RIYADH — The Qiwa platform, under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) has reduced the probation period of workers to 90 days. The platform amended the provision in the column for electronic documentation of labor contracts pertaining to the probation period. As per the amendment, the maximum period of probation is 90 days instead of 180 days, in accordance with the Labor Law. Article 53 of the Labor Law stipulates that "in the event that the worker was subject to a probationary period, it should not exceed 90 days." This amendment was made after employers committed a mistake in setting the probation period to 180 days while documenting employment contracts through the platform. The provisions of the Labor Law stressed that if both parties to the contractual relationship wish to extend the probation period to 180 days, this must be carried out by a written agreement between them after starting to implement the employment contract during the validity of the original probation period, as stipulated in Article 20 of the Executive Regulations of the Labor Law. It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced the start of the third phase of documenting contracts, and obligating establishments to document 80 percent of employee contracts through the Qiwa platform, until the end of last month. The platform indicated that some electronic services will be suspended for establishments that are not committed to documenting 80 percent of employee contracts in the first phase, which ended in the third quarter of the year 2023. The most prominent of these suspended services included instant visas, transfer of services, and requests to change professions. This comes after the ministry decided to oblige establishments to document the contracts of all employees electronically through the platform. The Qiwa platform provides the MHRSD's services and solutions to enhance the electronic services provided to the local employment sector.
