Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — An employer who keeps the passports of his employees will be fined SR2,000 and the one who does not provide a copy of the contract to workers will be fined SR5,000, according to the new regulations of the Ministry of Labor. A fine of up to SR15,000 will be imposed on an employer who forces his workers to do jobs not specified in the contract or if he asks workers to bear those expenses which he is liable to pay. Fines will also be imposed on companies if they delay the payment of salaries, force employees to work extra hours without overtime payment, or force them to work during official weekends and holidays. Violations also include forcing workers to work in the heat or in bad weather conditions without proper precautions. Fines will be imposed on employers who deprive workers form getting recommendation letters or if a company does not provide training to at least 12% of its Saudi employees, according to the regulations. Companies will be fined up to SR25,000 if they falsely claim the employment of Saudis or if they employ expatiates in jobs that are restricted to Saudis. Such companies will also be closed for five days. Selling visas to expatriates results in a fine of SR50,000. Employing an expatriate without a license results in a fine of SR45,000. Companies employing men on jobs marked for women will be fined SR10,000 for each male employee and will be closed for one day. Other fines are also specified for employing women in mixed areas and forcing them to work during banned working hours. Fines for such violations range between SR10,000 and SR5,000. The ministry specified a fine of up to SR25,000 for companies violating safety and health standards. This also includes employing minors. The ministry also specified fines ranging between SR10,000 and SR20,000 on recruitment offices if they do not get license from the ministry before any recruitment process or if they do not register the services they provide on the system of the ministry. Businesses owners will be fined SR25,000 if they provide false information to the Ministry of Labor and SR10,000 if they create problems in the work of the ministry's investigation officers. Fines for each violation will be doubled in case it is committed again. A company is required to pay the fine within one month otherwise it will be considered a repetition of the violation. Companies can appeal within 60 days after the violation has been registered.
