Oman has a regulation made only for domestic workers. It is Ministerial Decision (MD) 574/2025, and it started on 13 October 2025. This guide explains your main rights under it in simple words. It also tells you where to get help.
The rights in this regulation are the minimum. Your contract can give you better terms. But any agreement that gives you less, or asks you to give up a right, has no effect (Article 3).
You never pay to use OmanHousemaids. Nobody should ask you for money to get a job.
Who these rights cover
The regulation covers 12 jobs (Article 2). They include:
- housemaid (domestic worker);
- nanny;
- private driver;
- home health assistant;
- private nurse;
- home cook;
- gardener.
It also covers farm workers, guards of residential buildings, and workers who look after camels, livestock or horses.
Two basic rules apply to everyone:
- You must be 21 or older (Article 6).
- You must have a work licence before you start work (Article 11). You may work only for the employer you are licensed to (Article 9). Our guide Finding domestic work in Oman explains this rule.
Your safety comes first
Your employer must treat you well, and protect your dignity, safety and health (Article 13). The regulation bans:
- forced work of any kind (Article 4);
- violence and harassment of any kind (Article 4);
- dangerous work that puts your safety, health or dignity at risk (Article 13).
If you are in danger, get help first:
- 9999 is the Royal Oman Police emergency number.
- 800 77 444 is the Royal Oman Police hotline. Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says to call it if you think you are a victim of human trafficking, or you think someone else is.
The Ministry of Labour can act on a complaint. When a worker complains, the employer must let Ministry officers speak to the worker (Article 12).
Your passport, and money you never pay
Your passport is yours. Your employer may not keep your passport or personal documents unless you agree in writing (MD 574/2025, Article 5). The Labour Law says the same (Article 6). Read any paper carefully before you sign it.
Your employer must keep a file with a copy of your passport and residence card (Article 17). A copy is enough. It is a good idea to keep your own copies too, for example photos on your phone of your passport, residence card and contract.
You never pay to get or keep a job.
- Your employer may not take any money from you for bringing you to Oman, for employing you, or for moving you to a new employer (Article 7).
- Nobody, including a recruitment office, may take money from a worker in return for a job (Labour Law, Article 31).
Your contract
- In writing. Your contract must be written in Arabic, or in another language with an Arabic copy that you both accept. There are two copies, one for you and one for your employer (Article 19).
- No written contract? You can still prove your rights with any kind of proof (Article 19).
- What it must say. Your employer's details and your details, your start date and probation period, your job, your place of work, your working hours and rest, and your monthly salary and pay date (Article 19).
- Registered with the Ministry of Labour. Your employer must register the contract online (Article 19). The Ministry's service asks the worker to approve the contract (e-service 305). Read it before you approve.
- Probation. A trial period, called probation, can be up to 15 days, and only once with the same employer. Either of you can end the contract during probation with 7 days' notice. Probation counts as time in service (Article 20).
- Renewal. If you both keep working after the contract ends, it continues on the same terms. If one of you does not want to renew, that person must tell the other at least 2 months before the end date (Article 21).
Hours, rest days and leave
Working hours. Your contract sets your hours. MD 574/2025 caps the working day at 12 hours with at least 8 hours' rest; how breaks count is a question for legal counsel (Article 22).
Extra hours. Your employer can ask you to work up to 2 extra hours a day. This is allowed only if you agree in writing, and you must get extra pay based on your daily wage (Article 22).
Weekly rest day. You get at least one paid rest day every week (Article 23). Your employer can ask you to work on your rest day only if you agree in writing. Then you must get an extra day's pay on top of your normal pay, or another rest day instead.
Sick leave. If a certificate from an approved medical provider shows you are sick, you get up to 30 days of paid sick leave a year. Your employer may not make you work while you are on sick leave (Article 24).
Annual leave. You get at least 21 days of paid annual leave for each year of work (Article 25).
- You and your employer agree when you take it. You can split it into parts.
- You can take money instead of leave days only if you agree in writing.
- If your job ends before you use all your leave, you must be paid for the days left.
All leave counts as time in service (Article 26).
Your pay
- On time. Your salary is paid in Omani rials, unless you agree on another legal currency. It must be paid within 7 days of the pay date in your contract (Article 27).
- Proof of payment. Your employer proves they paid you by your signature in a pay record, or by a payment into your account at a bank in Oman (Article 28). Only sign for money you have received.
- Deductions. Your employer may take money from your salary only in three cases (Article 29):
- you lost or damaged the employer's things on purpose or through carelessness;
- a court or official decision orders it;
- you have a written loan agreement with your employer. The employer may not charge interest.
In every case, deductions can never be more than one quarter of your salary.
- Minimum wage. Oman has no minimum wage for migrant workers. Your salary is what your contract says. Some embassies set a minimum salary for contracts they approve, so ask your embassy.
- Keep your own records. The Ministry of Labour says household employers do not have to use its Wage Protection System yet. Write down the date and amount of every payment you receive.
Food, room and health insurance
Your employer must give you:
- food and a suitable place to live (Article 13);
- the tools and supplies you need for your work (Article 13);
- health insurance (Article 16);
- free transport to and from work, if you live outside your employer's home (Article 15).
Your room must (Article 14):
- have good air flow, light and air conditioning;
- have safe doors, windows and ceiling;
- have a good bed and a cupboard for your things;
- have a clean, safe toilet with good air flow and light.
You also have duties (Articles 14 and 18). You must keep your room clean. You must treat the family well, especially children, older people and people with disabilities. You must look after the family's property and keep their private matters private. You must follow their instructions, unless an instruction is against the law or your contract, or puts you in danger.
Leaving or ending a job
End-of-service pay. When your job ends, you get half a month's salary for each year of service, and a share for part of a year (Article 31). Two important limits:
- Only service from 13 October 2025 counts.
- You get nothing if your service is less than 2 years.
Your employer can take off money you owe them.
Final pay. If you are moving to a new employer, you must get everything you are owed within 5 days of your last working day. If you are going home, you must get it at least 3 days before you travel (Article 32).
Your ticket home. Your employer must send you home, or to another country you agree, within 30 days after the contract ends, unless you move to a new employer. You can ask for a clearance letter (Article 34). If you end your contract early without a lawful reason, you pay for your own ticket (Article 33).
When you may leave early and keep your rights (Article 36). You may end your contract early, without waiting for the notice period, and keep all your rights, including end-of-service pay and compensation, if:
- your employer has not paid your full salary for more than 2 months in a row, or has broken their duties under the regulation or your contract;
- your employer cheated you about the job terms when you signed;
- your employer or a family member behaves indecently towards you;
- your employer or a family member attacks you in a way that harms your body, your life or your dignity;
- there is a serious danger to your safety or health, your employer knows about it, and does not fix it.
You must tell your employer that you are ending the contract. Before you do, get advice from the Ministry of Labour or your embassy, and keep any proof you have.
When your employer may end your contract without end-of-service pay (Article 35). This includes if you attack the family, break the privacy of the home, or are absent without an acceptable reason for more than 3 days in a row or more than 7 separate days in one year.
Work abandonment reports. If you stop going to work for more than 7 days in a row and your employer cannot contact you, they can register a "work abandonment" report (Ministry of Labour e-service 254). If you have a good reason, you can object for free through e-service 233. Act quickly: the rules give you 60 days. If the Ministry finds the report was correct and your objection had no good reason, you can be fined 400 to 800 Omani rials (MD 270/2018, Article 19), so get advice first.
Changing employer. The legal way is explained in Finding domestic work in Oman. The new employer pays the government fee of 5 Omani rials. You pay nothing.
Where to get help
Emergencies and trafficking
- 9999: Royal Oman Police emergency number.
- 800 77 444: Royal Oman Police hotline for human trafficking.
Ministry of Labour
- Call centre: 80077000. Start here for problems with pay, hours, leave or your contract.
- Online or at a Sanad office. On mol.gov.om you can use these free services:
- e-service 215 to report a violation;
- e-service 213 to make a labour complaint. You can log in with your civil ID, passport or visa details.
- Both pages talk about complaints and reports against companies, so call 80077000 to ask which service to use for a household employer.
- Disputes. A labour dispute goes to the Ministry of Labour first, to try to settle it (Labour Law, Article 9). If it goes to court, you pay no court fees at any stage (MD 574/2025, Article 37).
- Your recruitment office. If an office brought you to Oman, it can tell the Ministry about your problem for you (Article 38).
Other organisations
- General Federation of Oman Workers: +968 2230 0500, gfow.om.
- Oman Human Rights Commission: you can send a report through ohrc.om.
Your embassy
Many embassies in Muscat have a labour or welfare section for their workers. These contacts were checked in September 2026:
- India: Community Welfare, toll-free 80071234.
- Philippines: Migrant Workers Office Oman, +968 9355 7931, mwo_oman@dmw.gov.ph.
- Sri Lanka: toll-free hotline 80007877; Employment and Welfare WhatsApp +968 2460 0231.
- Nepal: Labour section email eonmuscatlabour@mofa.gov.np.
If your country is not listed, look for your embassy's website and its labour or welfare section.
Keep proof. Keep copies of your passport, residence card and contract. Write down pay dates and amounts. Save messages about your work. Proof helps if you need to make a complaint.