Background

An employee brought a claim against his employer claiming that the employer had refused to give him compensation for the nature of his work which he was entitled to and should be included in his end of services bonus. The employer stated that in line with the legal rule that “a contract is the law of the contracting parties” and pursuant to Article 10 of the contract compensation for the nature of work was only issued to Saudi nationals rather than foreign contractors in line with Article 41 of the Labour Law. The employer added that the contract was subject to the Labour Charter and the Rewards Charter of the Operations and Maintenance Department and neither of these charters included any compensation for the nature of the work. The employer stated the only compensation paid usually to Saudi Nationals was housing cost, which the employer in this case had received.

The Commission of First Instance for the Settlement of Labour Disputes ruled in favour of the employer.

Decision