RIYADH -- The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) has said the organization is holding continuous meetings with the Human Resources Fund (HADAF) to plug possible loopholes in the Saned unemployment pension scheme that could be exploited by some.
Abdulaziz Al-Habdan, vice governor of GOSI, told Al-Eqtisadiah daily the organization is working out the details and procedures of the mechanism for distributing allowances to deserving people. It is also setting up a database in coordination with the National Information Center of the Ministry of Interior. "The database will help prevent any possible exploitation of the system," he said.
Al-Habdan explained that beneficiaries of the Saned program will cease to receive unemployment benefits if they had spent 60 days outside the country, reject three job offers from the Human Resources Fund, do not attend or complete designated training courses, default on four job interviews, or do not log into their electronic files once a week for six weeks without any viable reasons.
Al-Habdan pointed out that any such behavior clearly shows the person is not serious in seeking a job, while Saned supports those who are searching jobs.
He said Saned is a cooperative social insurance system and subscribers cannot ask for a refund, like medical or car insurance schemes.
He said there are certain mechanisms in place to verify whether the beneficiary had left the job on his own or due to circumstances beyond his control.
"GOSI would contact the employer to verify the reasons for the employee leaving the job. If the employee believes the business provided GOSI with a different reason, then he or she has the right to file a complaint," he said.
He stressed that young Saudis are not keen to join the private sector because it does not provide job security and the Saned system is meant to ensure some level of job security to encourage more Saudis to join the private sector.
He added that Saned will also help businesses to retain their qualified employees and recruit more nationals, which in turn will expedite the Saudization process.
Al-Habdan said the scheme was introduced after reviewing similar schemes worldwide to protect nationals from temporary unemployment. The scheme, which is mandatory for all Saudi employees in the private sector businesses, will be launched on Aug. 27.
"To enroll in the system, an employee has to pay 2 percent of his salary to GOSI, equally shared by the employee and the employer. All employees below 59 are eligible, regardless of gender," Al-Habdan said.
© The Saudi Gazette 2014
