Saudi Arabia

Introduction and overview of Saudi Arabia

            Saudi Arabia is one of the glory nations in the middle east, where the land area is almost “2,150,000” km2. The kingdom of Saudi is located in the Southwest of Asia between the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea (Fanack.com, 2019). The central regions in Saudi Arabia are Najd, where Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia is situated, Hijaz, where the holy cities Mecca and Medina are, the eastern region which is the central oil-producing province, and Asir region which extends to the Yemen border (Taxsummaries.pwc.com, 2019).In 2019 Saudi Arabia’s population was estimated to be 34.14 million, where females represent about 42% of the population, and males represent about 57% (GMI Blogger, 2019). Besides Saudi Arabia’s natural resources such as gas, iron, gold, silver, and copper, Saudi Arabia is the second leading oil exporter in the world since it exports about 7.5 million barrels daily (Target Jobs, 2019).The unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia has fallen to 12.3 in the second quarter of 2019,. However, the Saudi vision of 2030 has played a significant role in decreasing the unemployment rate, where it increased the amount of Saudization and created more equal job opportunities for both genders, male and female, including all ages (Rabia-al-Awwal, 2019). 

Recruitment practices in Saudi Arabia 

Online applications 

In Saudi Arabia, employers are required by law to inform the public employment department of all vacancies and advertise the job vacancies online through the (Taqat) portal that was established by the Saudi government as a part of the recruitment process. Non-citizen applications can be accepted only where capable Saudi citizens are not available to occupy vacant jobs. However, Foreign employees must have a work permit to be able to work in Saudi Arabia (Qayum, 2019). Besides the Taqat portal, applications can be submitted through an organization’s website where they advertise their available jobs with the minimal requirement needed from the applicants. Moreover, online forms can be submitted through other well-known platforms such as Byat. Indeed, Glassdoor, Express jobs, Hire wire, Monster, Tanqeeb, Wzayef, Saudi jobs today, and LinkedIn. 

Direct applications

Job seekers submit their qualifications to the recruiting company or organization as per the requirements. Through the improved technology, direct application is made easy and possible by accessing the respective website. Through the internet, job seekers within Saudi Arabia can access different hiring companies, thus being able to view the type of jobs available and the minimum requirements. If qualified, the applicant is expected to write an application letter, cover letter, CV along with the necessary attachments highlighting specific qualifications and attributes needed for the organization. The applicant is then personally expected to deliver the application to the respective human resource department and wait for communication from the management (AL-JASSEM, 2012). However,submitting physical applications my not to be considered anymore, especially for large organizations.

Networking 

The recruitment process is aimed at providing companies with fresh blood, which perspective of the company, ensuring success. Other than the standard recruitment process, the management may utilize proper relationships to acquire whatever is required. Networking among Saudi companies provides an opportunity for the company to interact with others within the market space hence identify strengths, weaknesses, and potential successes(Broughton et al., 2013). Through networking, mergers, acquisitions, and outsourcing are encouraged, promoting new ideas and success of the company.

Selection practices 

  • Interviews 

It can be hard to believe that hiring managers could ask personal questions during an interview.  Employers are allowed to ask about age, number of kids, marital status, or religious beliefs. Even though the official spoken language in Saudi Arabia is Arabic, Large organizations may prefer to communicate in English during an interview (Globalmediainsight.com, 2019).

  • Background check

Employers may require a criminal background check and a police clearance before hiring a selected prospective employee. Checking on immigration and work visa status is an additional requirement for non-Saudi citizens as well (Lexology.com, 2016). 

  • Medical history

Prospective employees are expected to declare any medical conditions as well as going through medical check-up for infectious communicable diseases such as HIV and hepatitis A and B. Also. Furthermore, some organizations might choose to require drug screening clearance to be obtained by the prospective employees (Lexology.com, 2016).

  • Job offer and contract

When employers make their final decision, applicants usually receive either rejection letter explaining why they were not selected or job offer letter that contains the job title, job description and responsibilities, employment conditions, and salary. 

After accepting the job offer and agree to terms and conditions, it’s highly recommended to have written and signed an employment contract to save the rights of both employer and employee parties. Although the Saudi labor law does not require a written employment contract in Saudi Arabia (Collins, 2018).

  • Training

 By Saudi labor law, employers are expected to provide training to their Saudi citizens’ employees to improve their skills and qualifications to replace non-Saudi workers. Organizations with 50 employees and above are required to train at least 12% of their Saudi citizen employees (Lexology.com, 2016).

Miscellaneous information

  • Gender preference

 As Saudi Arabia is the birthplace country of Islam, it’s considered to be a rigorous country when it comes to gender mixing in the workplace. Gender mixing is prohibited in most workplaces by law except for some private sectors and hospitals. Furthermore, this leads most of the private and public sectors to have special requirements when advertising job vacancies by specifying the gender. Also, Saudi women are required by law to dress up conservatively by wearing hijab and Abaya in the workplace and public. Failure to wear hijab and dressing up modestly can be the leading cause of excluding a female applicant from being considered for a job opportunity. However, with the Saudi vision of 2030, women now are being more exposed to divers and new job opportunities as recently, the Saudi government decided to allow females to work in different fields that were only dominated by a male (Nabbout, 2019). 

  • Working hours

Employees work 48 hours weekly during non-holidays. However, employees may work overtime up to 12 more hours and receive time and a half pay (STA Law Firm, 2019).

  • Minimum wage 

In Saudi Arabia, there is a minimum wage of SR 3000 only for Saudi nationals. On the other hand, there is no minimum wage for non-Saudi citizens. However, the Council of Ministers can set a minimum salary if needed (Lexology.com, 2016).

  • Disabilities

Disability discrimination is prohibited in Saudi Arabia. In 2017, the Labor Ministry of Saudi Arabia established an “Adaptability” program that wishes to increase the number of organizations that can hire people with disabilities (OBAID, 2019).

  • Age

By Saudi labor law, employers should automatically terminate the employment contract by the time an employee reaches the retirement age, which is 60 years old for males and 55 years old for females. However, an employee can continue working after reaching the retirement age if employers agree to that. (Lexology.com, 2016).

  • Holidays

There are only three official holidays for public and private sectors in Saudi Arabia every year, Eid al-Fitr combined with the end of Ramadan, Eid al Adha (sacrifice festival), and the Saudi national day (Collins, 2018).

o   Sick leave: 

If Employees provide a medical report, they are permitted up to four months during a single year. Employers are responsible for paying the full amount of salary for the first month, 75% the number of wages for the following two months, and no salary payment for the last month (Collins, 2018). 

o   Income tax

Both Saudi nationals and non-citizens are not required to pay income tax in Saudi Arabia (Al-Homoud and Qayum, n.d.).

Bibliography

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