MLSD to implement WPS on firms with over 30 workers staring from February

The Ministry of Labor and Social Development (MLSD) has implemented the 13th phase of the Wage Protection System (WPS) on establishments whose workers range between 30 and 39 starting from 1^st of February 2018.

Under this phase, 14,000 establishments will have to upload wage files of 477,402 workers according to the ministry’s statistics.

MLSD spokesman Khaled Abalkhail clarified that the ministry emphasized its keenness to implement the protection on all private firms to ensure wages are paid on time, define wage scales for all occupations and reduce labor issues between employers and workers. He added the ministry will not lose momentum to enforce the system on every firm as timetables are set forth.

According to the sanctions and penalties mentioned in the labor law, if the establishment fails to pay workers’ wages on time, it will be fined SR 3,000 which can be increased by the number of workers, Abalkhail said as well.

Abalkhail added if the employer fails to upload wage files on the system within two months from the date of enforcement, he would be banned from the ministry’s services, except for issuance or renewal of work permits.

If the establishment is late to upload them for three months, it will be denied access to all the ministry’s services, and the workers can transfer their service to other establishments without their former employer’s approval and despite their valid work permits, the spokesman said further.

Recently, the ministry unveiled the WPS as part of the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020. It aims to create a safe and suitable work environment in the private sector as it will increase transparency, protect the contractual relationships among involved parties and raise the compliance of small and medium-sized enterprises to the system.

The employers can visit the ministry’s website and review upcoming phases of implementing the WPS. They can also register with the program in advance as the demo registration will not result in imposing any sanctions on them.

The coming obligatory dates to submit the wages files to the MLSD, as below: