Ministry of Manpower issues new decision on absconding employees

Oman’s Ministry of Manpower has introduced a raft of new regulations to help protect the rights of expat workers in Oman. These include the protection of expats who receive their no objection certificates (NOCs) from being reported as absconding by their employers. The new decision also revealed that any company that makes more than five complaints a month will be investigated by the authorities.

Minister of Manpower, has issued (Ministerial Decision No 270/2018) a decision in which he stated that companies must now prove that they have paid last three months’ salary before filing a complaint against an absconding expatriate employee.

According to the decision, in order to file a complaint, the employer must attach a bank statement proving that the employee has received his or her salary up to three months before absconding. Additionally, the municipality licence of the businesses and documents of the company address must be attached.

The decision states that if the company files more than five complaints in one month or more than ten complaints in a year, the company will be subject to inspections to ensure that it is complying with the labour law.

If the company is found to not comply with the provisions of the labour law or regulations, it will be suspended from receiving any services from the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) for a year.

The decision also stipulates that a company should not report the termination of a contract of an expatriate employee unless there is a criminal dispute or debt-related case between the employer and the employee that existed before the employee absconded or has been absent from work.

Further, the company cannot file an absconding report if the employee left the country before reporting his absence from work or stopped working while the employer is aware of the employee’s action or if the worker is on a vacation that is legally due or absent from work for reasons other than the provisions of the law.

If the employer accepts the resignation of an employee, a no-objection certificate can be issued. The employee can transfer his services to a new employer within 30 days.