Saudi Arabia Launches Online ‘Service Certificate’ Facility for Private Sector Employees
Saudi Arabia’s labour authorities have launched a certificate, dubbed the “service certificate”, which can prove experience of employees in the private sector as part of efforts to regulate the job market in the kingdom.
The certificate was launched by the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources via its electronic platform Qiwa.
The certificate is an official experience proof that can be presented to the competent agencies in the kingdom and consequently to other employing establishments to which such workers plan to move.
The new facility enables the worker to obtain this certificate electronically from the “individuals” account on Qiwa upon the end of the contractual relationship.
Through its Qiwa platform, the Ministry of Human Resources seeks to consolidate the work environment stability and ensure the best global practices via digital solutions by featuring labour-related digital services that preserve rights of parties to the contractual relationship and enhance job market attractiveness in the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia, a country of around 32.2 million people, is home to a large community of foreign workers.
Earlier this year, the ministry unveiled an authentication plan via Qiwa obligating private sector establishments to document 20 per cent of their employees’ contracts in the first quarter of 2023, 50 per cent in the second half, and 80 per cent in the third quarter.
The ministry said the employers committed to authenticate 80 per cent or more of their employees’ contracts via Qiwa will have full access to its services.
Authentication via Qiwa, where the ministry’s services are provided, also helps verify employers’ compliance with labour rules and contract data as well as update information related to employment contracts of foreign and Saudi workers in the private sector.
In 2020, Saudi Arabia introduced major labour reforms, drastically improving its sponsorship system. The reforms, which went into effect in the ensuing year, allow job mobility and regulate the exit and re-entry visa issuance for expatriate workers without employers’ approval.
