Saudi Arabia from Trivandrum, Kerala. He was given a job as a mechanic dealing with household appliances. He worked in Saudi Arabia between 2011 and 2013. His basic monthly salary was 1600 riyals working eight hours a day. He was however made to work from 6.30am to around 11pm in the night. Unfortunately, he was not paid for the extra hours he put in. Clearly, the employer did not follow the provisions of the Labor Law. In another example, it is reported that Presennan Kumar was brought to work in a printing press in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. However, he was made to work continually from 9am to 9pm in the evening, with a short break in between (Amnesty International, 47). Again, he was not paid for the extra hours he worked beyond the standard eight hours. These two examples illustrate that although Saudi Arabia has a comprehensive law governing overtime; there are employers who exploit workers. This is especially true for migrant workers who might not understand the laws of the country. In order for these laws to be effective, it is important that the workers understand the terms of their employment before signing their contracts. In the event that an employer violates these terms, the employee should take legal action against him to ensure that he is paid in full. In addition, it is necessary for workers to understand the nature of jobs that are covered under this law. Conclusion Under the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Labor Law, guidelines relating to overtime hours are clearly stipulated. These laws are aimed at protecting both the Saudi and the Non-Saudi workers. It is important for both the employer and the employees to understand how the various provisions of this law affect their company or job in relation to overtime. As highlighted in the research above, not all professions are covered by this law. In addition, the total number of working hours in a day can be adjusted, depending on the nature of work being performed. This means that there is need for proper understanding of how such adjustments affect overtime hours and pay. Despite the comprehensive law being in place, there are reported cases of some workers in Saudi Arabia being exploited by their employers when it comes to overtime pay. This means that all workers need to understand how the law protects them and report any violations by their employers to the authorities. Works Cited Amnesty International,. Exploited Dreams: Dispatches From Indian Migrant Workers In Saudi Arabia. Bangalore, Karnataka, India: Amnesty International India, 2014. Print. Ford, Rebecca & Khoja, Sara. ‘Kingdom of Saudi Arabia employment law issues “in a nutshell”’ Globe Business Publishing ,2013. Web < http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=a58954ad-ac80-43ab-862e- cdd6b3c1dc48> Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/51. 27 September 2005 Kunjhibava, Shiyas. Overtime Rules In Kingdom – Saudi Labour Law. Expatcornergcc.com. N.p., 2011. Web < http://expatcornergcc.com/?p=733>. 5 Apr. 2015. L&E Global. ‘Memorandum - General Overview Employment Law/Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,’2013. Pp. 1-9 Saudilegal.com,. Saudi Arabian Law Overview: Employment Law. N.p., 2015. Web < http://www.saudilegal.com/saudilaw/17_law.html>. 5 Apr. 2015. Read More