Jordan National Labour Law Profile

Before you employ, you should familiarize yourself with the current labor law in Jordan. With us you will learn what you have to pay attention to.

One of the main concerns that investors take into consideration when they think of investing in a country is the labour market, laws, and regulations that govern the relationship between the Employer and the Employee. 

Chapter two of the Constitution establishes a number of workers’ rights, including and equitable working conditions; limited working hours per week; weekly and annual paid rest; special compensation given to workers supporting families and on dismissal, illness, old age and emergencies arising out of the nature of the work; special condition for the employment of women and juveniles; equal pay for equal work; free trade unions origination within the limits of the law.

Employment of foreigners

According to labor law, it is not allowed to employ any foreigner workers without prior consent from the Ministry of Labor. The work permit should not exceed one year and can be renewed for extra years.
Any employer who uses any foreign employee without obtaining a work permit will be liable for a fine between 100 – 150 Jordanian Dinar for each month until the employer meets the legal requirements.

According to article 12 of the Jordanian Labor Law; any non-Jordanian worker might not be employed except by the approval of the Minister or whom he authorizes provided that:

  • The work shall entail an experience and qualification not available in the Jordanian workers.
  • Or that the number of the qualified Jordanian workers does not meet the need, the priority shall be given to the Arab experts, technicians, and workers.

According to Article (6) of the Instructions for the Conditions and Procedures of Bringing and Employing Non-Jordanian Workers:

  • The employer may appoint one or more of good conduct persons to represent him in following-up his/her applications before the Ministry. This could be done through an annual card issued by the Ministry. It is stipulated that the representative should not be a representative for more than one employer.
  • In order to issue or renew the representative authorization card, the following documents shall be submitted:
    • An application presented by the employer.
    • A certificate of non-conviction.
    • A security approval issued by the competent authorities.
  • The Ministry shall receive an annual fee of ten JDs for the issuance or renewal of the card.
  • The Ministry has the right to cancel the representative's card at any time if it becomes obvious that he/she has not complied with laws, regulations and these instructions.

The approval of the bringing application is valid for two months as of the date of obtaining it and the employer should complete the procedure needed for the worker to enter the country during this period, as well as the procedures needed to obtain the employment permit. The validity of the employment permit starts from the date in which the worker entered the country.

 

Assembly work

The procedure for obtaining a work permit for assembly work depends on whether it is a government project with a maintenance clause under contract or a routine inspection or repair work. As a rule, the Jordanian contractual partner takes care of these formalities and permits.

In practice, fitters enter the country with a normal tourist or business visa, which is valid for up to three months and must be extended on site. For the first entry, only the passport and the visa are required, which can be obtained either directly at airport or at the Jordanian consulate in Berlin before departure. The necessary permits can then be applied for on site. In individual cases where documentation is required, a work permit for the fitter must be applied for on the grounds that the necessary know-how for the work to be carried out is not available in Jordan.

Labour Legislation

In Jordan, National Assembly (Majlis al Umma) is competent to adopt labour legislation. The legal framework is mainly comprised of the Jordanian Labour Law of the year 1996 and its amendments. This Code repeals the Labour Code of 1960, and all amendments made thereto. It governs labour affairs in Jordan. The provisions of the law apply to all employees and employers as defined by Article 2 of the Law. This law was completed by regulations, instructions and decisions issued in accordance with the above labour law. Based on ratified Conventions, amendments to the labour law were adopted on 28 August 2002. These amendments concern some important matters mainly:

  • the extension of the coverage of the labour law to some categories of workers in the agriculture sector;
  • the establishment of private employment offices organizing the recruitment of foreign domestic workers and control of these offices by labour inspectors. This will extend the control by the Ministry of Labour of the recruitmentand working conditions of these workers;
  • the protection of workers from dismissal due to economic and technical factors by adoption of detailed regulation;
  • the regulation of working hours;
  • the inter-relation between employers’ and workers’ organizations.

The following Acts may be considered key:

  • Regulation No. 23 of 1966, as amended, issuing rules governing the public service defines individual labour relations, paid leave, compensation, temporary assignment and termination of service;
  • The Maritime Commercial Law 1972. It governs maritime employment (seafarers contract of employment, advance payment withholding and authoriesd remittance of seafarers wages);
  • Order of Minister of Labour to establish committees to study the cases of termination or suspension of contracts of employment on the basis of the provisions of section 31 of the Labour Code. This Order establishes committees in each governorate where there is a Directorate for work and employment, so as to study the cases of termination of contracts of employment for undetermined periods or cases of suspending such contracts for economic or technical reasons as provided for in section 31 of the Labour Code;
  • Act No. 36 of 1997 concerning work permit fees for non-Jordanian workers, issued under Article 12 of the Labour Code of 1996. This Act provides for the fees to be paid by the employer for the delivery of work permits;
  • Act No. 56 of 1996 concerning labour inspection, promulgated under Article 7 of the Labour Code;
  • Industrial accidents and occupational diseases instructions of 1993. Instructions issued by the social security authority which prescribe the procedures to be observed in the event of such an accident, and provide for medical assistance to victims and financial compensation for disability resulting from an industrial accident or the contraction of an occupational disease;

Act No. 19 of 2001 on Social security. This law provides for the establishment of the General Social Security Institution, which should provide social insurance for all workers under sixteen with certain exceptions (seafarers, domestic servants, agricultural workers). It deals also with Labour injuries and occupational diseases, Old Age, Disability and Death benefits.

Contract Employment

Chapter IV of the Labour Code deals with contract of employment. It should be drawn in Arabic and in two copies at least. If no such contract is made, the worker may establish his rights by all legal means of evidence.

The duration of the employment contract is set by agreement of the parties. If the worker is employed for an indefinite duration, he shall be considered in service until his employment is terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Code. If he is employed for a specified period, he shall be considered is service throughout that period. In this case, the contract is automatically terminated at the end of that period. If both parties to the contract continue implementing it after that period has expired, the contract shall be considered to have been renewed as a contract for an indefinite duration, and shall be deemed as such from its commencement. When a worker who is regularly employed for piece-work in the workplace, or performs a series of tasks by piece-work, he shall be considered as a worker employed for an indefinite duration.

When labour relation at stake is subcontracting, workers employed by a contractor for the execution of a project may take direct legal action against the project owner, to claim the entitlements due to them from the contractor. Such claims shall not exceed the amount of payments due to the contractor from the owner at the time when action is taken. Workers employed by a subcontractor may take direct legal action against the principal contractor and the project owner. The amounts claimed in such action may not exceed payments that are due, at the time when action is taken, to the principal contractor from the owner and to the subcontractor from the principal contractor.

A contract of employment remains in force notwithstanding a change of employer, whether such a change is due to the sale of the undertaking or its transfer by inheritance, the merger of the establishment or any other reason. The original employer and the new employer shall, for a period of six months, be jointly liable in the discharge of any obligations arising out of the contract of employment and maturing before the date of change. After the expiry of that period the new employer has sole liability.

Suspension of the contract of employment

An employer may suspend the contract of employment of indefinite duration, if economic or technical conditions were to require it, such as a reduction of the workload, the replacement of the old production system by a new one or the total stoppage of work, provided that the Ministry is duly notified.

A worker whose contract of employment is suspended in accordance with the above-mentioned paragraph is entitled to leave work without notice while retaining his legal rights with respect to the end of service.

The Minister of Labour may set up a tripartite commission to examine the validity of such measures.

Termination of the contract of employment

According to Section 21 of the Labour Code, a contract of employment shall be considered terminated if:

  • both parties agree to terminate it;
  • the duration of the contract has expired or the work itself has been completed;
  • the worker dies or is no longer capable of working due to a disease or disability certified by the medical authority.

The death of an employer shall not bring about the termination of the contract of employment unless the contract took into consideration the personality of the employer.

Jordanian Labour Code makes distinction between ordinary termination (with notice) and extraordinary termination (without notice).

his annual leave, he shall be entitled to receive his remuneration for all remaining leave days. Any agreement by which a worker relinquishes his right to annual leave in full or in part shall be null and void.

Pay Issues

Minimum wage is fixed by tripartite Committee in Jordanian currency either generally or for a particular area or trade. Members of the committee are hold a two-year renewable mandate.

The committee shall hold session as necessary upon invitation by its chairman, and shall submit decisions not adopted by unanimity to the Minister, to be referred to the Council of Ministers which shall adopt its decision taking into consideration the cost of living estimated by the appropriate bodies. Final decisions adopted under this Code and their date of entry into force shall be published in the Official Gazette.

An employer who has paid a worker less than the minimum rate of remuneration shall be punishable by a fine of no less than twenty five and no more than one hundred Dinars in respect of each offense, and shall also be ordered to pay the worker the difference. The penalty shall be doubled every time the offense is repeated.

Remuneration is specified in the contract. In the absence of such provision, the worker shall be paid the remuneration that would be assessed for work of the same type, if such type of work exists. Otherwise, remuneration is assessed in accordance with common practice. In the absence of such practice, payable remuneration is assessed by court in accordance with the provisions of this Code, considering the case as a labour dispute over remuneration. Remuneration shall be paid within a period not exceeding seven days from the date on which it becomes payable. An employer may not make any deductions therefrom other than those authorized by this Code.

According to section 48 of the Labour Code, no disciplinary measures shall be taken and no fines shall be imposed by an employer on a worker for an offense that is not stipulated in the regulation of disciplinary penalties approved by the Minister, while taking account of the following:

  • no worker shall, in any one month, be fined more than three days' remuneration or suspended without remuneration for more than three days; in any case, he shall first be given an opportunity to show cause against the penalty and shall be entitled to make opposition to it before the labour inspector within one week of notification;
  • no disciplinary measures shall be taken and no fines shall be imposed on a worker for any offense stipulated in the approved regulation of disciplinary penalties if fifteen days have elapsed since the offense was committed;
  • fines imposed in accordance with this section shall be entered in a special record stating the name of the worker, his remuneration and the reasons for which he was fined. Such fines shall be used to provide social services to workers in the establishment as prescribed by the Minister.

If an employer is forced to stop work temporarily for reasons that cannot be attributed to him and which are beyond his control, workers are entitled to full remuneration for no more than the first ten days from the date on which work stopped in any one year and half their remuneration for the remaining period. The total remunerated period with full work stoppage shall not exceed sixty days in any one year.

Upon recommendation by the Minister, the Council of Ministers may set up a “Remuneration Authority”, consisting of one or more labour experts and specialists to hear claims in respect of remuneration in a particular region, including claims regarding underpayment, unlawful deductions, delayed payment or overtime. Such claims shall be settled by summary process and shall only be receivable, if the worker has remained in the same employment or no more than six months have elapsed since the termination of his employment. If that condition is not fulfilled, the worker shall have the right to take his case to an ordinary competent court.