Oman Labour Law (Royal Decree 53/2023): A Guide for Private-Sector Workers

Oman labour law today means Royal Decree 53/2023, issued on 25 July 2023 and in force since 31 July 2023, when it replaced the 2003 Labour Law (Royal Decree 35/2003). Its 150 articles apply to every employer and worker in the private sector except those whose work is governed by a special law (Article 2). It sets your contract, hours, overtime, leave, wages, notice, termination, gratuity, workplace discipline and the route to the labour court.

This guide goes through the law chapter by chapter. Every rule carries its article number, and where a rule involves money it links the Mukafi calculator that prices it. The calculator below works out the end-of-service gratuity under Article 61, the figure most people come to the law for.

Where to read the Oman labour law (official text and PDF)

The Ministry of Labour publishes the law on its labour law page, which links a PDF of the decree: Royal Decree 53/2023, Ministry of Labour PDF. The Ministry's file server can refuse some connections; if the PDF does not open, the labour law page above carries the same link. We link the official copy rather than hosting one, because a hosted copy goes stale the day the law is amended.

Two further editions are useful. Decree publishes a full English translation, which is the version our Oman calculators cite. Its Arabic edition, Qanoon, keeps a consolidated Arabic text with amendments marked. That text shows one change since 2023: Royal Decree 66/2026 repealed Article 146, a criminal penalty for a worker who takes a bribe. Every other article reads as issued.

The decree itself gave employers six months to bring their arrangements into line (Article III) and kept the Ministry's existing regulations and decisions in force until new ones replace them, as long as they do not contradict the new law (Article II). That is why some decisions from 2013 still apply, such as the minimum wage below.

Who the law covers (Article 2)

The law applies "to all employers and workers", except "those whose work is governed by special laws or systems". Civil servants, whose service is governed by the civil service rules, fall outside it. The Minister can also issue special rules for categories of work with a special nature.

Five general protections apply to everyone it covers:

• A floor, not a ceiling (Article 3). Every employer must give at least the rights in the law, and terms you were employed on before 31 July 2023 cannot be cut.
• Void terms and waivers (Article 4). A contract term that breaches the law is void unless it is more favourable to you, and so is any release or waiver of your rights under it.
• No forced labour (Article 5).
• Your passport (Article 6). The employer may not keep your passport or personal documents without your written consent.
• Arabic (Article 7). Workplace regulations and circulars must be issued in Arabic.

Expatriate workers under Oman labour law

Most of the law applies to Omani and expatriate workers alike. These are the rules aimed at expatriates, or that work differently for them:

• Work permit first (Article 28). A non-Omani may not start work before obtaining a work permit, which requires a contract with an authorised employer, medical fitness, legal entry and, for listed occupations, a professional standards test. The employer must first be authorised to recruit (Article 27), which depends partly on no qualified Omani being available and on meeting Omanisation targets.
• No working for others (Article 29). You may work for another employer only once the Ministry has been informed electronically and has authorised it, and never in an occupation reserved for Omanis.
• No recruitment fees (Article 31). It is prohibited to charge a recruited worker any amount in return for the job.
• Going home (Article 14). The employer must repatriate you within 60 days of the end of the contract and give you a release from liability on request. If you sue for your entitlements, you may stay in Oman until the case is decided.
• Omanisation (Article 43(2)). The employer may end your contract, with notice, to replace you with an Omani in the same occupation.
• Leave ticket (Article 78). You are entitled to a return ticket home for the leave agreed in your contract.
• Gratuity (Article 61). Expatriates receive the employer-paid end-of-service gratuity until the Social Protection Law's savings scheme starts, which Royal Decree 60/2025 set for no later than 19 July 2027.
• Social insurance. Since 19 July 2024 the Social Protection Fund's maternity insurance covers expatriates in the private sector (Fund Decision R/10/2024), and since 19 July 2026 so does its sick-leave insurance (Decision R/13/2026).

Contracts and probation (Articles 33 to 37)

A contract must be in writing, in Arabic, in two copies, one for each side. A contract in another language must carry an approved Arabic copy, and if there is no written contract at all you may prove your rights "by all means of proof" (Article 33).

A fixed-term contract may last up to five years and can be renewed by agreement; renewals count as one continuous period of service (Article 34). A contract becomes indefinite if it has no end date, exceeds five years, or carries on after its term without a written renewal, among the seven cases in Article 35. The contract must state the basic wage and every allowance, and on a fixed-term contract the employer must give at least a month's notice that it will not be renewed (Article 36).

Probation may last up to three months for a monthly-paid worker and two months for anyone else, once per employer, and counts as service if passed. Either side may end the contract during probation with seven days' notice (Article 37).

Working hours, rest and overtime (Articles 70 to 72 and 77)

The working day is capped at 8 actual hours and the week at 40, with a daily rest hour that does not count as work and no more than 6 hours worked in a row. In Ramadan the cap for Muslim workers is 6 hours a day or 30 a week (Article 70). The weekly rest is at least two consecutive paid days (Article 77).

Overtime needs your consent and the total day, ordinary plus extra hours, may not exceed 12 hours. Each extra hour is paid at the basic hourly wage plus at least 25% by day or 50% at night, the night running from 9 pm to 5 am (Article 1). Work on a rest day or official holiday pays 100% of the daily basic wage plus the wage for the day itself, or a day off for each day worked (Article 71). Article 72 lets the employer order overtime without consent for annual inventory and budget work (up to 15 days a year) or emergencies, at higher rates: plus 50% by day, plus 75% at night, and 200% of the basic wage plus the day's wage on a rest day or holiday.

The Oman overtime calculator prices Article 71 hours, and our guide on how to calculate overtime in Oman works through both articles with examples.

Leave (Articles 76 to 84)

The leave chapter is the most generous part of the 2023 law:

• Annual leave: at least 30 days a year on the gross wage, taken after six months but earned from the first month, with any balance paid on the gross wage when service ends (Articles 78 and 81).
• Sick leave: up to 182 days a year at 100%, 75%, 50% and then 35% of the gross wage (Article 82). Since 19 July 2026 the employer pays the first seven days and the Social Protection Fund the rest.
• Special paid leave: 98 days' maternity, 7 days' paternity, marriage, bereavement, Hajj, exams, widow's leave and accompanying a patient (Article 84).
• Official holidays are paid on the gross wage (Article 79).
• Unpaid leave (Articles 80 and 83) counts as service but not towards gratuity, and the worker pays all Social Protection Fund contributions for it.

Our guide to sick leave and every other leave in Oman covers each one, with the sick-leave bands priced on a real wage. To put numbers on annual leave, count your leave days, check what unused leave pays, or read the guide to annual leave and leave salary in Oman.

Wages and the minimum wage in Oman (Articles 85 to 97)

• Paid into your bank account (Article 87). The employer is only discharged once the wage reaches your account at a local bank or licensed institution. Ministerial Decision 729/2024 runs this through the Wage Protection System and requires the transfer within 3 days of the end of the pay period, matching Article 90.
• Paid at least monthly (Article 90) if you are on a monthly wage, in Omani rials unless agreed otherwise (Article 85). If payment is disputed, the employer must prove it paid (Article 86).
• Paid in full when you leave (Article 91): "immediately upon the end of the employment relationship", or within 7 days if the worker abandoned the job.
• Deductions capped (Articles 95 and 96). No more than a quarter of the wage may be withheld, and only for legal maintenance or money owed to the government or the employer. Loans may be recovered only as agreed, with no interest. When service ends, government dues and proven debts to the employer may come off the gratuity.
• Priority (Article 92). Wages and every amount owed to a worker rank ahead of the employer's other debts, except court-ordered maintenance.

Minimum wage. Article 88 leaves the figure to a ministerial decision. The one in force is Ministerial Decision 222/2013: OMR 325 a month for Omani workers in the private sector, made up of OMR 225 basic wage and OMR 100 in allowances, from 1 July 2013. It applies to Omanis; it sets no minimum for expatriate workers. We found no later decision replacing it as of October 2026, but check with the Ministry before relying on the figure.

Annual increment. Article 89 leaves the periodic allowance to a decision too. Ministerial Decision 317/2025 gives Omani workers with at least six months' service an increment every 1 January of at least 5%, 4%, 3% or 2% of the basic wage for an appraisal of excellent, very good, good or acceptable, and none for a poor one. The worker can challenge the appraisal at the Ministry.

Termination, notice and arbitrary dismissal (Articles 37 to 46 and 11 to 12)

On an indefinite contract either side may end the relationship for a legitimate reason with written notice of 30 days for a monthly-paid worker and 15 days for others, or pay in lieu on the final gross wage (Article 38). Article 40 lists the nine grounds on which an employer may dismiss without notice and without gratuity; Article 41 lists the five on which a worker may leave without notice and keep everything; Article 43 lists the five on which an employer may end a contract with notice. A dismissal on a protected ground, such as pregnancy, union activity or filing a complaint, is arbitrary under Article 12, and Article 11 then orders reinstatement or three to twelve months' gross wage on top of your other dues.

Redundancy for an economic cause needs the approval of a Ministry committee first (Articles 44 and 45), which may instead order shorter hours, unpaid leave or wage cuts for a set period. Approved redundancies need a fair selection standard and at least three months' notice (Article 46).

Our guide to the notice period in Oman labour law sets out all of these grounds, and the notice period calculator prices pay in lieu.

End-of-service gratuity (Articles 48 and 61)

Article 61 pays a worker outside the Social Protection Law "not less than the basic wage for each year of his service", in proportion for part-years, on the final basic wage, with no cap and no reduction for resigning. Service completed by 31 July 2023 is paid at the old rates under the Ministry of Labour's guidance, though the article's text can be read more generously. An employer savings programme can replace the gratuity only if it pays at least as much (Article 48), and only Article 40 can take the gratuity away.

The Oman gratuity calculator applies the split for you, the guide to Oman gratuity law explains it, and the Oman final settlement calculator adds gratuity, unused leave, notice pay and unpaid salary on their own wage bases.

Penalties at work and the penalties regulation (Articles 55, 56 and 63 to 66)

An employer with 25 or more workers must have a penalties regulation, approved by the Ministry within two months of submission, and must give you an approved copy (Article 55). Ministerial Decision 618/2024 issued the model it must follow, replacing the 2005 model. Where an employer has no approved regulation, the model applies anyway. The regulation is your employer's document, so the copy you are entitled to is the one that governs you. The decision was published in Official Gazette issue 1567 on 20 October 2024; its Arabic text and the model attached to it are on Qanoon, which offers the model penalties regulation as a PDF download.

The law sets limits any regulation must respect:

• penalties must be progressive, with one penalty per violation, and nothing for conduct outside work unless it relates to the job (Article 56);
• no penalty without a written charge, a hearing of your side and a written record (Article 63), with the investigator at least at your job level (Article 66);
• no action more than 30 days after the violation was discovered, and no penalty more than 60 days after it was proven (Article 64);
• a fine may not exceed five days' wage in a month, and a suspension without pay may not exceed five days for each violation (Article 65).

Complaints and the Oman labour court (Articles 8 to 14)

An employer with 50 or more workers must run an approved internal complaints and grievances system (Article 8). Outside the workplace, every claim under the law starts at the Ministry of Labour, not the court:

1. Settlement application first (Article 9). A labour lawsuit filed straight with the court is not admitted. The Ministry has up to 30 days to settle the dispute; a settlement reached there is recorded in a signed report that can be enforced like a judgment.
2. Referral to court. If settlement fails, the Ministry refers the dispute to the competent court within 7 days of the last session.
3. Dismissal complaints (Article 10) must be filed within 30 days of being notified of the decision.
4. No court fees (Article 13) on any case a worker brings under the law.
5. One-year limit (Article 9). The right to claim any entitlement under the law lapses a year after it falls due.

Unions, strikes and collective disputes (Articles 108 to 136)

Workers may form unions, and union representatives may not be dismissed or punished for union work (Articles 108 and 111). A strike needs the approval of three-quarters of the union's general meeting and three weeks' written notice, and is banned in essential services such as oil facilities, ports and airports (Articles 127 to 129). Strike days count as unpaid leave (Article 131), while lockout days are paid (Article 136). Collective disputes go to a Ministry settlement committee and then to arbitration (Articles 116 to 126).

Every Mukafi calculator for Oman

Each one applies the article named next to it:

• Oman gratuity calculator: end-of-service gratuity, Article 61
• Oman final settlement calculator: everything owed when you leave, Articles 38, 61, 78, 81 and 91
• Oman leave salary calculator: unused annual leave on the gross wage, Articles 78 and 81
• Oman annual leave calculator: leave days earned, Article 78
• Oman overtime calculator: overtime pay, Article 71
• Oman notice period calculator: pay in lieu of notice, Article 38

This guide explains the law and is not legal advice. For a disputed claim, take it to the Ministry of Labour, or to a qualified Omani lawyer.

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