Expats In Saudi Banned From Working For Car Rental Companies

Expats will be banned from working in car rental businesses from March18 this year.

The ideal of Saudization came a step closer with an announcement from the Ministry of Labour that expats are to be banned from working in companies providing car rental. The ban will start on 18 March and joint inspection teams will investigate all the kingdom’s car rental firms to ensure they are complying with the new rule. Companies found violating the law will face fines calculated by the number of non-Saudis employed, and will increase for repeat violations.

A spokesperson for the ministry said online job training will be provided to Saudis wishing to work in the sector, but did not state whether mechanical skills would be included. Saudization of various job sectors forms part of the National Transformation Programme 2020, intended to deal with the demographic imbalance of the kingdom’s workforce by providing jobs for Saudi nationals and getting rid of expat workers. In addition, the programme assists in sourcing highly qualified professionals for top jobs in various sectors.

The public transport sector has been in the ministry’s sights since last April, at which time it invited private sector stakeholders to submit suggestions regarding the decision to ban non-Saudis from working for car rental companies. No reports as to the suggestions made have yet been disclosed, buy the ban is now scheduled to go ahead as planned. In a separate announcement, the ministry said it will organise forums able to connect job-seekers with potential employers. Also included in the ban will be non-Saudi nationals working as app-based ride-hailing drivers, with some 200,000 full and part-time jobs for locals expected to be created.