RIYADH — It is mandatory for all private firms with more than 10 employees to have a bylaw for governing their internal functioning, according to a senior official of the Ministry of Labor. Abdullah Abu Thunain, deputy minister for inspection and work environment development, said the ministry posted on its website a specimen of the bylaw consisting of 117 Articles in line with Article 14 of the Labor Law, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Abu Thunain said the bylaw is aimed at regulating internal functioning of firms to protect the rights of both employers and employees. “Both parties must have a clear knowledge about their rights, duties and responsibilities,” he said. According to Abu Thunain, the employers can outline the features of working conditions and allowances including promotion, grades of jobs and scales of salaries, transportation and housing allowances, work hours, packages for outstanding performance, disciplinary measures for dereliction of duty etc. “The ministry has set up a separate department to carry out studies and scrutinize all the provisions of the internal work bylaws to ensure that they are not in violation of the Labor Law,” he said, adding that if any provision in the labor contract is found contrary to the Labor Law regulations, it will be deemed null and void. Any firm, which employs more than 10 people, should submit to the ministry its bylaw for internal functioning within one year of its implementation. According to Article 13 of the Labor Law, the ministry should approve the bylaw within 60 days of submission. If it fails to approve or reject it, the bylaw should come into force automatically. The employer should display the bylaw at a prominent place in the firm or intimate the staff about its provisions through other means, he added.
