HR Ministry moves to allow a quarterly payment of expats levy and Iqama fee:
MAKKAH - The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development is exploring the possibility of allowing foreigners to pay taxes and government fees (for residence and work permits) on a quarterly basis instead of the current system of annual payments.
This was revealed by the engineer. Deputy Minister for Labor Policies Hani Al-Majil addressing a virtual meeting on "Improving Contract Relationships with Private Sector Workers" organized by the Makkah Mukarramah Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Madinah and Taif Chambers.
The meeting was held as part of an initiative to review the new reforms of the Ministry of Labor and seek the views of the private sector in this regard.
Al-Majil said the ministry would review the issue of financial compensation and government fees for migrant workers and is likely to rehabilitate them on a quarterly basis instead of on an annual basis.
He said that the financial compensation and residence renewal fee has to be paid by the existing employer. The ministry official emphasized that under the Labor Reforms, there was no longer a system of sponsorship but would be replaced by contractual relations between the employee and the employer.
This applies to all types of migrant workers except five categories, such as private drivers, home guards, domestic workers, herdsmen, and farmers in the financial sector or in the private sector.
The government will implement amendments to the Labor Law under the Labor Reform Initiative to improve transparency and mobility for migrant employees in the private sector.
Al-Majil said that if an employee wants to leave the employer before the completion of the two-year agreement between them, the employee has to fulfill the penalty clause so that he can be compensated before moving to the new employer.
He also noted that the compensation visa would be issued directly to a company or establishment, which is in the green category of Naatqat, informing the ministry on the first day that the services of a worker should be transferred after 90 days. Will, pointed out that the procedure for obtaining a paid visa is lighter than the conditions for hiring a worker in a new work visa.
Addressing the meeting, Satam Al-Harbi, Deputy Minister for Inspection and Development of Work Environment, said that the new labor reform initiative, which will take effect on March 14, 2021, stipulates that employers are not. Who decides in this decision. In the case of a foreign worker who is employed with another employer, whether he is sent home or allowed to stay in the kingdom.
"A worker cannot be given the freedom to travel in his or her own country simply because he or she has the rights of the employer over the employee. Not entitled to rights but only a contractual relationship with the employee.
Al-Harbi said the new labor reform initiative aims to establish a clear relationship between employer and employee, thus creating an attractive job market that is flawless.
This is through a package of conditions that ensures the integrity of the contractual relationship between the foreign worker and the establishment. The move also activates the role of the work contract and provides the necessary flexibility in job movement, as well as in exit and entry and Final Exit.
Al-Harbi confirmed that the contractual relationship between the worker and the employer is governed by the provisions of the work contract that is subject to the Labor Law and the procedures governing it along with its penal terms, and when there is a disagreement on them, it will be referred to the labor court to decide on them.
“The worker’s obligations and the procedures for moving from one establishment to another are considered the same, in the case of both Saudi and expatriate workers.
“The worker has the right to obtain a final exit or exit and re-entry visa, in the event of the end of the contract, and he cannot be prevented from moving to another employer before 60 days, and the worker must leave the Kingdom if he does not find another employer within this period,” he said.
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