The notice period in Oman labour law is 30 days for workers paid a monthly wage and 15 days for everyone else, set by Article 38 of the Labour Law issued by Royal Decree 53/2023. It applies to open-ended contracts, it must be in writing, and it runs the same in both directions: the notice a resigning worker owes is the notice an employer owes. A contract can agree a longer period, never a shorter one.
If the notice is not served, the party that ends the contract pays the other compensation equal to the notice period or the remaining part of it, calculated on the final gross wage. That last word matters. Notice pay in Oman is not on the basic wage that your end-of-service gratuity uses, so a settlement that prices both on the same figure has one of them wrong.
Oman Notice Period Calculator
Notice period calculator
Based on Oman Royal Decree No. 53 of 2023 (Labour Law), Article 38
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Notice periods in Oman at a glance
| Situation | Notice required | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Open-ended contract, monthly-paid worker | 30 days | Art. 38 |
| Open-ended contract, paid otherwise | 15 days | Art. 38 |
| Worker resigning | The same period the employer owes | Art. 38 |
| During probation, either party | 7 days | Art. 37 |
| Longer period written into the contract | The contract period | Art. 38 |
What Article 38 actually says
Article 38 is one sentence carrying four separate rules, and most summaries of it drop at least two:
The parties to the employment contract, for contracts of an indefinite period, may terminate it at any time based on a legitimate reason by virtue of a notice addressed to the other party in writing before the date of termination by 30 (thirty) days for workers appointed on a monthly wage and 15 (fifteen) days for others, unless a longer period is agreed upon in the contract.
So: the contract must be indefinite, the termination needs a legitimate reason, the notice must be in writing, and the period is 30 or 15 days depending on how you are paid. The reason requirement is the one people miss. Notice alone does not make a termination lawful in Oman; ending a contract without lawful grounds can amount to arbitrary dismissal, which carries its own compensation separate from anything below.
The second paragraph handles the money:
If the contract is terminated without observing the notice period, the party terminating the contract shall pay the other party compensation equal to the notice period or the remaining part of it calculated on the basis of the final gross wage the worker was receiving.
"Or the remaining part of it" means notice pay is pro-rated. Serve twenty of your thirty days and you owe ten days, not thirty.
Pay in lieu of notice: the formula
Daily wage = final gross monthly wage ÷ 30. Pay in lieu = daily wage × the un-served notice days.
Example 1: A full 30-day notice, not served
A monthly-paid worker on OMR 900 gross resigns and leaves immediately.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Daily wage | 900 ÷ 30 | OMR 30 |
| Notice owed | 30 days | 30 × 30 |
| Pay in lieu | OMR 900 |
One full month's gross wage, owed by the worker to the employer and normally deducted from the final settlement.
Example 2: A 15-day notice for a non-monthly-paid worker
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Daily wage | 900 ÷ 30 | OMR 30 |
| Notice owed | 15 days | 15 × 30 |
| Pay in lieu | OMR 450 |
Example 3: Partial notice served
A worker on OMR 600 gross serves 18 of her 30 days, then stops.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Daily wage | 600 ÷ 30 | OMR 20 |
| Days un-served | 30 − 18 | 12 days |
| Pay in lieu | 12 × 20 | OMR 240 |
Example 4: Employer terminating a longer-serving worker
An employer ends the contract of a worker on OMR 1,200 gross without notice.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Daily wage | 1,200 ÷ 30 | OMR 40 |
| Notice owed | 30 days | 30 × 40 |
| Pay in lieu | OMR 1,200 |
Note the divisor here is 30, not the number of working days. Oman's Labour Law defines the month as 30 days, and this is the same divisor the leave-salary and overtime calculations use.
Two rules in Article 39 almost nobody publishes
Article 39 sits immediately after the notice article and contains two provisions that are absent from essentially every English guide to Omani notice periods.
Notice served during leave does not start running. "The notice issued by the employer to the worker to terminate the contract in the event that the worker is on leave does not start to run until the day following the end of the leave." An employer cannot hand you a termination letter at the start of your annual leave and count those days towards your notice. Your thirty days begin the day after you come back.
You get 10 paid hours a week to job-hunt. "In all cases, the employer shall allow the worker, during the notice period, to be absent from his work for 10 (ten) paid hours per week to search for new employment." Ten hours, paid, every week of the notice period, and the article says "in all cases", so it applies whether you resigned or were terminated.
Neither of these is discretionary, and neither appears on the pages currently ranking for Omani notice-period queries.
Notice during probation is 7 days, not 30
Article 37 caps probation at three months for monthly-paid workers and two months for everyone else. During it, "either party to the contract may terminate it during the probation period if it is found that it is unsuitable to continue the employment, and that is after notifying the other party by (7) seven days at least."
Seven days, both ways. Probation does not remove the notice requirement in Oman, it shortens it.
Resignation notice is the same as termination notice
Article 38 is symmetrical. There is no shorter notice for resigning and no longer one, unless your contract says so. If you resign without serving it, you owe your employer pay in lieu for the un-served days, and it is normally deducted from your final settlement.
What it does not touch is the rest of your settlement. Your end-of-service gratuity accrues under Article 61 and is not forfeited by short notice, and your accrued annual leave is still payable. Only the notice compensation itself is at stake.
Notice pay, gratuity and leave use different wage bases
This is where Omani final settlements most often go wrong, because the three figures on the same payslip do not share a base.
| Payment | Wage base | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in lieu of notice | Final gross wage | Art. 38 |
| Leave salary on unused days | Gross wage | Art. 81 |
| End-of-service gratuity | Basic wage only | Art. 61 |
A worker on OMR 600 basic plus OMR 300 of allowances has a gross wage of OMR 900. Their notice pay and leave encashment are priced on 900; their gratuity is priced on 600. Using the basic wage for notice understates it by a third.
Common mistakes on notice periods in Oman
- Assuming notice alone makes a termination lawful. Article 38 requires a legitimate reason as well as notice.
- Pricing notice pay on the basic wage. Article 38 says the final gross wage.
- Counting notice days that fall inside annual leave. Article 39 stops the clock until the leave ends.
- Paying the full notice when part of it was served. Article 38 compensates "the remaining part of it".
- Applying 30 days to everyone. Workers not paid a monthly wage get 15.
- Treating probation as notice-free. It is 7 days under Article 37.
- Forgetting the 10 weekly job-search hours. They are paid, and they apply in all cases.
Check your own numbers
Two figures decide notice pay: your final gross monthly wage, and how many notice days went un-served.
Run them through the Oman notice period calculator, then check the rest of your exit. The Oman leave salary calculator prices your unused annual leave on the gross wage, the annual leave calculator works out the days you have accrued, the overtime calculator covers extra hours, and the Oman gratuity calculator prices your Article 61 end-of-service benefit on the basic wage. For the leave side explained in full, see Oman annual leave and leave salary, and for how the 2023 law changed gratuity, see Oman gratuity law changes. Every tool is listed on the calculators hub.
The Labour Law issued by Royal Decree No. 53 of 2023 is published in full at decree.om. Articles 37, 38 and 39 are the ones covering probation, notice and the notice period's own rules. These calculations are estimates for guidance: for a disputed amount, the Ministry of Labour or a qualified labour lawyer should see your actual contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the notice period in Oman labour law?
Thirty days for workers appointed on a monthly wage and 15 days for others, under Article 38 of Royal Decree 53/2023. The notice must be in writing, the contract must be indefinite, and the termination must rest on a legitimate reason. A contract may agree a longer period but not a shorter one.
What is the resignation notice period in Oman?
The same as the employer's. Article 38 sets one period for both sides: 30 days if you are paid monthly, 15 days otherwise. If you leave without serving it, you owe your employer compensation for the un-served days, usually deducted from your final settlement.
How is pay in lieu of notice calculated in Oman?
Divide your final gross monthly wage by 30 to get the daily wage, then multiply by the number of un-served notice days. Article 38 compensates the notice period 'or the remaining part of it', so serving part of your notice reduces what you owe proportionally.
Is notice pay in Oman calculated on basic or gross salary?
On the final gross wage. Article 38 states the compensation is calculated on the basis of the final gross wage the worker was receiving. This differs from end-of-service gratuity, which Article 61 restricts to the basic wage, so the two figures on the same settlement use different bases.
Does the notice period change with length of service in Oman?
No. Unlike Qatar, which moves from one month to two at two years of service, Oman sets one period regardless of how long you have worked: 30 days for monthly-paid workers and 15 for others. Only the contract can lengthen it.
What is the notice period during probation in Oman?
Seven days, for either party. Article 37 caps probation itself at three months for monthly-paid workers and two months for others, and allows either side to end the contract during it after notifying the other by at least seven days.
Can my employer give me notice while I am on annual leave in Oman?
They can issue it, but it does not start running. Article 39 provides that notice issued while the worker is on leave does not begin until the day following the end of the leave, so leave days cannot be counted towards your notice period.
Do I get time off to look for a job during my notice period in Oman?
Yes. Article 39 obliges the employer, in all cases, to allow the worker to be absent for 10 paid hours per week during the notice period to search for new employment.