Private sector establishments employing minors must not exceed the daily six-hour work limit for them and must ensure they have enough break time during their shift, according to the ministry of labour.
The ministry repeated previous instructions to companies not to employ minors at industrial projects at night and stressed that at least one-hour break must be given to their minor employees during working days.
“All companies must abide by the rules which ban the recruitment of minors at industrial projects during night shifts or giving them more than 12 successive work hours from 8.00 pm to 6.00 am,” the ministry said.
“Work for minors during the day must also not exceed six hours, which must include a break of at least one hour for meals or prayers… this means minors should not work more than four successive hours.”
In statements carried by the Arabic language daily Alkhaleej, the ministry said training hours for minors should be calculated within the official work hours. “In any way, minors must not stay at the job site for more than seven hours.”
The ministry noted that it still offers one-year work permits for national or expatriate minor workers aged between 15 and 18 years provided they are not employed in the banned 31 job categories involving mines, furnaces, oil refineries, fertilizers and asphalt production, chemicals, gas filling cylinders, offloading at ports, dry docks and quays.