Regular and maximum working hours

Under the 2023 Labour Law, normal working time is eight actual working hours per day and 40 actual hours per week. A daily rest and meal break of at least one hour sits outside working time, and continuous work should not exceed six hours. During Ramadan, Muslim workers move to six hours a day and 30 hours a week. Weekly rest must be at least two consecutive paid days.

Annual, sick, and special leave

Employees become entitled to at least 30 calendar days of paid annual leave after six months of service. If business needs prevent leave from being taken, up to 30 days may be carried. Sick leave can run up to 182 days in a year, paid at 100% from day 1 to day 21, 75% from day 22 to day 35, 50% from day 36 to day 70, and 35% from day 71 to day 182.

Special paid leave is relatively broad. The Labour Law provides seven days of paternity leave, 10 days on the death of a spouse or child, 15 days for Hajj once during service, and 98 days of maternity leave, with up to 14 days available before childbirth on medical recommendation.

Probation and notice

Probation may not exceed three months and should be written into the contract. For indefinite-term contracts, notice is 30 days for monthly-paid workers and 15 days for other workers unless a longer employer notice period is agreed. During notice, the employer must allow the worker ten paid hours each week to search for new work.

Dismissal rules

Summary dismissal without notice and without gratuity is limited to the misconduct cases listed in the Labour Law. Outside those cases, termination should rest on a lawful reason, such as documented performance failure after remediation, approved economic grounds, or a permitted Omanisation replacement scenario for non-Omani staff. Ministry notification rules should be checked before efficiency or restructuring exits.

Final pay and gratuity

Employers should settle wages and outstanding amounts immediately when the relationship ends, except that where the worker leaves on their own initiative the law allows payment within seven days. If a court finds dismissal arbitrary or unlawful, it may order reinstatement or compensation of at least three months and up to twelve months of the last gross wage. For workers outside Social Protection Law coverage, gratuity is at least one basic wage for each completed year of service.

Contractor misclassification

An Oman services arrangement becomes harder to defend if the individual works fixed hours, uses employer tools as part of the internal team, or is supervised like an employee. If the business needs day-to-day control, local employment is usually the safer structure.

Safer contractor controls

• Use a services agreement with clear project scope, milestones, and invoice-based payment terms.
• Avoid employee-style attendance rules, line-management reporting, and exclusivity unless the person is hired as an employee.
• Review long-running personal-services engagements regularly to decide whether they should convert into formal employment.

Contract form and hiring paperwork

Employment contracts should be in writing and in Arabic, or at least accompanied by an approved Arabic text with equal evidentiary force. Core terms should cover wage structure, job title, work location, notice, and benefits.

Foreign-worker process

Hiring non-Omani workers requires the correct Ministry of Labour permission route. On exit, employers should close payroll and permit files together and confirm any repatriation duty before the worker leaves Oman.

Operational checklist

The main execution points in Oman are Arabic contract readiness, bank-transfer payroll compliance, correct mapping of SPF versus gratuity treatment, annual leave tracking, and verification of any Omanisation or sector-specific pay rules before hiring starts.