Employee Benefits US vs Saudi Arabia
Lilliana Harris posted Jan 4, 2020 10:05 AM
I have chosen to research employee benefits in Saudi Arabia. This country’s policy on minimum wage for public sector employees is that they must make at least $7, 585 a year. According to Globalization Partners (2020), the compensation laws dictate overtime payment of 100% an employee’s normal hourly rate plus a 50% bonus. Employees who work on Friday or on a public holiday get paid overtime.
Question 1: What country other than the United States, Mexico, Canada, or China did you analyze? The country I chose to study was Saudi Arabia.
Question 2: What specific benefit did you analyze? I analyzed maternity leave benefits. According to Global Partners (2020), the females in Saudi Arabia are generally entitled to 10 weeks of paid maternity leave. They allow 4 weeks to be taken before birth and at least 6 weeks after. Through maternity leave, the employee is entitled to half pay if she has been employed for at least a year and full pay if she has been employed for at least 3 years. All medical cost for the pregnancy and delivery must be paid by the employer. Fathers are eligible for three days of paid paternity leave.
Question 3: How does the benefit work in the United States? The US utilizes the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for maternity leave. According to FindLaw (2019), to be able to use this policy the employee must be eligible. An eligible employee had to have worked for their employer a minimum of 12 months and at least 1,250 hours and the company must have at least 50 employees hired. FMLA covers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and job security while they are out. FMLA however, does not guarantee paternity leave.
Question 4: How is the benefit in the country identified in Question 1 similar to the benefit in the United States? Both countries have a system to allow maternity leave to female employees and honor job security.
Question 5: How is the benefit in the country identified in Question 1 different from the benefit in the United States? Saudi Arabia does not have so many requirements for eligibility and they pay either partial or full paid time off depending on how long the employee has worked there. Also, the employers in Saudi Arabia take responsibility for pregnancy and delivery cost. The US offers 2 more weeks of maternity leave compared to Saudi Arabia, but it is not paid leave. Also, the US has requirements that need to be met before an employee is eligible. And last but not least, not all US employers offer 100% medical cost in these benefits.
Lilliana
https://www.globalization-partners.com/globalpedia/saudi-arabia-employer-of-record/compensation/
https://www.globalization-partners.com/globalpedia/saudi-arabia-employer-of-record/
https://employment.findlaw.com/family-medical-leave/what-is-fmla-faq-on-federal-leave-law.html