The Labor Relations Authority (LRA) has notified employers to pay their staff the Ramadan allowance before the start of the month of Ramadan. The agency said in an announcement yesterday that every Maldivian employee is to receive the payout before the start of the Ramadan month as per the provisions of the Employment Act. The Employment Act states that before the first day of Ramadan, every Maldivian employee will be paid a minimum of MVR 3,000 as Ramadan allowance. If the allowance is not received, a complaint should be submitted to the LRA.
"There have always been complaints that some employers are not paying the Ramadan allowance to their employees and in some instances even though they have been given the allowance, they are not being paid as per the provisions of the act," the announcement said.
The LRA had earlier said that 65 complaints were filed with the agency last year for non-payment of Ramadan allowance. Of these, 53 employees consulted with their employers and the issue was resolved and allowances were paid.
Some businesses had also been fined for not cooperating to resolve the issue.
According to the Employment Act, the first step, if an employer has not paid the allowance in time, is to advise to make the payment as soon as possible. If the offense is repeated, a fine of between MVR 5,000 and MVR 50,000 can be imposed. Measures such as revocation of government permits for employers may also be taken.
Sign In