Workers who receive training funded by their employer will be fined if they resign, under a proposal being considered by the Ministry of Labour in Saudi Arabia.
With skilled employees in high demand in the oil-rich Gulf nation, businesses are increasingly investing in training, including establishing dedicated training institutes and hiring specialist trainers to meet their specific needs.
But according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Eastern Province, some companies are saving money by poaching staff from competitors once they are qualified. The slightly higher wages used to lure workers were significantly less than the cost of training less experienced employees.
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Chairman of one of the country’s largest private companies, Saeed R Al-Zahrani Corp, Said Zahrani, said employee attrition had become a major concern among specialised Saudi companies, many of which had incurred large financial losses related to trained workers quitting.
The attrition rate in the eastern province had soared to more than 50 percent among private sector employees, Zahrani told Arab News.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Eastern Province is pushing the Saudi Ministry of Labor to allow businesses to reduce or cancel the gratuity paid to employees if they quit to work for another company after undergoing funded training, according to Arab News.
The chamber’s chairman, Abd ar-Rahman ar-Rashid, said a lack of penalties for employees resigning before their contract expired led rival companies to poach staff.
A monetary fine should be collected and paid to the original employer to compensate them for the training cost.
Ar-Rashid said he would raise the idea during a meeting with the minister of labour on March 1.
He said the decision was urgently needed to prevent the problem from escalating.
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