Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labor introduces new regulations for telecommuter programs

The Ministry of Labor for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has issued a Ministerial Decree No. 792 dated December 14, 2014 and effective from February 20, 2015, which establishes procedural requirements for the companies that wish to employ telecommuters or teleworkers. The key requirements for the telecommuter programs under this decree are the following:

1. Qualified telecommuters can perform their duties outside the offices of the employer.
2. All provisions of the Saudi Arabia Labor Law apply to the telecommuters. However, the employment contracts of the telecommuters must include the following information:
   1. The employee’s telecommuter status;
   2. Place of work;
   3. Job duties and working hours; including, start and end time of the working hours.
3. The tasks and duties assigned to the telecommuters can be performed remotely.
4. The employer is responsible for all the direct costs related to the employment of the telecommuters, including the cost of equipment, telecommunications, internet, etc.
5. Only telecommuters who have been registered with GOSI will count towards the company’s Saudization targets under the Nitaqat program. Part-time telecommuters must be registered as part-time employees with GOSI.
6. Only female or disabled telecommuters will be counted towards the Saudization target under the Nitaqat program.
7. The proportion of the telecommuters (based on the company’s Nitaqat category) is limited to the following percentages of the company’s total Saudi national workforces:
   1. Platinum – 30%
   2. Green – 20%
   3. Yellow & Red – 10%