RIYADH — The Labor Court in Riyadh ordered a company to pay wage arrears and end of service allowances in addition to an experience certificate to an employee who was dismissed from service without citing any genuine reasons.

The court issued the verdict following the failure of the employer to attend the court proceedings. The judgment was final and the employer is not entitled to appeal against the verdict, the court has said.

An employee approached the labor court with lodging a lawsuit following the company’s termination of him from service, citing the closure of one of its branches as the reason. The worker stated that the employer failed to grant him the end-of-service gratuity, some of his salaries, and the service certificate. The employee substantiated his claim with producing a letter received from the company’s human resources department informing him about the termination of service.

In his petition, the worker demanded compensation for the unlawful dismissal, which is equivalent to two months’ salary in accordance with Article 77 of the Labor Law.

The judge asked the company to respond to the claims of the worker, but it ignored the court’s directive despite being notified electronically through the portal of Najiz Center for Judicial Services. Subsequently, the judge asked the plaintiff to undertake an oath to prove his claims due to the company’s lack of response or attendance, so he submitted the oath stipulated by the Shariah law.

The judge ruled that the company must pay the delayed monthly wages, end-of-service gratuity equivalent to half a month’s salary for each year of the first five years according to the Labor Law, and a financial compensation equivalent to a full two months’ salary for the illegal dismissal.

The court also ordered to grant him an experience certificate free of cost with a condition that it does not include what harms his reputation. The court considered that the employee’s obtaining an end-of-service certificate aims to enable him obtaining a new job. The certificate must include details such as the date of joining, the date of the end of the labor relationship, the profession he was holding, and the amount of the last wage he was drawing, the judge said while pointing out that this right is established in Article 64 of the Labor Law, and that the refusal of the defendant to fulfill this right is not legally justified.

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