The long-awaited new Oman Labour Law was issued on 24 July 2023 by Royal Decree 53/2023 (New Law). It repeals Royal Decree 35/2003 (Old Law) and comes into force the day after publication in the Official Gazette. The related implementing regulations to the New Law are expected to be issued within the coming months.

We set out below our initial analysis on 10 key changes under the New Law:

1. Termination for poor performance: An employer has the right to terminate an employee for poor performance, provided that the employee has failed to improve their performance within six months of notification by the employer of the areas for improvement.
2. Redundancy now recognised: Employers are now expressly permitted to terminate employment contracts for economic reasons. A committee with members from the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Investment Promotion, the Oman Chamber of Commerce and the General Federation of Trade Unions of Oman will review requests for redundancy and either approve or suggest "alternative solutions" to keep the business going without having to terminate employees. The New Law provides the following examples of alternative solutions: reducing working hours/days and salaries, and sabbaticals.
3. Sick leave: The New Law increases employees' entitlement to paid sick leave from 10 weeks for up to 182 days.
4. Fixed contracts: These no longer automatically become unlimited upon renewal. However, if the employment continues for more than five years,...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiS2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRlbnRvbnMuY29tL2Vu...