WPP a must for 80-worker firms

RIYADH: The Ministry of Labor will launch the 10th phase of its mandatory wage protection program (WPP) for companies that have 80 or more workers from Feb. 1.
The ministry urged private sector firms to ensure that salaries are paid on time in a bid to determine wage levels of all jobs and minimize problems between workers and employers, according to a report in a local publication on Monday.
The ministry said companies failing to feed their details of their workers’ salaries into the system would see their services cut. They have to do so within two months.
If companies delay their wage data for more than three months, then they would have all services stopped and their workers transferred to other firms without their consent. The companies can access the system on the ministry’s website on a trial basis before the application date.
According to previous reports, employers who delay the salaries of their Saudi and expatriate employees, or who fail to pay contracted amounts, will be fined SR3,000 for every offense.
The program was first introduced in Saudi Arabia for all companies with over 3,000 employees in September 2013, and has been applied gradually over the past two years.
Employers must open local bank accounts for their employees, open a payroll file authenticated by the bank, register with the WPP, and submit all information relating to the monthly payment of wages to the ministry using its e-services.