📊 Comparative Study of the Old and New Labor Law in Oman Royal Decree No. 53/2023
📌 Part One: Types of Employment Contracts / Working Hours
As you may have heard, with the issuance of Royal Decree No. 53/2023, the labor law of Oman has changed. In this series of articles, we present the differences and similarities between the provisions of the old and new laws. We hope this will be useful.
📄 Types of Employment Contracts
⚖️ Old Labor Law
1- Absence of a specific article explaining the types of employment contracts.
2- No maximum duration defined for temporary employment contracts.
3- If a temporary contract expired and the parties continued under the same conditions, the contract would be converted into a permanent one.
4- The previous law did not condition the termination of a permanent employment contract on a legitimate reason.
🆕 New Labor Law
1- A specific article has been introduced to define the types of employment contracts.
a- Temporary employment contract: maximum duration of five years.
b- Permanent employment contract:
• If it is without a fixed term.
• If its duration exceeds five years.
• If the contract is renewed for more than five years.
• If a temporary contract expires and the parties continue without a written agreement.
• If the subject of the contract is a specific task that continues for more than five years.
2- The legislator in the new law has made the termination of a permanent employment contract subject to a legitimate reason.
⏱ Working Hours
⚖️ Old Labor Law
1- Maximum of 9 hours per day and 45 hours per week, with 30 minutes of rest during the day.
2- Overtime wages:
a- Total regular and overtime hours must not exceed 12 hours.
b- Basic salary + 25% for each overtime hour during the day.
c- Basic salary + 50% for each working hour at night.
d- Rest in exchange for overtime.
e- Requirement of written approval from the employer.
🆕 New Labor Law
1- Maximum of 8 working hours per day and 40 hours per week, with 1 hour of rest per day.
2- Overtime wages:
a- Total regular and overtime hours must not exceed 12 hours.
b- Basic salary + 50% for each overtime hour during the day.
c- Basic salary + 75% for each overtime hour at night.
d- Rest in exchange for overtime.
e- Basic salary + 200% for each working hour on holidays.
f- Two days of rest for each day of work during holidays.
g- Employer’s approval.
h- One hour of rest for nursing employees (women with infants) during the first year after childbirth.
i- Requirement to display a schedule of working and rest hours for all employees.
