Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) unveiled the mechanism for dealing with the unvaccinated people after the government decision of COVID-19 vaccination being mandatory to enter government and private entities came into force on Sunday, Aug. 1.

Under the mechanism, public, private and non-profit entities shall not allow either their unvaccinated employees or visitors to enter their premises.

These entities shall direct their unvaccinated staff to work remotely from Aug. 1 and if the remote work mechanism is found not useful, then the employee shall be allowed to take leave until fulfilling the vaccination requirement.

Mechanism for public sector:

First: As of Sunday, Aug. 1, it is mandatory for all government entities to ensure immunization, approved by the Ministry of Health, for the entry of their employees or those who deal with them to their headquarters, according to the immune status on their Tawakkalna application

Second: The government entity must deal with the unvaccinated employee in the following ways:

1- Directing him to work remotely in accordance with the work requirement after taking into account of the specific percentage of those working remotely in the entity, which was previously specified in the circulars of MHRSD.

2- As of Monday, Aug. 9, if the entity is not benefited from working of employee remotely, any of the accrued leaves will be granted to the employee in accordance with its statutory terms and conditions.

3- If the employee has no balance of such leaves in his credit, or if the conditions to take leave do not apply to him, or if he has reached the maximum period of availing of the leave; then his case will be treated in the following way: by deducting the days of absence from the balance of regular leave or treating it as an absence with an excuse for which he is not entitled for salary, as the case may be, provided that this is in accordance with the procedures established by law.

Mechanism in private and non-profit sectors:

First: As of Sunday, Aug. 1, it is mandatory for all establishments in the private and non-profit sectors to have immunization, approved by the Ministry of Health, for the entry of their employees or those who deal with them to their headquarters, according to the immune status on their Tawakkalna application

Second: The employer must deal with the unvaccinated employee in the following ways:

1- Directing him to work remotely in accordance with the work requirement

2- As of Monday, Aug. 9, if the entity is not benefited from the employee working remotely, the employer shall agree with the employee to grant him leave to be calculated from the balance of his accrued annual leave

3- In the event of no balance in the employee’s accrued annual leave credit, then the worker shall be granted unpaid leave, and the work contract is considered suspended during the period of this leave if it exceeds 20 days, unless the two parties agree otherwise.

Third: In the event of any disagreement with the worker on the procedures set forth in paragraph 2 related to treating the absence as days of annual leave, the employer may deal with the case in accordance with the procedures approved by law.

Fourth: The employer must inform the worker of the decisions issued in this regard.

The ministry clarified that the above provisions do not apply to those who take vaccine in accordance with the immune status on the Tawakkalna application.

According to an official source at the Ministry of Interior, vaccination is mandatory for entry to all economic, commercial, cultural, entertainment, or sporting activities; entry into all governmental or private establishments and educational facilities as well as for the use of public transportation.

The Tawakkalna application will be used to check the immunization status of citizens and residents.

The Ministry of Commerce said that all shoppers must fulfill the terms and conditions issued earlier in this regard. These conditions include immune by two doses of coronavirus vaccine, immune by one dose of vaccine or immune by recovery from coronavirus infection.

There will be an exemption for some categories of people on the basis of their age and health condition, the ministry said.