Author: Aram Al-Bahri

The Ministry of Social Development published in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette a new Governance Regulation for Elderly Day Care Centres which provides the legal framework for establishing and operating a day care centre for the elderly.

According to the new regulation, a person wishing to establish a day care centre for the elderly must obtain a licence from the MOSD. Applicants for this licence can be natural persons, companies, or civil associations. Applicants are required to provide a bank guarantee of 3,000 Rial Omani when submitting their applications except for civil associations.

The regulation sets the obligations of the licensee to include preparing internal regulations of the day care centre and appointing a Omani person as the manager of the centre.

You can read this regulation in full in English on the link below:

The Environment Authority (EA) issued in this week’s Official Gazette Decision 187/2024 Amending Some Provisions of the Regulation Governing Environmental Permits, which amends articles 12 and 21 of the regulation. 

Article 12 of the regulation sets out that a financial guarantee must be provided to the authority when applying for an environmental permit for specific projects. As per the amendment, a financial guarantee of 250,000 Rial Omani must now be provided for oil and gas production projects per site.

Article 21 of the regulation sets out certain obligations of the project owner. As per the amendment, project owners are now required to submit an environmental audit study for specific projects. These projects include oil refineries, heavy industries, and oil and gas production, among others.

You can read this amendment in full in English on the link below:

You can also read the consolidated version of the Regulation Governing Environmental Permits on the link below:

In accordance with article 127 of the Social Protection Law, the branch of maternity leave insurance applies compulsorily to all Omanis working in Oman, but this article left determining the extent to which it applies to non-Omanis to a decision by the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund. Beneficiaries of this insurance branch are entitled to 98 days of paid maternity leave.

This week’s issue of the Official Gazette included a decision by SPF on this matter, and it stipulates that the maternity leave insurance branch applies compulsorily to non-Omanis working in the government as well as those working in private sector establishments to whom the Labour Law applies.

You can read the text in full in English at the link below: 

The Environment Authority issued this week Decision 8/2024 Banning the Use of Plastic Shopping Bags as part of the efforts of the government to protect the environment. This decision repeals Decision 23/2020, which previously outright banned all single-use plastic bags.