Iam an expatriate foreign investor, running a private limited company in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. To meet Saudization policy, I appointed some Saudi employees as permanent basis employees. Among these employees some employees are not showing required discipline as per the norms of my company. Coming late, verbal fight with managers, disobedience, leaving early are some of the examples of indiscipline. Every day Iam getting new complaints from my managers against these employees. How can I control these employees effectively?
Disciplinary or corrective action is a process of communication with the employees to correct their unacceptable behavior in the workplace. Being an owner of the company, you have to keep discipline in your company. Saudi labor law law does not have separate definition or disciplinary procedures for Saudi employees and expatriate employees. In Article 5, Saudi labor law explain "A worker is a natural person working for an employer and under his management or supervision for a wage, even if he is not under his direct control.". There is no other definition for a 'worker' in Saudi labor law. As per Saudi labor law all employees are expected to meet appropriate behavioural standards in the workplace. One aspect you must bear in your mind that, when you are going to take a disciplinary action, that action should be constructive and to correct misbehavior of the employee and your goal should not be to punish the employee. Saudi labor law gives you ample power to take more severe actions against the employee if he repeats the same kind of offences again, irrespective of their nationality.
In Chapter 5 of the Saudi labor law, Section 2 mandates some duties for employers as well as employees. Articles 61-64 deal with employer’s duties. Article 65 deals with workers/employees duties.
Article 65 says:-
In addition to the duties provided for in this Law and the regulations and decisions in implementation thereof, the worker shall be required to:
1.Perform the work in accordance with the trade practice and the employer’s instructions provided that such instructions do not conflict with the contract, the law or public morality and that they do not expose him to any undue hazards.
2. Take due care of the employer’s machinery, tools, supplies and raw materials placed at his disposal or in his custody and return to the employers the unused materials. 3. Abide by proper conduct and ethical norms during work. 4. Extend all assistance and help without making it contingent on additional pay in cases of disasters or hazards threatening the workplace or the persons working therein. 5. Undergo, upon the employer’s request, the medical examinations required prior to or during employment to ensure that he is free from occupational or communicable diseases. 6. Keep confidential the technical, trade and industrial secrets of the products or which he directly or indirectly contributed to their production, as well as all trade secrets related to the work or the firm, the disclosure of which is likely to cause damage to the employer’s interests.
These duties are same for Saudi employees and non-Saudi employees as per Saudi labor law. If any employee violates his duties, the law provides measures to take corrective and punitive actions against such employee. Your problem comes to the Sub clause 3 of Article 65(Abide by proper conduct and ethical norms during work). If the conduct of your employee is not suitable to the norms of your company, you can take action against him irrespective of his nationality. But before taking any disciplinary action against any employee you need to take care of some simple matters and need to take some precautionary steps to avoid expensive future litigations.
Article 12, says “Any employer who employs ten or more workers shall submit to the Ministry, a work organization regulation including internal work provisions, such regulations shall include the work organization rules and all related provisions including the provisions related to privileges, violations and disciplinary penalties, not contradicting the provisions of this Law”.
So at first you have to prepare a 'code of conduct' charter for your company. That code of conduct must include provisions, rules and regulations for the day today works which ensure smooth working conditions in the company and guidelines for employees in their respective matters. If you have any doubts in regard to the contents of charter, you can refer the Ministry of labor’s template of byelaws. (Article 14 mandates that “model(s) work organization regulation shall be issued pursuant to a decision by the Minister for the guidance of employers”). It is also available from any lawyer in your locality. After making this charter, you submit it to the Ministry for approval as per Article 13. (As per Article 13, “The Ministry shall approve the work organization regulation and all amendments to it within sixty days from the date of its submission to the Ministry. If such period elapses without approval or objection, the regulation shall be considered effective as of the end of such period. The employer shall announce the regulation by displaying it in a prominent location in the firm or by any other means that ensures the workers’ awareness thereof”)
You make aware of your employees about contents of the Regulation. You may display it in a conspicuous place in your office. You can take punitive actions against any of your employees who violate the discipline.
If any of the employee violates the disciplinary rules, don’t go for an argument with him. You just give a written memo in regard to the violation and ask him to submit show cause and his explanation for that violation in written. In your memo you must indicate clearly that it is a written warning, and mention the violated Regulation clause/contract provision in very specific. The allegation against the employee is of any serious one, it is better to make a preliminary investigation before memo to verify the veracity of the allegation. As per Article 71 “A disciplinary action may not be imposed on a worker except after notifying him in writing of the allegations, interrogating him, hearing his defense and recording the same in minutes to be kept in his file. The interrogation may be verbal in minor violations the penalty for which does not go beyond a warning or a deduction of a one-day salary. This shall be recorded in minutes”.
You insist for a written explanation rather than a verbal one from the employee. If the explanation of the employee is not satisfactory, you can take disciplinary action against him. You can take the following disciplinary actions as per Article 66. (Article 67 mandates that, “An employer may not inflict on a worker a penalty not provided for in this Law or in the work organization regulation”.)
1. Warning.
2. Fines. 3. Withholding allowance or postponing it for a period not exceeding one year if prescribed by the employer. 4. Postponement of promotion for a period not exceeding one year if prescribed by the employer. 5. Suspension from work and withholding of wages. 6. Dismissal from work in cases set forth by the law.
After the above mentioned procedure, if you decide to take punitive action or impose a penalty, you have to notify the employee in writing. Article 72 says “The worker shall be notified in writing of the decision of imposing the penalty on him. If he refuses to receive the same or if he is absent, the notice shall be sent to the address shown in his file by registered mail. The worker may object to the decision of imposing the penalty upon him within fifteen days, excluding official holidays, from the date of notifying him of the final decision”.
Keep one set of all copies of communications/ documents with the employee in his personal file also. Effective and proper documentation will escape you from expensive future litigations. If the employee complaint to the labor office agaist your corrective or punitive actions, you can submit all communications/documents in your possession in regard to the violation committed by the employee and subsequent punishment imposed on him as per law. So that you can easily prove and convince the labor court that you have observed all procedural formalities in line with the provisions of the law. Most of the litigation failed because of non availability of strong and cogent documentary evidence.
At last, what you will do the ‘fine’ you collected from the alleged worker? Article 73 says “Fines imposed on the workers shall be entered in a special record, showing the worker’s name, his wages, the amount of the fine, reasons and date of the fine. Such fines may not be disposed of except for the benefit of the firm’s workers, upon the Ministry’s approval”.
