Domestic-Worker Baseline Rights under MD 574/2025 in Oman

Oman Ministerial Decision 574/2025 is the most modern domestic-worker framework in the Gulf to date. Issued under Royal Decree 53/2023, it replaces the 2004 framework and gives Oman's domestic workers — and the 12 equivalent household-worker categories — an articulated baseline of rights enforceable through the Ministry of Labour.

The article-level baseline (per secondary sources pending Gazette 1617 confirmation):

• Article 8 — recruitment-fee ban; 25% deduction ceiling. The employer (not the worker) bears recruitment fees. Wage deductions cannot exceed 25%.
• Article 13 — dignity / humane-treatment baseline. The employer is bound to a treatment baseline that the Ministry of Labour can enforce.
• Article 14 — minimum housing standards. Specifies the physical-conditions floor for worker accommodation.
• Article 18 — worker duties paired with employer duties. Reciprocal obligations defining the working relationship.
• Article 31 — end-of-service gratuity. Half-month wage per year of service for workers with at least 2 years' service.
• Minimum age 21. Workers below 21 cannot legally be employed as domestic workers.
• Daily 12-hour cap with continuous 8-hour rest. Hard daily limit on working time.
• Passport retention banned. Independently unlawful regardless of contractual clauses.
• Mandatory electronic contract registration with the Ministry of Labour.
• Arabic contract with translation — Arabic prevails before MoL and the Labour Court.
• Employer-funded repatriation upon end of contract. (Secondary sources cite a 30-day window; the specific figure is pending Gazette 1617 confirmation.)

Twelve household-worker categories covered: housemaids, drivers, cooks, nannies, home nurses / elder-care workers, gardeners, residential security guards, animal handlers (household pets / livestock), and several related household roles.

Three-month grace period. When MD 574/2025 came into force, employers had three months to bring existing contracts into compliance — register them electronically, return passports, refund recruitment fees, bring housing up to Article 14 standards. That grace period is the operative reference point for breach claims being remedied prospectively.

How to enforce. File with the Ministry of Labour on 80077000 or via the MoL complaint portal. Conciliation runs for up to 30 days under Article 9 of RD 53/2023 before referral to the Oman Labour Court. The Arabic text prevails — send an Arabic translation alongside any English letter. Verification flag: article-level numbering used here relies on secondary sources (Times of Oman interview, Decree.om blog, Amnesty Oman 2025, Commitbiz). Pull Oman Official Gazette No. 1617 to confirm before citing specific articles in formal proceedings.