Media Report Instructions

Media Report Instructions

Instructions:
 Choose a media article in English that involves law and business
 The article can be related to Qatar or any other GCC country but can also
relate to any other part of the world
 The article should be from 2015
 Your report should explain how law is related to business in this article
 Submit a copy of the full original article with your report
 Attach a copy of the coversheet to your report
 Sign the coversheet
 This assessment is to be completed individually
 This assessment is to be completed in English only

Sample Report:

This article discusses the new Labor Law in Saudi Arabia. The article targets an
audience seeking to know more about recent changes to the labor laws of Saudi
Arabia.
The article discusses how the new law will affect private businesses in Saudi Arabia.
The changes that the new law introduces include limiting the working hours of
employees to 12 hours per day and giving employees a 30-minute break every 5
hours. Payment for workers under the new law is to be weekly.
Other changes that the new law introduces include greater paid compassionate
leave for Muslim women who lose a husband. The widow will now receive 4 months
and 10 days leave as opposed to the old system where she would receive only 15
days leave. Men in the same situation will receive 5 days paid leave.
The news report discussed the policy of ‘Saudisation’. Saudisation is a government
policy seeking to include greater numbers of Saudi nationals in the workforce. The
new law enhances Saudisation by requiring employers to provide training courses
to Saudi national who complete their studies abroad.
The article appears on a website called ‘Out-law.com’. Pinset Mason publishes the
website. It is a law firm specializing in law in GCC countries. A quote in the article is
from one of the senior associate lawyers from this law firm, Mr Luke Tapp.
The article does not state when the new law will be effective or which organizations
exactly will be subject to the new law. It does mention private sector employers
but there is no mention of whether these employers are large or small and whether
the number of employees will determine if the law applies to that employer.

Article (07 Oct 2015):
Saudi Arabia introduces new employment laws
Private sector employees in Saudi Arabia will now be banned from working for more than 12
hours a day, according to local news reports.
An employee must also be given a 30 minute break every five hours, under the new employment
rules that come into force this week, Arab News said.
Daily workers should be paid once a week, under the new rules, while those who work on a
freelance basis for a minimum of two weeks should be paid part of their wages at the beginning
of the work week, and the rest when the work is complete, Arab News said.
A worker is entitled to five days leave on full pay if his wife, ascendant or descendant dies, or if
he gets married. An employer is entitled to ask for documentation to prove these events, Arab
News said.

According to Gulf Business, a female Muslim employee will now have more paid compassionate
leave if her spouse dies. The leave period has increased from 15 days to four months and 10 days.
An employer cannot transfer an employee to another location if this requires them to move
house, unless the employee gives written consent, Arab News said.
An employer with more than 50 workers must offer training courses to at least 12% of the
workforce, Arab News said.
The training should be provided to Saudi nationals who complete their studies abroad. The
training requirements under the new labour laws are intended to form part of the wider
‘Saudisation’ programme, a national policy within Saudi Arabia that requires businesses to
employ minimum numbers of Saudi nationals within their workforce. The number of Saudi
nationals required to satisfy the Saudization requirements depends on the industry and size of
the organisation. An employer who contravenes the Saudization rules may have its business
operations frozen and its licence removed by the Ministry of Labour, Arab News said.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) labour law expert Luke Tapp of Pinsent Masons, the law firm
behind Out-Law.com said: “The introduction of the new Saudi labour Laws reflects the growing
trend within the GCC of national authorities seeking to update their labour laws to provide more
protection to employees around key issues such as working hours and regular salary payment.