Saudi Gazette report RIYADH – The new salary calculation regulations for Saudis working in the private sector will be effective from Feb. 2, 2013, announced Minister of Labor Adel Fakeih at a press conference here Monday. A Saudi employee receiving a monthly salary of SR1,500 will be counted as half a worker in the Nitaqat program while one whose monthly salary is less than SR1,500 will not be counted at all, Dr. Fakeih told reporters, adding that a Saudi worker receiving SR3,000 a month will be counted as a full employee. The new regulations seek to improve the work conditions for Saudi employees, students, the disabled, and released prisoners working or looking for work in the private sector, the minister said. He also talked about the expatriate workers' wage protection law, which aims to protect the rights of foreign workers and reduce employer-employee problems and complaints. Fakeih urged all employers to make sure that the salaries they deposit in their employees' bank accounts are consistent with the ones mentioned in employment contracts. He said banks will send employers every month documents proving that their employees have been paid their salaries on time. Each employee is urged to open a bank account if he does not already have one and consult the ministry's website to double check the accuracy of his salary information recorded in the pertinent online system, he said. If any employee finds any inaccuracy, he should ask the employer to fix it. If the latter does not do so within a reasonable time, the employee should file a complaint with the ministry and support it with documentary evidence. Fakeih also urged all employers to provide the ministry with their employees' salary information, warning that any employer who fails to do so within two months will face penalties. If the employer delays sending such information for three months, the ministry will suspend services provided to the employer and will allow employees to transfer their sponsorship without the employer's consent. The ministry will monitor the process of salary payment for all private sector employees.
