Oman introduces new rules to protect expat workers

Employers who file more than five complaints about absconders each month will be investigated by authorities.

Oman’s Ministry of Manpower has introduced a number of new regulations designed to help protect the rights of expat workers in the sultanate, according to local media.

According to the Times of Oman, the regulations include the protection of expats who receive no-objection certificates from being reported as absconders by their employers, and a rule that companies that file more than five complaints in a month will be investigated by authorities.

The ministerial decision also notes that workers “shall have the right to object to the [absconding] report “within 60 days from the date of the adoption of the notice, by submitting a written request to the competent department, together with evidence supporting the denial of the complaint.”

“If the competent department proves that the report is false, the report will be revoked,” it adds. “The ministry may, at the request of another employer, and the consent of the worker, transfer his/her services without recourse to the original employer.”

If the report is found to be correct and the objection unjustified, the ministerial decision notes that the worker will be fined between OMR 400 ($1,039) and OMR 800 ($2,079).

The regulation also states that to file a complaint, an employer must provide a bank statement indicating that the worker has received their salary up to three months before they went missing.

The law also details the conditions in which an employer is exempt from providing these documents, such as in cases in which the employee is a domestic worker, in which the employer only needs to provide a written statement that the worker received their salary.

As per the regulations, business owners are also required to report absconders through the Ministry of Manpower’s website, as well as pay an amount equivalent to the price of a return ticket. Employers who fail to follow the proper procedure must pay a fine not exceeding OMR 500 ($1,299).