Earlier this week, the Ministry of Labour issued in the Official Gazette Ministerial Decision 617/2024 regarding the System of Complaints and Grievances, which is a brand new system under the Labour Law in Oman that applies to any company in Oman that has 50 employees or more. The system requires the company to have a system in place for allowing employees to challenge any decision made against them by submitting a complaint to their line manager, who must respond to this complaint within 2 working days. If the employee does not receive a response from his line manager, or if the response he receives is a rejection of this complaint, the employee has the right to submit a complaint to the actual employer, who must respond to this complaint within 5 working days.
Category: Law Updates
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:
The Ministry of Labour published in this week’s Official Gazette Decision 451/2024 Determining the Rules for Settlement and Abandonment of the Lawsuit for Crimes Punishable under the Labour Law, which repeals Decision 561/2009 and creates a new framework for settling violations of the Labour Law.
Under the 2009 decision, it was required to pay half the maximum fine prescribed for a violation in order for it to be settled. The new decision reduces this amount by requiring the payment of a quarter of the maximum fine for the crime only. The old decision also had a restriction where it was not allowed to settle a violation that involved more than 10 workers or if the same violation is reported more than twice, however, the new decision removes this requirement and introduces a new requirement to pay a 1,000 Rial Omani fine in regard to violations involving multiple employees pursuant to article 143(1) of the Labour Law.
The new decision also provides a more comprehensive framework for submitting applications for settlement and provides additional details for the cases in which a non-Omani worker has to be deported.
You can read this ministerial decision in full in English on the link below:
The Ministry of Labour published in this week’s Official Gazette Decision 450/2024, repealing Decision 90/2013 and issuing a new framework for dealing with private sector establishments that violate the Labour Law. The decision of 2013 provided a very simple set of provisions for dealing with violations, whereas the new decision provides a more comprehensive framework.
The new decision clarifies the process for policing violations and stipulates that reports can only be issued by employees with judicial enforcement status. It also clarifies that employees must have an identity card stating their identity, which they are required to disclose if asked.
The main provision of the 2013 and 2024 decisions is the MOL’s power to suspend the services of companies that violate Labour Law. The 2024 decision changes these services by removing old provisions and adding new ones, and they include services such as issuing work permits to non-Omanis and transferring the services of the violating workers.
You can read the full decision in English on the link below:
The Environment Authority published in this week’s Official Gazzete Decision 150/2024 Issuing the Regulation Governing the Possession of Domesticated Wild Animals.
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TRA’s New Telecom Device Regulation
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) published in this week’s Official Gazette Decision 1152/2/19/2024-12 Issuing the Regulation on the Governance and Approval of Telecommunications Devices, repealing the Regulation of Dealing in Telecommunications Devices of 2015.
The Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance for Education published in this week’s Official Gazette Decision 2/2024 regarding the process of filing a grievance against the national qualification framework’s result.
When the higher education institutions are not satisfied with the OAAA’s accreditation result, they now have the right to file a grievance against the result under Decision 2/2024 within 60 days from the date of sending the result; however, they must do so after they have paid a non-refundable fee of 1,500 Rial Omani for each grievance.
You can learn more about the grievance process to the OAAA by reading the full text of Decision 2/2024 on the link below:
The Ministry of Social Development published in this week’s Official Gazette Decision 217/2024 issuing the Governance Regulation for the Work of Social Development Committees and Volunteer Teams, repealing the Governance Regulation for the Work of Social Development Committees of 2016.
The new regulation introduces the legal framework for establishing volunteer teams in the community. Each wilayat is permitted to have one volunteer team, with an additional one if the public interest requires it.
The regulation sets the rules for establishing, managing and financing volunteer teams.
The new regulation enters into force tomorrow. You can read it in full in English on the link below:
In this week’s Official Gazette, the Ministry of Social Development issued a brand new Governance Regulation for the Care of the Elderly in Foster Families.
This regulation provides the legal framework for families to submit an application to the MOSD to foster an elderly person who meets the requirements stipulated in the regulation such as being an Omani national who does not enjoy adequate family care, and is free from communicable diseases. Only families who have at least one Omani member can submit an application to foster an elderly person, and this family must prove that it has appropriate housing and is financially capable of supporting the elderly person, among other requirements stipulated in the regulation.
The Governance Regulation for the Care of the Elderly in Foster Families enters into force tomorrow. You can read it in full in English on the link below:
The FSA published in this week’s Official Gazette a Decision Amending Some Provisions of the Regulation Governing Clearing and Settlement which included a minor change to article 14 of the regulation.
Article 14 of the regulation outlines that upon executing a sale or purchase transaction, the securities are recorded in the electronic system under the status of “Deemed Sold Awaiting Settlement” or “Deemed Bought Awaiting Settlement, Sale Permitted,” respectively. Ownership is registered to the buyer on the day of settlement, and this settlement is considered final.
The amendment makes a small specific change to the wording of the original article 14 by stipulating that the settlement cannot be “conditional or deferred”.
This amendment enters into force tomorrow. You can read the text of the decision in full on the link below: