OMAN LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Said Al-Shahry, Thamer Al-Shahry, Jeremy Pooley, Maria Mariam Rabeaa Petrou, Shadha Al Kharusi and Salim Al Harthi, Said Al Shahry & Partners (SASLO )
4.2 Characteristics of Employment Contracts The Labour Law requires a contract of employ - ment to be in writing; it must be in Arabic and must be translated into a language that both employer and employee can understand, where applicable. A contract of employment must include certain specified information and may be for a fixed or unlimited term. 4.3 Working Time Employees may not be required to work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week, pro - vided that the working hours are interspersed with but do not include an hour’s lunch break per day. The continuous period of work must not exceed six hours. An employee is entitled to at least 48 consecutive hours of rest per week after five continuous working days. If an employee is required to work overtime, then the employer must pay the employee overtime equivalent to the employee’s basic salary for the extra work hours, plus at least 25% of such sal - ary (for day-time work) and 50% of such salary (for night-time work); if the employee agrees in writing, the employer may grant the employee leave from work in lieu of the overtime. Employees who work on an official holiday are entitled to salary for such day plus additional overtime pay equal to 100% of the daily basic wage or to an additional rest day for each day. 4.4 Termination of Employment Contracts An employment contract will terminate under the following circumstances: • upon the expiry of the term of the contract or completion of the work agreed upon;
• termination of the contract by the employer or employee in accordance with the Labour Law; • upon the employee’s death or permanent dis - ability; and • illness of the employee that necessitates absence from work for a consecutive or inter - mittent period of no less three months within one year, provided that the sick leave period set out in the Labour Law and the employee’s balance of annual leave is exhausted. Although an employer may terminate an employ - ment contract by notice, the Supreme Court has held that termination should be based on a legal justification. If the termination of an employee’s employment contract is arbitrary or without legal justification in accordance with the Labour Law, then an employee may file a claim for unfair dis - missal. In such circumstances, the court may order the employee’s reinstatement or the pay - ment of not less than three months’ salary as compensation. There are no definitive guidelines for the courts to consider in determining unfair dismissal claims or how compensation for unfair dismissal is calculated. The employer may, in the event that an econom - ic cause exists and after obtaining the approval of the committee as stipulated in Article 45 of the Labour Law, reduce the number of workers in the company to the extent required to maintain the continuity of the business and to avoid the risks of bankruptcy. The employer must comply with the following requirements if the approval of the committee is obtained: • follow a fair standard in the selection of employees whose contracts will be termi - nated, such as employees with the lowest performance scores or any other standard;
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