Saturday 13 / December / 2025
The employment of Omani citizens stands as a central pillar of the Sultanate of Oman’s national labour policy, firmly embedded under Royal Decree 53/2023, which promulgates the Labour Law. This legal framework establishes “Omanization” as a structured program aimed at increasing the targeted employment of Omani nationals within the private sector workforce.
Speaking to the Times of Oman, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Zadjali, Founding Partner of Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm, explained that “the law mandates that employers maintain a special register with details on their Omani workforce, including of the number of the Omani workers, showing their occupations, wages, and gender, along with job vacancies during a year, if any and the annual Omanization plan. This register must be updated and submitted to the Ministry annually.”
He further stated that “employers with a workforce of 25 or more employees bear additional statutory responsibilities, such as publicizing job vacancies, adhering to the ministry’s occupational classification, determining wages and working conditions, providing skill development training for Omani staff, ensuring a suitable work environment, implementing performance appraisal systems, preparing plans to appoint Omanis to leadership roles, and developing strategies to retain Omani manpower.”
He added that, “to ensure implementation, the law empowers the Minister of Labour to set specific Omanization percentages for each economic sector and to designate occupations where Omanis must replace non-Omanis. Further, employers with over 40 workers must also hire a quota of qualified Omani persons with disabilities.”
The law also provides support mechanisms. It allows for the creation of a national fund to finance training and empowerment programs. Further, to enforce compliance, if an employer does not meet the required Omanisation targets, a fine will be charged for every Omani worker who should have been hired under the law. If the Employers repeats the same violation again, the fine will be doubled.
He concluded by stating that “this combination of employer mandates, penalties for non-compliance, and state support creates a comprehensive system designed to boost Omani participation in the private sector workforce.”
(Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm ([email protected]), (+968 244 87 600) was established 18 years ago and is serving clients through its offices in Muscat and Sohar, as well as operating on a request basis in other areas. It offers legal representation across a wide range of practice areas that include Labour Law, Corporate, Commercial, Contracts, Banking and Finance, International Trade, Foreign Investment, Insurance, Maritime Law, Construction and Engineering Contracts, International Arbitration, Intellectual Property and more).
