Industry heads welcome new private sector job law

Heads of leading private sector establishments in Bahrain have welcomed the issuance of Law 17 of 2018 by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on Monday, citing multiple advantages the new law would offer different fields of the private sector. Allowing more benefits to Bahraini employees in the private sector, the law amends Article 36 of the Social Insurance Law, promulgated by Decree Law 24 of 1976. It permits the Bahraini private sector employees to request an addition of a default service period for the period of their insurance contribution not exceeding five years, similarly to their counterparts working in the public sector. The amendment also stipulated that the period of service computed after retirement and after termination of service mustn’t exceed the limit of the qualifying period for the maximum pension. This grants early-retirement options to private sector employees by a maximum of five years, a privilege given to public sector employees. They are now enabled to purchase up to five years of service credit at retirement.