Muscat: The Labour Law issued by Royal Decree 53/2023 ensures that an effective platform is provided by the employer for his employees to convey their grievances alongside effective tools to address those issues.
Article 8 of the laws states that every employer who employs 50 workers or more is obligated to establish a system for complaints and grievances in the establishment after its approval by the competent authority, provided that it includes the worker’s right to raise his complaint or grievance to the employer or his representative, and the employer must enable the worker to obtain A certified copy of this system.
Article 9 states that labor dispute claims arising from claims for the rights stipulated in this law and the employment contract shall not be accepted if they are initially filed with the competent court without submitting a request for settlement to the competent administrative division in the Ministry, to undertake settlement efforts between the parties thereto by the provisions of this law, within a maximum period of 30 days from the date of submission.
If the settlement is made between the parties to the dispute before the competent administrative division in the Ministry, this settlement shall be recorded in a report signed by the parties, the competent employee in the Ministry, and whoever is delegated from among the judges, and it shall have the force of an executive document, and the dispute shall be ended within the limits of what was concluded, and a copy shall be given.
An official copy of the record is appended in the executive form in accordance with the provisions of the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law, taking into account the rules of jurisdiction established by law. If settlement between the parties to the dispute fails, the competent administrative division in the Ministry must refer the dispute to the competent court within 7 seven days from the date of the last settlement session, and the referral must be accompanied by a memorandum that includes the facts of the dispute, the names of the parties, and their original domicile or the chosen domicile.
By each one of them for litigation procedures, stating the worker’s wages and the demands in the lawsuit, and attaching a copy of the employment contract and all other arguments and supports provided by all parties.
The right to claim any of the rights stipulated in this law shall be forfeited after the expiry of one year from the date of its entitlement. As for rights that arose before the enforcement of this law, the period of one year shall be calculated as of the date on which its provisions came into force.
Article 10 states that the worker who is dismissed from work may submit his complaint to the competent authority within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision, and it must take the measures stipulated in Article 9 of this law.
Article (11)
If it becomes clear to the competent court that the worker’s dismissal from his work was arbitrary or in violation of the law, a ruling must be made either to return the worker to his job, or to oblige the employer to pay the worker compensation of no less than 3 months’ wages and a maximum of 12 months, calculated based on the last comprehensive wage he received, taking into account the worker’s circumstances and length of service, in addition to:
1 - The end-of-service bonus is legally due to him and all other benefits stipulated by the law or the employment contract, whichever is greater.
2 - The comprehensive wage for the notice period stipulated by the law or the employment contract, whichever is greater.
3 - The insurance contributions prescribed for the period from the date of arbitrary dismissal until the issuance of the final ruling.
Article (12)
The employer’s termination of the employment contract is considered an arbitrary dismissal of the worker if the termination is for any of the following reasons:
1 - Sex, origin, color, language, religion, creed, social status, disability, pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding for working women.
2 - The worker’s affiliation to a labor union or his legitimate participation in any of its activities or because of his representation in union work under what is determined by the laws, regulations, and decisions issued in this regard.
3 - Submit a complaint, report, or file a lawsuit against the employer, unless the complaint, report, or lawsuit is malicious.
4 - For disciplinary reasons without taking into account the provisions of this law, the work regulations, and the establishment’s sanctions regulations.
5 - The worker’s absence from work due to his detention or imprisonment by the competent authorities and the expiration of the period of detention or imprisonment without referral to the competent court or the court declaring his innocence.
Article (13)
All lawsuits arising from disputes related to the provisions of this law filed by workers, or those entitled to them, shall be exempt from legal fees
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