King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, on Monday approved a decision of the Civil Service Council to pay an annual bonus to workers who have not been promoted for the last eight years. The King had previously ordered the Council to study proposals by Muhammad Bin Ali Al-Fayez, Minister of Civil Service . The bonus is equivalent to the regulatory annual raise an employee normally receives according to his or her class on a particular salary scale. The bonus will be canceled by a future promotion. The decision involves a change in calculating seniority points. This will ensure that those who have four or more years experience will get more points. This also increases the chances of promotion for these workers. It further automatically promotes those who have held the same position for 12 years. Minister Al-Fayez said the decision “came at the right time” because it provides a radical solution for dealing with promotions. Sources said the ministry has asked all government institutions to determine the number of people who qualify for the bonus. They said ministry officials are scheduled to hold meetings with relevant bodies to decide on a suitable mechanism to implement the decision. Other criteria for getting the bonus include a government employee being at the highest class of a salary scale; having no less than a “Very Good” evaluation over the last two years on the job; and not having been penalized with pay deductions for at least the latest year of service.
