PART FOUR
Wages, Leaves and Working Hours

CHAPTER ONE
The Wages

Article (49)

Wages and other amounts to which a worker is entitled shall be paid in the currency legally in circulation unless a wage in kind is agreed to.

Article (50)

The Council of Ministers shall determine the minimum limit of wages according to the requirements of the economic circumstances and may determine a minimum limit of the wages of a specific category of workers who are occupying jobs or occupations, the conditions or nature of the work of which necessitate such determination.

The minimum limit of wages shall be issued by a decision of the Minister.

Article (51)

Wages shall be paid on a working day and at the workplace subject to the following provisions:

• Workers who are appointed on monthly wages shall be paid their wages at least once every month.
• If the wage is paid on the basis of the number of pieces produced and the work requires a period of more than two weeks, the worker shall get a weekly payment on account proportionate to the work he has completed and the balance of the wage shall be paid to him in full during the week following the completion of the work assigned to him.
• In cases other than the abovementioned, the wages of workers shall be paid once every week provided that they may be paid to them once every two weeks or every month if they agree to that in writing, and in all cases the wage shall be paid within seven days from the end of the period for which the wage is payable.

Article (52)

If the employment relationship has terminated, the wage and all the amounts due to the worker shall be paid to him forthwith unless the worker has abandoned the work of his own accord in which case the employer shall pay the worker his wage and all his entitlements within a period of seven days from the date on which he has abandoned the work.

Article (53)

The liability of the employer towards the payment of the worker’s wage shall not be discharged unless the worker signs in the register prepared for such purpose to acknowledge receipt thereof, or in the pay rolls, or in a special receipt prepared for this purpose, or by completion of the transfer of the worker’s wage into his account with one of the local accredited banks, provided that the particulars of such documents shall include the details of the wage.

Article (54)

The wages, rights, other benefits and all amounts payable to the worker or to his beneficiaries according to the provisions of this law shall have priority over all debts owed by the employer except the amount of alimony adjudicated by Sharia Courts.

Article (55)

The worker shall not be obliged to purchase foodstuff or specific commodities from particular shops or any products of the employer.

Article (56)

The employer shall be obliged to repatriate a non-Omani worker to his country upon termination of the work relationship with him unless the sponsorship of such worker is transferred to another employer. If the employer declines to do so, the relevant directorate shall repatriate the worker at the expense of the Government and revert to the employer for recovery of the amount paid.

Article (57)

The employer shall not transfer a worker who earns a monthly wage to a category of daily workers , or to a category of workers who earn weekly wages, or on a piece basis, or on an hourly basis except with the written consent of the worker, and in the event of his consent to the transfer the worker shall have all the rights which he acquires during the period of his earning a monthly wage according to the provisions of this law.

Article (58)

The employer shall not deduct more than 15% of a worker’s wages towards repayment of any money borrowed by him during the period of the contract, nor shall the employer charge any interest on such loans and the same rule shall apply to the wages paid in advance.

The Minister may alter the abovementioned percentage or decide an interest on the loans if the employer has introduced a loan system approved by the Ministry to enable his workers to establish their own dwelling-houses provided that such interest shall not exceed the highest limit prescribed by the Central Bank.

Article (59)

The wages payable to the worker shall not be attached, or assigned, except to the extent of one quarter thereof for the discharge of alimony, or to repay any amounts owed by him to the government, or to the employer. In case of the existence of more than one debt the priority shall be accorded to the payment of alimony.

If the worker’s service terminates, the debts of the government and the proven debts of the employer, if any, shall be deducted from the end-of-service gratuity and any other entitlements of the worker.

Article (60)

If the shift worker or a worker whose wage is determined on an hourly, daily, weekly, half monthly or monthly basis, absents himself from work without permission or an acceptable excuse, he shall not be entitled to a wage except for the hours he has actually worked.

The hourly wage of a worker whose wage is determined on a monthly basis is calculated by dividing the Gross Wage by the period for which the wage is payable and then by the number of the original hours according to the contract of work or according to the law, whichever is less.

The hourly wage of a shift worker in this case, is calculated by dividing the Gross Salary for the working hours of a full shift on the assumption that he has worked for the full shift, by the number of the actual hours excluding the additional hours.

No deduction shall be made from the wage of a worker for any hour or day on which he was absent from work by reason of his summon to appear as a witness before the Court or the Public Prosecution.

CHAPTER TWO
The Leaves

Article (61)

The worker shall be entitled to an annual leave with basic wage for a period of fifteen days upon the completion of one year of continuous service with the employer, and shall be increased to thirty days per each year thereafter.

The worker shall be entitled to an emergency leave with Gross Wage for a period of four days during the whole year for meeting any unforeseen circumstance that occurs to him but shall not exceed two days at a time.

The continuous service which has commenced prior to the enforcement of this law shall be included in the period of service which is considered for determining the period of leave which the worker is entitled to and the worker shall not relinquish his leave.

Article (62)

With the exception of the leaves of the juvenile workers, it is permissible to divide a leave in accordance with the requirements of the work.

The employer may pursuant to the above paragraph postpone the annual leave of a worker for one succeeding year.

The worker shall go on leave at least for a period of two weeks once every two years.

The employer shall pay to the worker the basic wage for the days of the annual leave which the worker has not been availed, if the worker has agreed to that in writing.

Article (63)

The employer may deprive the worker of his wage for the leave period or recover the amount of wage paid therefor if it is proved that the worker has worked during such leave with another employer.

Article (64)

The worker shall be entitled to the basic wage for the balance of his annual leaves if he abandons the work before exhausting such leave.

Article (65)

The worker shall be entitled to his Gross Wage during holidays for festivals and other official occasions as may be specified by a decision of the Minister.

Should an official holiday coincide with a weekly paid rest day, the worker shall be compensated therefor by another day. If the official holiday falls during the period of annual leave, the worker shall not be entitled to any compensation therefor.

The worker may be asked to work on an official holiday if the circumstances of the work so require, and in such a case the worker shall be entitled to receive his Gross Wage for such a day with an additional amount of not less than 25%, or to have a rest day as a substitute therefor.

Article (66)

Subject to the provisions of the Social Insurance Law, the worker whose illness is certified shall be entitled to a sick leave the total of which shall not exceed ten weeks during one year irrespective of whether it is divided or continuous and it shall be granted as follows:

• The first and second weeks with Gross Wage.
• The third and the fourth weeks with three quarters of the Gross Wage.
• The fifth and the sixth weeks with a half of the Gross Wage.
• The seventh week and up to the tenth week with a quarter of the Gross Wage.

The sickness shall be proved by a medical certificate and in case of dispute, the matter shall be referred to the Medical Commission provided for in Section (43) of this law.

A sick worker may exhaust his annual leave besides the sick leave he is entitled to .

Article (67)

The worker is entitled to a special leave with Gross Wage as follows:

• Three days in case of his marriage and shall not be granted more than once throughout the period of his service.
• Three days in case of the death of a son, daughter, mother, father, wife, grandfather, grandmother, brother or sister.
• Two days in case of the death of an uncle, or an aunt.
• Fifteen days for the performance of Al-Haj (pilgrimage) once throughout the period of his service, provided that he has completed one year in the service of the employer.
• Fifteen days during the year for the purpose of sitting for examination in case of an Omani worker who is an associate student with one of the schools, institutes, colleges or universities.
• One hundred and thirty days for a working Muslim wife in the event of her husband’s death.

The entitlement to the leaves set out in paragraphs 2, 3 and 6 shall be conditional upon the presentation of the proof of death from the relevant authority.

CHAPTER THREE
Working Hours

Article (68)

The worker shall not be caused to perform an actual work for more than nine hours a day with a maximum limit of forty eight hours a week not including the intervals devoted for taking food and rest.

The maximum working hours during the month of Ramadan shall be six hours a day or 36 hours a week for Muslim workers.

The Minister may by a decision to be issued by him specify the closing time of the work.

Article (69)

The working hours shall be separated by one or more intervals for taking food and rest, the total of which shall not be less than half an hour, taking into account that the continuous period of work shall not exceed six hours.

The instances and works whereof the technical reasons and operational circumstances necessitate the continuation of work without rest intervals and the hard or exhausting work for which the worker is allowed periods of rest which are considered actual working hours shall be determined by a decision of the Minister.

Article (70)

If the worker is required to work for more than the working hours set out in Section (68), the employer shall either pay him an overtime equivalent to his wage for the additional period , plus at least 25% or to grant him leave from work in lieu of the hours during which he has performed an additional work, provided that the worker shall agree to such arrangement.

The employer and the workers in case of work performed in sea ports or airports or on vessels or ships or airplanes may agree to a fixed allowance to be paid in lieu of overtime payments, provided that such arrangement shall be subject to the approval of the Ministry. The Minister may add any other similar work.

Article (71)

The employer shall grant the worker a weekly rest of not less than twenty-four consecutive hours after six consecutive working days at the most. The weekly rest to which the worker is entitled may be accumulated for a period not exceeding eight weeks in such places or works as may be specified by a decision of the Minister, if the worker and employer agree to that in writing.

Article (72)

The employer may not comply with the provisions set out in Section (68) and (69) of this law in the following cases:

• At the time of annual inventory, preparation of the balance sheet, liquidation, closing of accounts and preparation for sale at a discount. Provided that in such cases the number of working days during which the worker works for more than the prescribed period of a working day shall not exceed fifteen days in a year unless the relevant directorate approves longer periods.
• If the work is for the prevention of an accident or reparation of the results thereof or the avoidance of a definite loss of perishable materials.
• If the work is intended to meet an unusual pressure.
• The notification of the relevant directorate within twenty four hours is conditional in the last two cases and the emergency, the additional work and the period required for completion of the work shall be stated.
• The festivals, seasons, other occasions and the seasonal work as may be specified by a decision of the Minister.

Article (73)

The employer shall pay the worker in the cases provided in the above Section an additional wage equivalent to the wage he used to get for the additional work plus a minimum of 25% for additional daytime working hours, and 50% for the nocturnal working hours. If the work falls in the weekly rest day or in public holidays, the worker shall be entitled to a double wage for that day unless he is given another day in lieu of it during the next week.

Article (74)

The employer shall display on the main doors used by the workers for entry and on the work places and in conspicuous places in the establishment, a schedule stating the working hours, the prescribed rest intervals and the weekly rest days. A copy of this schedule and any amendment thereto shall be sent to the relevant directorate.