On 3 September 2023, Ministerial Resolution No. 3568, dated 07/01/1445H (corresponding to 25 July 2023), which was issued by the Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) regarding the disclosure of training data, has come into effect. The Resolution provides that entities that employ 50 or more employees must annually declare training data on their Qiwa portal in accordance with the Resolution’s accompanying Procedural Guide. The Guide states that an entity must disclose the following information:
For year 2023:
- Number of trainees who completed training in each of the following categories: Saudi and foreign national employees, students, graduates, and job seekers
- Average training hours
- Training costs during this year
- Allocated budget for training activities
- Types and activities of training for each employee category
For each subsequent year:
- Number of trainees who completed training in each of the following categories: Saudi and foreign national employees, students, graduates, and job seekers
- Allocated budget for training activities
- Percentage of the budget allocated to training activities from the employees’ wages
- Types and activities of training for each employee category
The disclosed training period should not be less than eight training units for each trainee annually. Training can be comprised of training courses, workshops, lectures and seminars, online training, Saudi employee completing his/her studies if the employer bears the costs, career guidance program, on-the-job training and career turnover/rotation. The number of hours for each type of training varies to complete one training unit. For example, two hours of lectures and seminars amount to one unit, whereas four hours of online training amount to one unit.
Training data will need to be submitted through the employer’s Qiwa portal within one month from the end of the Gregorian year, i.e., an employer would have until 31 January each year to submit the data. If an entity fails to disclose its employees’ training data with this period it could be fined between SAR 5,000 to SAR 15,000 (depending on the number of employees it employs), with the fine doubled in case of a repeat offense. One violation will be applied to the non-compliant entity per year.
Should you require any assistance regarding the Resolution, or any employment / HR data privacy matters, please feel free to contact us.
