Ten days’ paid leave proposed for chronically ill private sector workers

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

MPs are weighing a new law that would grant chronically ill private sector workers 10 days of paid leave a year, on top of regular sick days.

The proposal, now with the Services Committee, would insert a new clause into the Labour Law (No. 36 of 2012), giving extra time off to workers diagnosed with long-term conditions such as diabetes, cancer, sickle cell anaemia, heart disease or kidney failure.

The leave would not count against their ordinary sick leave and would be paid in full.

Ministerial order

Medical proof would be required. A report must come from one of the public medical panels formed by ministerial order.

The leave could be split into shorter spells, depending on a doctor’s advice, so long as it does not disrupt the daily rhythm of work.

Employers would be barred from punishing or singling out anyone who takes it.

The proposed article reads: “Without prejudice to the previous article, an employee diagnosed with a chronic illness, as confirmed by a medical report issued by the public medical committees formed by decision of the minister responsible for health, shall be entitled to a paid leave of ten days per year.

“This leave shall not be counted as part of the employee’s regular sick leave. It may be divided based on the worker’s needs and a medical recommendation, provided it does not disrupt workflow. Employers shall not take any discriminatory or disciplinary action against the employee for using this leave.”

MP Muneer Seroor, who put the idea forward, said it was aimed at easing the strain on those who need regular treatment.

“These illnesses require ongoing medical follow-up which, in the absence of specific leave provisions, can put an employee’s professional stability at risk,” he wrote in the explanatory note.

Change

He added that the change would not load extra costs on businesses.

“It will strengthen social solidarity within the Bahraini labour environment and promote fairer conditions without disrupting workflow,” he wrote.

He said the idea rests on a few plain aims: looking after those with long-term illness, giving workers a better shot at staying in their jobs, and keeping Bahrain’s labour rules in step with global practice.