SCSLD 431/2/31/2010

This case involved a request for unpaid salary and a sponsorship transfer. Key issues included whether the employee could be deported as he had been born in Saudi Arabia and his family was there and if he was free to work for a competitor.

Background

An employee filed a case before the First Instance Authority for Settlement of Labour Disputes (FIASLD) in Jeddah against an employer requesting he pay his salary of March 2008 and surrender his sponsorship.

The FIASLD issued a ruling (616/2008) requesting the employer to pay the employee 364 Riyals and to deport the employee to his country.

The employee filed an appeal before the SLHASLD, which examined the case and said that the employee had been born in the Kingdom and his family lives with him in Jeddah and under Article 16(11of the executive charter of the Labour Law the SLHASLD disagreed with the FIASLD and requested the employer to transfer the sponsorship to another party. The SLHASLD also stated that the employee could not work for a competitor under Article 83 of the Labour Law.