Hi all,
I'm also working in the private sector and the information given are the latest ones for this sector.
My company policy says : "We don't count public holidays and days off as leave days". It's better than the law, so it's fine.
The law is the minimum you have to do. What happens in this or that company is not necessary the law.
Here is what the labor law says (copy paste):
PART VIII
LEAVES
Article 58
Without prejudice to application of Article (60) of this Law, a worker who completes at least one year of consecutive service, shall be entitled to an annual leave not less than (30) days on full pay.
If the worker's period of service is less than one year, he shall be entitled to an annual leave in proportion to the period of his service.
A worker is prohibited from waiving his right to annual leave. However, he may be paid a cash amount in lieu thereof, in accordance
Here is what the GDN published on the 15th of April
PRIVATE sector employees could actually lose holiday days, despite changes to the law that increased people聮s annual leave to 30 days.
The Cabinet yesterday agreed that the 30-day annual leave set out in the new Labour Law should be counted as calendar days. That means an employee who books 30 days off work could also have weekends and public holidays that fall within that period deducted
from their annual holiday entitlement.
Yesterday聮s decision by the Cabinet follows complaints about the new Labour Law by businessmen, who claimed their companies would suffer if their staff were given 30 days off every year, in addition to public holidays and weekends. The old labour law entitled employees to 21 days聮leave, plus public holidays and weekends 聳 increasing to at least 28 days聮 leave after five years.
However, Labour Minister Jameel Humaidan previously told MPs that basing the 30-day annual holiday entitlement on the calendar system was unfair 聳 since it would rob workers of their vacation.
He did not attend the Cabinet meeting yesterday because he is on official business abroad. The issue has been hotly debated since the new private sector Labour Law came into effect in September,
with the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) among those who opposed the 30-day annual holiday entitlement.
Businessmen claimed last month that annual leave costs had doubled and the new regulations were costing companies millions of dinars.
聯The decision recommended by the ministerial committee for legal affairs and approved by the Cabinet has taken into consideration the utmost interest of the economy and businessmen,聰 Minister of State for Information Affairs and official government spokeswoman
Sameera Rajab told a Press conference after yesterday聮s Cabinet meeting.
聯The Cabinet聮s decision was taken after consultation with the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission after balanced arguments were presented on whether it should be calendar or work days.聰
Labour Ministry Under-Secretary Sobah Al Dossary told the GDN that the new system would now come into effect, unless it was contested. 聯We (the Labour Ministry) have several times explained
our stance on the issue, which is that 30 should represent work days and not calendar days,聰 he said.
聯We will have to implement the calendar days for now until it gets legally contested.聰 He added that one way around the law would be for people to request holidays in five-day blocks.
聯It will be down to the way an employee words his leave request,聰 he said.
聯Instead of asking for 30 days,it will be divided into five days
(Sunday to Thursday) 聳 five days 聳 five days 聳 five days.聰 By MOHAMMED AL A聮ALI (mohammed@gdn.com.bh)
Cheers
Olivier