Terminated from work, are you still eligible for benefits in Oman?

Muscat: Employees are entitled to various benefits under Omani law upon end of service or termination of their contracts.

In a series of articles about Oman’s rules and regulations, “Know Oman”, experts will guide our readers on their rights and responsibilities while working and living in the Sultanate.

Speaking exclusively to the Times of Oman, Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm, a leading legal office in Oman, highlighted the termination and end of service benefits an employee was entitled to in the country.

“The employee is entitled to get post-service gratuity from the employer. This benefit is only for those employees who are not beneficiaries of the Social Insurance Law,” said a spokesperson of the firm.

“The post-service gratuity shall be calculated as 15 days wages for each year of service for the first three years and one month’s wage for each of the following years. However, the employee who has worked for less than one year is not entitled to post-service gratuity. The last paid basic wage of the employee shall be the basis for calculating the post-service gratuity,” the spokesperson explained.

An employee is also entitled to basic wages for the balance of his/her annual leaves if not used.

“An employee is entitled to termination or end-of-service benefits unless the termination is for penal reasons, for which the law recommends termination without any end-of-service benefits,” said the spokesperson. “Termination of an employment contract can be in terms of resignation, non-renewal of the contract or termination by the employer. In all the cases, the employer is bound to pay the end-of-service benefits or the termination benefits.”

By law, the employment agreement can be terminated with an advance written notice of not less than one month or the period specified in the contract, according to the expert.

“If the employer terminates the employee’s services without observing the notice period, the employee is entitled to one month’s salary, which is called in lieu salary, for the notice period or the remaining part of the notice period thereof,” the spokesperson added.

The employer is entitled to deduct the salary for the notice period if the employee resigns without observing it.

Moreover, the repatriation expenses for the employee shall be borne by the employer in the event of termination and sending the employee back to his/her country, said the expert. “In case of an expatriate employee, if the employer gives a letter of release to transfer the sponsorship without the employee exiting the country, the employee is not entitled to any repatriation cost.

“Also, if the employer forcefully terminates the employee’s services without observing any of the above and sends the employee back to his/her country without giving him/her time to lodge a complaint at the Ministry of Manpower, the employee has the option to register the employment dispute at the exit counter established at the airports across the Sultanate,” the expert said.

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 areas that include labour law, corporate, commercial, contracts, banking and finance, international trade, foreign investment, insurance, maritime law, construction and engineering contracts, international arbitration, and intellectual property.