Key amendments approved to several articles of the Labor Law, aiming to create a more attractive work environment

In line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, the Labour Law has undergone significant revisions that the Saudi Council of Ministers authorised on Tuesday. These changes seek to improve the work environment and advance sustainable development. 

The Labour Law has 38 articles total, with two new ones added and seven deleted, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. These modifications are compliant with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's approved international agreements and the country's job market policy. According to the ministry, the new revisions will take effect 180 days after the day they are published in the official gazette.

The revisions sought to build human cadres, improve worker training possibilities, provide employment chances for citizens, and maintain the rights of parties to the contractual relationship in addition to improving the labour market in the Kingdom. 

All parties to the contractual arrangement had their interests considered while making the adjustments. These included expanding the section on labour contracts and vacations, adding a definition to the terms "resignation" and "assignment," adding an article outlining the resignation process, changing the worker grievance procedure, and imposing penalties for hiring workers without a ministry licence. 

In order to increase employees' standards and skills, the new amendments also mandate that employers create unique policies for employee qualification and training. The item on marine work has also undergone a lot of changes. 

The ministry clarified that the new amendments were the result of a thorough analysis that included standard comparisons with labour laws in several nations as well as a study of best global practices. More than 1,300 participants provided feedback on the proposed changes to various Labour Law articles via the National Competitiveness Center's Istitlaa survey platform. 

This is on top of exchanging views and recommendations through workshops and consultative meetings with various human resources professionals and experts, relevant government agencies, labour committees, and private sector enterprises. 

With the intention of increasing job opportunities for citizens and achieving sustainable development goals in line with the labour market strategy and the targets of Saudi Vision 2030, these amendments are designed to support the directive to develop current systems and regulations that support the market as well as the production and service sectors, in addition to providing an appropriate legislative environment.

The ministry also stated that further information on the modifications to the Labour Law articles may be obtained via its official website.