Jordan: Increase in maternity leave proposed as part of labor reforms

Employer Action Code: Monitor

The Council of Ministers has recently approved draft amendments to the Labor Code that include an increase in maternity leave, more flexible regulation of fixed-term employment and new provisions on collective dismissals. According to the government, these measures are intended to increase the flexibility of the labor market and encourage women’s participation in the labor force.

Key details

The proposed amendments to the Labor Code would:

• Increase maternity leave from 70 days to 90 days (in line with the public sector)
• Prohibit the dismissal of pregnant women during the entire pregnancy (the current prohibition only applies from the sixth month of pregnancy)
• Provide up to three days of employer-paid leave to workers when a first-degree relative dies
• Require that renewals of fixed-term employment contracts must take place within a specified time period
• Extend fixed-term contracts, where work continues after the contract end date, by the same duration of the initial contract (currently, fixed-term contracts are automatically converted to open-ended contracts in such cases)
• Allow collective dismissal of up to 15% of an enterprise’s workforce due to economic or technical reasons without the need to obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Labor (which would still apply for terminations above that threshold or where multiple dismissals occur in the same calendar year)

The draft law also includes provisions calling for the Ministry of Labor to issue new regulations on the determination of arbitrary dismissal and on the rights of workers in the event dismissal is deemed to be arbitrary. Currently, the decision on whether a dismissal is arbitrary or not (and the entitlements of workers affected) is not specifically defined in the Labor Code.

Employer implications

Employers should monitor the progress of the proposed changes, especially those concerning collective dismissals (which have not been well received by labor unions), and be ready to adjust their policies once legislation is final.