The rights of working women in the Saudi labor system is one of the important and necessary issues that have great importance in the recent period inside the Kingdom because this is one of the issues that causes a lot of division. There is a part that does not care about the right of women and believes that it is not their right to work, and there is another part that believes in the right of women At work and building her own career.
There have been some amendments in the law on women’s work, and these amendments are keen and aim to implement the vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2030 in bringing about significant development and development in all fields There is a part that considers women’s work.
The rights of working women in the Saudi labor system
The Saudi regime cared about women and gave them some advantages that distinguish them from men.
maternity leave
The Saudi Labor Law has not forgotten to allocate a list of leaves that suit the needs of women during pregnancy and after childbirth. The following are the items allocated by the system:
A working woman has the right to a maternity leave of ten weeks, which can be divided into a maximum of four weeks before childbirth, meaning that she has the right to four weeks before the date of childbirth and six weeks after childbirth. The expected date of childbirth is determined by a medical certificate certified by health authority.
With regard to the salary, the working woman who is on maternity leave receives her salary in full, and the employer has no right to reduce her salary during her absence from work during the leave period.
If a woman gives birth to a sick child or one with special needs and his health condition requires the presence of a companion, she has the right to extend the leave for another month and she will receive her full salary, and the law gives her the right to another month of leave without pay.
The system obligates the employer to provide medical and health care for the woman who works for him during pregnancy and childbirth, and the law also prohibits employers from employing women within a period of six weeks after childbirth.
The system acknowledged the right of the working woman to obtain an hour that is calculated from the working hours in order to breastfeed the newborn. The hour could be during intermittent periods of the day. The permitted period of breastfeeding is twenty-four months, whether breast-feeding is natural or not.
The law obliges the employer not to dismiss a pregnant woman starting from the sixth month of pregnancy or during the maternity leave period.
Also, the employer does not have the right to refuse maternity leave if it is in line with all the conditions, so if the employer refuses the leave and this matter is proven, he is subject to legal accountability.
Conditions for obtaining maternity leave
The Ministry of Labor in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has imposed a set of necessary conditions in order to obtain maternity leave, as follows:
A working woman must abide by the specified period of time in order to obtain maternity leave.
A working woman must apply for leave at any time before giving birth, provided that it is not less than fifteen days.
The employer must agree to the maternity leave in order for the working woman to obtain it.
The child that the working woman wishes to obtain leave to take care of should be less than three years old.
A working woman must submit the necessary papers and documents in order to obtain maternity leave, the most important of which is the family book, which is indispensable in order to obtain the leave.
A husband’s death leave for a non-Muslim working woman
The system recognized that a non-Muslim female scholar whose husband dies takes a leave of fifteen days and her salary is not deducted from her during this period, but during this period she is not entitled to work for any other party. It should be noted that the employer has the right to request official documents that confirm death of the husband.
Husband’s death leave for a Muslim working woman
The system recognized the right of a Muslim woman whose husband dies to obtain a leave of one hundred and thirty days or four months and ten days, and the salary or wages are not deducted from her during this period. The law also recognized her right to extend her leave without obtaining a salary if she is pregnant and continues Leave without pay until she gives birth, but she cannot work anywhere else during the leave period, and the employer has the right to request official papers confirming the death of the husband.
Fields of women’s work in the Saudi labor system
The work system within the Kingdom clarified the fields in which women can work. According to Article one hundred and forty-nine, women can work in all fields that are in line with their nature, and they are prohibited from working in hazardous jobs or harmful industries.
The system did not define and clarify prohibited businesses and harmful industries, but left it to the Minister of Labor to define these businesses and industries.
Article 149 of the new Saudi Labor Law ((With due regard to what is stated in Article 4 of this Law, women work in all fields that are consistent with their nature, and it is prohibited to employ them in hazardous jobs or harmful industries, and the Minister determines by a decision from him the professions and jobs that are considered harmful to health or It would expose women to specific dangers, which must prohibit their work in it or restrict it with special conditions).
The Minister of Labor clarified the works and industries that harm women in a ministerial decision in 1427 AH, as follows:
Industries in which materials are transformed such as power generation, conversion and transmission.
Work in gas installations and distribution, or work in other petroleum derivatives, as well as work in sanitation.
Any works related to or related to extracting mineral materials from the ground and working in mines and quarries.
Women’s working hours in the Saudi labor system
The law ordered that women not be allowed to work during the evening shift for eleven consecutive hours without stopping, but there are some cases in which they can work eleven consecutive hours, and the matter was left to the Minister of Labor to renew these cases.
Article 150 of the new labor system stipulates that “It is not permissible for women to work for a period of the night that is not less than eleven consecutive hours, except in cases for which a decision is issued by the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development.”
Cases that are excluded from the law and in which women can work are:
The necessity of night work in preserving materials and protecting them from rapid deterioration.
If the work was disciplinary, charitable, health or educational.
Existence of force majeure emergency.
In the event that the facility uses family members only.
Later, the council agreed to delete both Article 149, which deals with the areas of work for women, and Article 150, which specifies the hours during which women cannot work.
