The new MCP server covers Decree’s Arabic collection alongside the English one. Answers are no longer limited to what we have translated into English, and material that exists only in Arabic is now within reach, including the full text of MJLA fatwas. You no longer need to think about the language of the source. Claude and other tools will search our database in both Arabic and English and answer you in the language you are working in.

The new server is also far better at knowing which version of a law matters. It tells Claude whether an instrument is still in force, has been repealed, or has a consolidated version that supersedes it, so the answer you get quotes the text that actually applies today.

Connecting Decree MCP to Claude

Open Claude, either the desktop app or claude.ai, and go to Settings, then Connectors. Choose “Add custom connector” and paste in https://mcp.decree.om/. Claude will ask you to sign in: use the email address on your Decree account, and we’ll send you a six-digit code to confirm it.

From then on, just ask your legal questions as you normally would. Claude will search Decree on its own when a question calls for it. Try “Is the Omani Labour Law still current, and what changed?” to see it work.

If you set up Decree MCP after our May announcement, you will have a connector pointing at mcp-lr.decree.om. Please delete it. Leaving both in place means your assistant sees two sets of Decree tools and may keep reaching for the older one, which searches only the English collection and does not track amendments using our new smarter logic. In Claude, go to Settings, then Connectors, find the old Decree entry, and remove it before or after adding the new one.

Access is available to Decree members whose subscription includes Lex AI.

More details on how to use Decree MCP are available here:

Decree Risk has until now been a forward-looking tool, reporting liquidations within hours of their announcement so that creditors can lodge their claims with the liquidator before the legal six-month window closes. It could not answer questions about liquidations that took place before Decree Risk was launched.

That matters most when cleaning up legacy receivables. An ageing debtor ledger almost always contains accounts belonging to companies that entered liquidation years ago, and there was no practical way to identify them other than working backwards through years of gazette issues by hand. With thirteen years of announcements now in the database, a finance or collections team can run an entire ledger against the full record in one pass, write off what is no longer recoverable, and act on any account that still falls within a claim period.

The historical records cover announcements published in the Official Gazette from February 2013 to the present, and are structured in the same way as the entries we publish daily.

They are searchable on Decree Risk alongside current announcements, and are also available through our liquidation section, which lets you download the liquidations published in each issue of the Official Gazette on an issue-by-issue basis. For organisations that work with the data in their own systems, the full record is also available through the Decree API, so an existing integration can now query thirteen years of announcements rather than recent ones alone.

Decree Risk is available through a bundle subscription to Decree. If your current bundle does not include Decree Risk, or if you are not yet a member of Decree, you can request a free trial by contacting us here.

A New Design

The app has been rebuilt for the latest version of iOS, with a cleaner and more modern look throughout. We’ve also refined dark mode and improved the Arabic experience across every screen, so the app reads well whichever language you work in.

Now on iPad

Decree is now a full iPad app. Rather than a stretched phone layout, you get a proper side-by-side view that keeps your conversations in sight while you read, which makes the iPad a practical place to do sustained research.

Working with Lex AI

• Faster Answers: Lex AI now returns answers noticeably faster on mobile.
• Suggested Questions: Every new conversation opens with prompts to get you started.
• Conversation Controls: Pin, rename, or delete a conversation without leaving the chat.
• Pick Up Where You Left Off: Conversations now open at your latest message.

Availability

The Decree app is available to all users with a subscription bundle that includes Lex AI. Update to version 3.0 on the App Store to get started.

If your current bundle does not include Lex AI, or if you are not yet a member of Decree, you can request a free trial by contacting us here.

Before turning to those routes, it’s helpful to understand the two types of contracts recognised by law. A definite (fixed-term) contract runs on an agreed period of time and simply comes to an end when either the period has expired or the agreed work is complete, the employer does not need to state a reason; the contract can be allowed to lapse by not renewing it. An indefinite contract, by contrast, has no set end date, so it can only be brought to an end by invoking one of the grounds the law provides.The employer can’t simply end it without falling under one of these grounds.

Dismissal without notice or gratuity

Article 40 gives employers a limited and serious set of grounds for dismissing a worker immediately, without notice or gratuity. This includes earning a job via a false identity or forged documents, causing serious material loss through a mistake (provided the ministry is informed within 30 working days), disregarding written safety instructions after a prior written warning, unauthorised absence exceeding seven consecutive or ten intermittent days in a year, disclosing the employer’s confidential information, a final conviction for a felony or a crime against honour or trust, being intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics during working hours, assaulting the employer, a superior, or a colleague at the worksite, and any serious breach of the worker’s contractual obligations.

Immediate termination initiated by worker without losing entitlements  

According to article 41, the worker can end the employment relationship without abiding by the usual notice period, or prior to the expiration of the fixed-term contract, while maintaining rights and end-of-service gratuity, if the employer induced the contract through fraud, failed to pay wages for more than two consecutive months or otherwise failed to meet its fundamental obligations, committed an act contrary to public morals towards the worker, assaulted the worker, or exposed the worker to a serious safety or health danger that the employer knew about and failed to address.

Employer termination with notice

Article 43 permits the employer to end an indefinite contract unilaterally, after notice, in certain situations like the worker reaching the age of retirement under the Social Protection Law; ending a non-Omani worker’s service to replace them with an Omani in the same role; failure to reach required competency after a written warning and a grace period of at least six months, in which case an Omani worker’s replacement must also be Omani; and closure or partial closure, bankruptcy, reduced activity, or a change in production methods that affects workforce size. For grounds of competency and restructuring, the employer should inform the ministry of the reason three months prior to the date of termination, and should avoid terminating an Omani worker whose competency and experience match those of a non-Omani colleague retained in the same establishment.  

Articles 44 to 46 set out a formal procedure where a genuine economic cause exists with a financial loss sustained for at least two consecutive years, not merely a failure to profit.  The employer applies to a dedicated committee chaired by the ministry, with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion, the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the General Federation for Workers of the Sultanate of Oman as members. The committee can approve the reduction, reject it, or impose alternatives such as shorter hours, unpaid leave, or reduced wages across the workforce. If a reduction is approved, the employer must select workers by a fair standard such as performance, give at least three months’ notice, and give those affected priority in re-employment if a suitable vacancy later arises.

Conclusion

This blog post highlighted some cases by which an employment contract can be terminated by the employer or the employee. The law also provides for other cases through which an employment relationship can come to an end, such as the death of the worker or his incapacity to work.

It is highly recommended for everyone to make themselves familiar with the Labour Law. You can read it in English on the link below:

Written by:

Malak Al Kharusi

Malak is a legal intern at Decree. She has previously interned in the government sector. She is interested in commercial law. She is about to start the final year of her Business Management and Law degree at Leeds Beckett University.

Legal Basis

Oman’s leave entitlements are outlined in part 4 of the Labour Law of 2023 which contains a dedicated chapter spanning articles 77 to 84 titled “Leave”, covering everything from weekly rest to more specific categories.

Annual and Weekly Leave

Under article 77 of the Labour Law, employees have the right to weekly paid leave for no less than 2 consecutive days per week, which can not be forfeited even if an employee is absent from work, with or without a reason. However, the law does allow some flexibility in certain cases. For jobs and areas designated by the Minister of Labour, employers can combine the rest days and grant them in a single block rather than weekly, without reducing the total days owed. This scenario is typically found in cases where an employee works in a remote worksite or has a rotational schedule such as the 2-week on/2-week off system used in some oil companies. Beyond the weekly rest, subject to article 78, employees are guaranteed an annual leave of no less than 30 days, though, annual leave cannot be taken before an employee completes 6 months of service. If the annual leave is not utilised, the employee has the right to carry over the annual leave for an allowance not exceeding 30 days unless the reason the leave was not used was because of the interest of work, in which case, the 30-day cap does not apply, meaning they can carry over the full unused balance uncapped. In accordance with article 81, an employer can postpone leave, if the interest of work requires it, for no more than six months. Workers shall take leave at least once every two years for a period of no less than 30 days and the worker is entitled to the gross wage for his annual leave balance if his service ends before exhausting it.

Sick Leave

Every worker in Oman is entitled to sick leave, article 82 discusses sick leave and the conditions attached to it. Provided that illness is proven, workers are entitled to 182 days, though pay during this period is not fixed at one rate. Instead, it decreases the longer the leave continues. For the first 21 days, the worker will receive their full gross wage, it then drops to 75% from day 22 to day 35, from day 36 to 70 the gross wage drops to 50%, and finally, from day 71 to day 182 the gross wage drops to 35%. This structure means sick leave remains fully paid only for the first three weeks, after which the financial burden is gradually shared.

Maternity and Family-Related Leave

Among the ten categories of special leave listed in article 84, maternity leave is the most extensive, granting a female worker 98 days split between the period before and after delivery. Of the 98 days granted, a female worker is also entitled to 14 days leave to cover the period prior to childbirth, provided that a competent medical entity recommends it. In contrast, a male worker is permitted 7 days paternity leave at any time before the child reaches the age of 98 days and provided that the birth is successful. A worker is also entitled to 3 days leave in the event of their marriage. Additionally, a Omani worker is entitled to 15 days throughout the year to accompany a patient with whom he has a marital relationship or kinship up to the second degree. The Labour Law sets out several tiers of bereavement leave, scaled to the closeness of the relationship. A worker is entitled to 3 days leave for the death of a parent, grandparent, or sibling, and 2 days for the death of an aunt or uncle. A more significant loss, the death of a spouse, son, or daughter, carries 10 days of leave. Widowhood is treated separately, a Muslim woman is entitled to 130 days of leave following her husband’s death, reflecting the Islamic mourning period (iddah), while a non-Muslim woman is entitled to 14 days.

Conclusion

Beyond the leave types discussed above, the Labour Law also grants workers up to 15 days once during their service to perform Hajj, and Omani workers up to 15 days a year to sit exams while studying. Leave entitlements are largely the same regardless of nationality, though a handful of provisions, such as exam leave and the right to accompany a sick relative, are reserved for Omani workers specifically, while non-Omani workers receive an added benefit of their own, a return ticket to their home country during annual leave. It is worth noting, too, that these provisions don’t apply universally, categories such as government and defence personnel are governed by their own separate service laws rather than the Labour Law, meaning their leave entitlements sit outside this framework entirely. Taken together, these provisions reflect a leave system that is broad in scope but not without its carve-outs, one that balances a worker’s personal, religious, and family needs against the practical realities of the workplace.

It is highly recommended that you familiarise yourself with the full provisions of the Labour Law. You can read the complete text of the Labour Law at the link below:

Written by:

Zayd Al Harrasi

Zayd is a legal intern at Decree. He is interested in corporate, commercial, and company law. He is about to start the final year of his Business Law Degree at Nottingham Trent University.

Previously, Lex AI was limited to the English translations available on Decree. That gave precise answers for matters with a translated text, but it left a gap for legislation that existed only in Arabic.

The latest version closes that gap. Lex AI now searches both databases using semantic and keyword search, irrespective of the document’s language. It can also draw on the non-legislative Arabic content in our database, such as the fatwas of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs.

A restructuring of our database also allows Lex AI to navigate the different versions of a legal document in both languages with confidence. Lex AI now understands how legal instruments relate to one another, which gives it a deeper grasp of the law and lets it handle more sophisticated questions.

We have also upgraded the reasoning and reranking models, which further improve the quality of the answers.

These updates are live for all users on the web, iOS, and Android.

If your current bundle does not include Lex AI, or if you are not yet a member of Decree, you can request a free trial by contacting us here.

Labour Union

Article 1 defines a labour union as the association of employees within a single company with the purpose of protecting and representing the shared interests of workers. Establishing a union is an optional matter rather than mandatory. Workers are not obligated to establish a union but they can if they choose to. The same article mentions that this can only be established if the organization has more than 50 employees. To register, an application must be submitted to the Ministry of Labour including the proposed name of the union, scope of activity, the address, minutes of the founding meeting, certified list of a minimum of 25 founding members, and a draft set of articles of association. The powers of the union entail litigating on behalf of members, participating in drafting the labour regulations of the establishment, and confidentially reviewing data regarding discipline, wages, and promotion, alongside negotiating collective agreements. Under article 31, to join the union the worker must be employed at the establishment, be at least 18 years old, not be currently a member of any other union, not be registered as an employer, and must pay fees prescribed for the union.

Trade Union

Article 1 says that a trade union is an organization formed by not less than five labour unions functioning in the same sector registered with the ministry. Just like labour unions establishing a trade union is optional not mandatory, and only one union is permitted per sector. To register, the founding labour unions must submit an application to the Ministry of Labour consisting of the proposed name of the union, scope of activity, the address, minutes of the founding meeting, a certified list of a minimum of five founding labour unions, and a draft set of articles of association. The powers of the trade union center on sector-wide collective bargaining, participating in labour-dispute panels, and coordination between the General Federation and member unions.

General Federation of Workers

The General Federation for Workers of the Sultanate of Oman is defined as the body consisting of all labour unions and trade unions that have joined it and registered with the ministry. It is the sole national tier that is positioned above the two. What differentiates the General Federation of Workers from the rest besides its scale, is its oversight. Article 4 states that no labour or trade union may associate with a global body without the prior approval of the federation. The federation sets the standard on membership dues throughout all unions and may freeze the work of a union or dissolve its membership for severe violations. It also represents Omani workers in multilateral interchange between the government and employers, and in global settings.

Conclusion

Understanding which tier you’re dealing with—labour union, trade union, or the General Federation of Workers—isn’t a technicality. It determines who has standing to negotiate, what’s actually on the table, and what a worker can expect in terms of dues, leave, and protection. To learn more about labour unions, trade unions, and the General Federation of Workers, we highly recommend that you read the Ministry of Labour Decision 284/2026 Regarding the Statute for the Formation, Work, and Registration of Labour Unions, Trade Unions, and the General Federation for Workers of the Sultanate of Oman:

Written by:

Malak Al Kharusi

Malak is a legal intern at Decree. She has previously interned in the government sector. She is interested in commercial law. She is about to start the final year of her Business Management and Law degree at Leeds Beckett University.

Giving Unions Room to Operate

One of the clearest obligations imposed on employers, is the duty to provide labour unions with the physical space and resources needed to operate. Under article 35, this means a properly equipped office, internet access, a phone line, and the other basics a union needs to operate. Additionally, employers shall permit access to relevant administrative and financial data affecting its members, such as, records tied to training, wages, decisions, promotions, and disciplinary action, in accordance with article 26. Though, the union must still adhere to the confidentiality of such data, and can only use it within the parameters the decision sets out.

Allowing Union Work to Take Place

The most substantial set of obligations imposed on employers concerns time. Fundamentally, it is about allowing employees to perform union work during work hours. Subject to article 66, union members must be excused from their regular duties to carry out union business. For smaller unions consisting of less than 100 members, 30 days per year suffices. Mid size unions consist of 100 to 300 members, meaning they get a total of 90 days per year. The union member selected by the administrative body for a union with more than 300 members, must be excused from work full-time. This is a meaningful switch from the old system, which calculated excusal on a weekly basis rather than an annual one. Furthermore, none of this comes at the employees expense. Excused members will keep their full wage, promotions, and periodic allowances, with their time away still counting towards their actual length of service, in accordance with article 69. Those excused full-time are also exempt from performance evaluation for these purposes, instead, their last review, or their average over the past three years if higher, is used to determine allowances and promotions. This decision introduces a new provision which requires employers to provide means of transport for members carrying out union tasks that are 150 kilometres away from the headquarters of the labour union, trade union, or the general federation, provided the establishment is notified at least 5 days before the task takes place, except in urgent cases, such as a workplace accident or a labour strike.

Limits on Employer Interference

Beyond what employers are required to do, the decision also sets restrictions on employer conduct. Under article 6, an employer is not permitted to transfer a member of the administrative body from the worksite the union has designated as its headquarters without the consent of the member. Furthermore, this extends to article 70 which prohibits an employer from performing an act which results in the disruption of union work. The non-disruption duty in article 70 reflects protections already grounded in the Labour Law, so it is not a new burden; the transfer restriction in article 6, however, does not appear in the old Ministerial Decision 500/2018 or in its 2022 amendment.

Supporting Union Democracy

The final obligation is more of a procedural one. Employers also have a role in supporting the democratic process within the union itself. Article 14 sets a duty upon employers to facilitate the election of members of the administrative body of a labour or trade union, a duty that carries over largely unchanged from the previous decision.

Conclusion

Ultimately, these obligations convey that Ministerial Decision 284/2026 asks relatively little of employers in financial terms. The real cost is in time, access, non-interference, and in understanding exactly what the decision now expects of them, with article 68’s transport requirement arising as the one genuinely new burden. It’s also worth noting that the decision’s changes extend beyond these specific duties. Registration is now considerably faster, and several approval powers have shifted from the Ministry to the General Federation, pointing to a union landscape that moves quicker and answers less directly to the state than before. For employers, the takeaway is straightforward. This decision is about making space, allowing time, and staying out of the way, not a financial one. For the full text of Ministerial Decision 284/2026, including provisions not covered in this post, we highly recommend reading it in full via the link below:

Written by:

Zayd Al Harrasi

Zayd is a legal intern at Decree. He is interested in corporate, commercial, and company law. He is about to start the final year of his Business Law Degree at Nottingham Trent University.

The Executive Branch

The executive authority is exercised by the Sultan with the assistance of the Council of Ministers who are entrusted with implementing the public policy of the state. Under article 51 of the Basic Statute of the State in an effort to assist the Sultan, the Council of Ministers may advise on matters that concern the state, such as proposing draft laws and royal decrees. Additionally, the Council of Ministers has a duty to safeguard citizens’ access to necessary services, and to oversee that laws, decrees, and other legal instruments are properly implemented. Furthermore, ministers oversee the affairs of the units they head, implement government policy within them, and monitor how that policy is carried out, in accordance with article 58.

The Legislative Branch

Oman’s legislative body, Majlis Oman, is divided into two Majlis’s. Majlis Al-Dawla and Majlis Al-Shura. Article 72 allows Majlis Oman to debate the state budget and development strategies, enact and amend draft laws, whilst also suggesting draft laws of its own. While it does come with its limitations, this is a legitimate legislative function. As Majlis Oman does not sit year-round, article 73 permits the Sultan to issue decrees between the Majlis sessions or while the Majlis Al-Shura is dissolved. As a result, law-making is not the sole domain of the legislature.

The Judicial Branch

According to articles 77 and 78, judicial authority is autonomous, exercised by the courts, and judges cannot be removed unless specifically authorized by law, meaning it is not permitted for any entities to interfere with court affairs as it may lead to charges punishable by law. Additionally, article 85 mandates that the legislature appoint a body capable of determining whether laws, decrees, and regulations comply with Oman’s constitution, the Basic Statute of the State.

Limits on the Separation of Powers

All three powers are distinguishable on paper. However, all three ultimately trace back to a single source of authority, the Sultan. Majlis Al-Dawla members are appointed by the Sultan rather than being elected. Judicial appointments run through the Sultan, and judgments are made and carried out in his name in accordance with article 81. The key point to remember is that, unlike the traditional separation of powers model, which is most closely linked to Montesquieu, Oman’s Basic Statute clearly distinguishes functions but does not split the power into completely independent branches. It is closer, in some respects, to the British model, where distinct institutions work alongside one another without one holding power to override or restrain another.

Conclusion

Oman’s Basic Statute draws clear functional lines between its executive, legislative, and judicial institutions, even where those institutions ultimately answer to the same source of authority. We highly recommend reading the full text of the Basic Statute of the State on Decree to explore these provisions in greater depth on the link below:

Written by:

Zayd Al Harrasi

Zayd is a legal intern at Decree. He is interested in corporate, commercial, and company law. He is about to start the final year of his Business Law Degree at Nottingham Trent University.

The Sultan, being the head of the state, oversees the three branches of the government instead of being within them. Article 48 addresses him as the supreme representative of the state and supreme commander of the armed forces, with his person inviolable and his command obeyed. Article 49 goes on to list all the functions of the head of the state, which include declaring a state of emergency; promulgating laws (which gives him ultimate authority over legislation); appointing and dismissing the prime minister, deputy prime ministers, ministers, undersecretaries, senior judges, and senior military officers (which gives him the final word over the judiciary and the armed forces); and ratifying treaties. The Sultan’s authority effectively spans the legislative, executive, and judicial branches together with the military, regardless of who manages day-to-day administration underneath him.

The role of the Prime Minister is distinct from the role of the Sultan, whose primary responsibility is administering the executive branch and running the Council of Ministers, which is tasked with implementing public policy, overseeing the administrative apparatus, coordinating between ministries, and proposing draft laws and decrees for the Sultan’s approval.

In addition to these general functions, article 55 states that if the Sultan appoints a prime minister, the mandates and powers of the prime minister will be specified in the royal decree appointing him. Therefore, the role of the prime minister is distinct from the role of the Sultan, and the Basic Statute of the State explicitly specifies that the Sultan can appoint someone else in this position.

Nothing in the Basic Statute obliges the Sultan to ever exercise the option to appoint a prime minister, and nothing prevents him from doing so at any time; article 55 simply sits in reserve, a standing mechanism rather than an active office, ready to be activated by a single decree whenever it is judged useful.

Even though the Sultan today is acting in both capacities, just as Sultan Qaboos did for most of his reign, it is worth noting that Oman did have a prime minister other than the Sultan in the early seventies, who happened to be Sayyid Tarik bin Taimur, Sultan Haitham’s own father.

You can learn more about the functions of the Sultan and the Prime Minister by reading the full text of the Basic Statute of the State at the link below:

Written by:

Malak Al Kharusi

Malak is a legal intern at Decree. She has previously interned in the government sector. She is interested in commercial law. She is about to start the final year of her Business Management and Law degree at Leeds Beckett University.