Saudi Arabia’s Human Resources and Social Development Ministry has announced private sector employers can cut the wages of their employees and their working hours. The announcement has been made to help those businesses who have been economically affected by the Coronavirus outbreak in the Kingdom. However, they can only do so if the employee consents and the reduced pay must reflect the numbers of hours they work.
Employers who have received State subsidies, like the 9 billion Riyal fund created last week to compensate Saudi workers for the effects of Coronavirus, may not terminate employment contracts. However, employees can. The aim is to protect employees from being dismissed or losing contractual benefits during Coronavirus and classifies as a force majeure event. Any violations should also be reported to the Ministry. Full story
