Saudi Arabia has implemented mandatory insurance on contracts for new domestic workers, effective from Thursday, as part of efforts to regulate the kingdom’s labor market.
The Ministry of Human Resources announced that this mandatory insurance will apply to the initial two years of domestic labor contracts. After the two-year period, employers will have the option to continue with the insurance or make it optional.
This new insurance service is designed to provide compensation for both domestic workers and employers in specific situations. Employers will be entitled to compensation if the domestic worker is absent, escapes, passes away, or becomes incapacitated due to debilitating diseases.
Additionally, the service, accessed through a government platform, seeks to safeguard the rights of domestic workers by ensuring compensation for full or partial disability resulting from accidents and in cases where employers fail to pay wages or other financial entitlements due to their own demise or incapacity.
The Saudi government has recently taken steps to regulate the domestic labor market, launching the Musaned platform through the Ministry of Human Resources. Musaned serves as the official recruitment platform and offers information about rights, duties, visa issuance, recruitment requests, and contractual relationships between employers and workers.
Last October, Saudi Arabia introduced new rules for hiring domestic workers, including setting the minimum age for workers at 21 years old, as part of an effort to protect contractual rights. These regulations also clarified contract terms, debt priority for workers, and contract language. The rules stipulated a fixed contract duration, with the possibility of renewal for one year after the initial period.
Under the new rules, domestic workers are entitled to work for a maximum of 10 hours a day and receive weekly paid consecutive 24-hour rest periods. Employers are explicitly prohibited from retaining the passports, personal documents, or belongings of domestic workers.