Business Law in Oman - Assignment Example

Name Course Lecture Date Business Law in Oman Question 1 a) Law can be defined as regulation and principles that an applicable authority uses for administering a given community. Laws take the form of customs, policies, forms of legislation and judicial decisions1. Another definition refers to law as rules or a collection of rules that are prescribed for a particular society by a state or a nation through a constitution2. Laws are important because they regulate all aspects of life within a particular community. b) The importance of laws cannot be understated as they are the basis of peace and stability in the society. The key function of laws is to maintain safety and peace by providing a means for dispute resolution. Laws ensure people do not harm each other, harm themselves, harm their ruler3. Laws also create an enabling environment for the provision of goods and services, and establish rules that regulate human behavior within a given society. Laws in traditional society were part of the culture and the norm of the society. In many cases, traditional society made laws to create and enforce a system or moral standards that were supposed to be observed by citizens4. Similarly Modern laws are made to establish minimum standards of acceptable behavior. In addition, modern law aims to maintain order, enable easy dispute resolution and protect basic liberties and rights. c). Source of Law The main source of law in the Sultanate of Oman is the Sharia Law (Islamic divine law). Sharia law is derived from the Qur’an (Islam’s Holy Scriptures) and the Sunnah(records of the deeds and saying of the prophet Muhammad)5. Oman also recognizes other sources of Sharia Law including reasoning and consensus analogical deductions of Islamic scholars. The Sultani Decree no.100/1996, serves as the Sultanate’s constitution and establishes Sharia as the foundation of all Omani Law6. Legislation in Oman takes the form of Sultane Decrees and their creation is guided by Sharia principles. Question 2 Article 40 of the Royal Decree 35/2003 (the “Labour Law”), sets out conditions where an employer can dismiss employee(s) without having to give prior notice7. However, Al Anood had not breached any of the conditions in Article 40. The only applicable reason for dismissal would be Article 40(9) which allows for dismissal of an employee for grave violation of the terms of the employment contract. The Omani labour law promulgated in 2003 was meant to offer both employee and employers better legal protection by clearly enumerating their rights8. The basis of protection is the contract of employment which contains important employee information, rights, and obligations9 An employment contract is a legally binding agreement between the employer and the employee that specifies the terms and conditions of employment10 Essentially, the contract of employment carries the employee consent to perform certain duties as set out in the employment under the control of the employer. In Oman, Article 23 of the Labour Law decrees that the employment contract must contain the following information11: 1. The identity of the employer, the establishment’s address and its name 2. Name of employee, his nationality, date of birth, job or occupation, and his credentials. 3. Most importantly, the contract specifies the nature of work, and the period of employment contract. 4. It must also include information on basic wages, allowances and benefits that the employee is entitled to. It must also details service conditions, time and mode of salary payment. 5. In addition, the contracts must establish a suitable period of notice by any party that wishes to terminate the contract, Article 23 also requires that the employee consent to abiding by the terms and condition of the contract. The employee must also undertake to respect the Islamic religion and the customs, laws and social tradition of the Sultanate of Oman. The Omani Labour Law enumerates a number of rights and obligations for both employees and employers. Under section 21, the employee has a right to receive a written contract of employment written in Arabic. The employer is also supposed to acknowledge receipt of documents lodged with the employer12. Section 22, asserts that employers should provide contracts of employment in a language and form that can be easily understood by the employee. Section 23 on the other hand, requires the employer to provide details of the nature of work in the employment contract. Section 23 enumerates the right of employees to be only involved in activities that are within the scope of their duties as set out in the employment contract13. Omani employees also have a right that preventsemployers from putting them under probations for periods exceeding one month. However, the employer may terminate the contract of employment by giving the employee a seven day notice during the probation period. Article 25 prevents employers from deviating from the terms of the contract, and requiring the employee to undertake duties not agreed to at the time of employment. However, the employer may be asked to carry other work that is related to his duties as set out in the employment contract. Article 25 also requires the employer to establish a file for each employer which details the profile, personal details, employee work history and employment related events throughout the employment contract. Article 106 outlines a right for employees to appeal to the relevant directorate, if they feel think they have been unfairly dismissed. Article 27 of the Labour law enumerates a number of employee obligations that translate to employer rights. Article 27 (1) requires employees to carry out their duties as set out in the employment contract with care and diligence. However, this requirement is confined to the duties set out in the employment contract14. Secondly, Article 27(2) requires the employee to obey the employer’s instruction as long as they are not inconsistent with the contract of employment. Article 27 also obligates employees not to disclose work secrets, to engage in continuous skill development and not to misuse the employees tools outside the work environments. Article 87 requires employees to provide equipment that enable a safe work environment that is free from hazards. Article 32 also requires that employers be suspended from work for a maximum of three months and the employee offence be reported to relevant authorities. In this case, Al Anood has been unfairly dismissed as many of her rights have been violated by the employer prior to her dismissal. First, Al Anood is employed as a secretary and receives the same salary as other secretaries. It is a contravention of her contract of employment to ask her to take the duty of driver. The employment contract as designed in the Oman labor law is meant to identify the scope of employment and clearly identifies the employees duty. Under Article 25, the employer is under obligation not to deviate from the terms and conditions of the contract of employment. However, the employer has a right to requires the employer to work in duties that a related to her/his scope of work as set out in the employment contract. In this case, Al Anood's employer has deviated from the contract of employment by asking her to act as a driver while she was employed as a secretary. Thealleged offence AlAnnod is being dismissed for occurred outside the scope of her contract of employment and cannot be regarded as a valid reason for dismissal. In addition, the employer had contravened Article 87 by failing to install safetybelts on the car that AlAnood uses to run errands. However, Al Anood'semployer may justify the dismissal based on Al Anood's indiscipline and dissent. According to Article 27(1) an employee is supposed to undertake the duties specified to him/her by the employer with care and diligence. In contrast, Al Anood has been carrying out her duties carelessly and incompetently in protest of being required to work outside the scope of her employment. Fortunately, the violation of her employee rights is to great to warrant the protests against her employer. Thus, Al Anood can appeal to relevant labour body against her unfair dismissal. Conclusion It is clear that laws play an important role in all societies across the globe. Laws can in handy as dispute resolution mechanism, as mechanisms for protecting individual rights and liberties. Theyensure peace and justice prevail in society. Employment law is an important area of law that regulates the relationship between employers and employees. Labor laws provide a basis for resolving disputes between employers and employees by enumerating the rights of both parties as regard the employment relationship. In Oman, the labor law uses the employment contract as the basis of protecting the rights of workers around the sultanate. Under the Royal Decree 35/2003 (the “Labour Law”), employers a required to provide a contract of employment that sets out the scope of duties an employee consents to performing during the period of his/her employment contract. Requiring employee to perform duties that are not specified in the employment contract is a contravention of the Omani Labor law. An alleged offence committed by an employee required to act outside the scope of his duties cannot justify dismissal as in the case of Al Anood. Bibliography A. Articles/Books/Reports Brickley, S. D., and Gottesman, B. M. Business Law Basics (LLP, 2016) Clarke, Roger.’Oman’, 7 (2000) YB Islamic & Middle EL 7, 317. Deakin, Simon F., and Gillian S. Morris. Labour law. (Hart publishing, 2012) Rae, Andrew. "Oman." 10 (2003) YB Islamic & Middle EL 245. B. Legislation The Sultani Decree no.100/1996, The Royal Decree 35/2003 (the “Labour Law”) Read More