Friday 26 / April / 2024
Muscat: Employees working in the private sector of Oman are entitled to receive the usual salary during official holidays unless they coincide with their weekly paid rest day(s).
In a series of articles about Oman’s rules and regulations, entitled “Know Oman”, experts guide readers on their rights and responsibilities while working and living in Oman.
Speaking exclusively to the Times of Oman, representatives of Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm, a leading legal office in Oman, explained the different situations that could occur during the contractual period of an employee not knowing his/her rights related to his/her salary.
“Article (65) of the Omani Labour Law states that the worker shall be entitled to his/her gross wages during holidays for festivals and other official occasions, as may be specified by a decision of the minister,” said Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Zadjali, Chairman of Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm.
“There are various situations that should be taken into account while defining employees’ rights for compensation during official holidays that include Eid, National Day and a few others,” the chairman added.
“The first situation would occur if the holiday is on an employee’s working day and he/she gets a day off. Secondly, if the holiday falls on an employee’s working day and he/she is required to work on that day,” he said. “There can also be a situation where the holiday is during an employee’s annual leave period, and lastly, what compensation the employee is entitled to receive when the official holiday coincides with his/her weekly rest days, for instance, on a Saturday,” Al Zadjali said.
Another spokesperson of the law firm said that in the first situation, when the employee gets a day off on an official holiday, he/she is entitled to receive the usual full salary for that day(s).
“The law further specifies that the worker may be asked to work on an official holiday if the circumstances of the work so require, and in such a case, the worker shall be entitled to receive his/her gross wage for such a day with an additional amount of not less than 25 per cent, or to get a rest day as a substitute therefore.”
He added that if the official holiday falls during the period of an employee’s paid annual leave, then he/she shall not be entitled to any compensation therefore.
Regarding the fourth case - the interference of a national holiday with the weekend or weekly rest day of the employee, the expert of the law firm said that Article 65 specifies that if an official holiday coincides with a weekly paid rest day, the worker shall be compensated therefore by another day.
Extra day
“This means in practice that if an official holiday falls, for example, on a Saturday, which is a rest day for most employees, those who don’t work on that day are entitled to get an extra day as compensation for that (Saturday) holiday,” the expert explained.
Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm ([email protected]) was established 11 years ago and is serving clients through its offices in Muscat and Sohar, as well as operating on a request basis in other areas, such as Duqm.
It offers legal representation across a wide range of practice areas that include labour law, corporate, commercial, contracts, banking and finance, international trade, foreign investment, insurance, maritime law, construction and engineering contracts, international arbitration, intellectual property and more.
