Commercial establishments in Bahrain are being urged to appoint a Wage Responsible Person by February 1 to avoid potential legal complications.
The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) issued a reminder on social media, stressing that the appointment is a mandatory requirement under the Wage Protection System (WPS).
The designated individual will be responsible for ensuring all employees have active bank accounts with accurate details and that salaries are paid on time.
LMRA urged companies to complete the appointment by the end of January to avoid penalties.
“In line with the regulatory requirements of the WPS, we would like to remind employers to appoint a worker within the establishment by no later than February 1 to avoid any potential implications that may affect your procedures,” the statement said.
“The appointee ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and protects the rights of employers and the employees.”
The Wage Responsible Person will oversee key tasks, including designating a ‘maker’ and a ‘checker’ to verify that salary payments are accurate and properly processed.
A ‘maker’ is responsible for creating or initiating a transaction, while a ‘checker’ reviews and authorises it before processing. This dual-control system ensures accuracy, prevents fraud and enforces compliance by requiring a mandatory second pair of eyes for critical tasks such as fund transfers or user access changes.
The Wage Responsible Person should create the company’s profile on WPS, entering the establishment’s bank account details and inputting or updating employee personal information, including salaries.
They will also have to upload, process and confirm the salary file on the system. The file includes information such as CPR number, the worker’s name, IBAN number, fixed salary, total salary for the month, and salary for the year. The file is downloadable on the LMRA’s website at lmra.gov.bh.
In order to assign a Wage Responsible Person, the companies will need to login to the Expat Management System using the advanced eKey of the Commercial Registration.
They should then select the Assign Wage Responsible Person option, and fill in required information, including the person’s CPR number, date of birth, nationality, email and phone number.
The chosen employee will receive a notification approving the role by logging into Expat Management System (EMS) using their own eKey.
The WPS was launched in 2021 by the government agency, with the first phase covering employers with 500 or more Bahraini and expatriate workers.
The second phase launched the same year included employers with 50 to 499 workers, while the final phase was for establishments with 49 or fewer employees.
Non-payment of salaries is one of the main labour complaints being tackled by the authorities with several cases reported over the years where construction workers were not paid for months.
The GDN reported in October that employers were urged to encourage their staff to open a bank account for mandatory salary transfer every month ahead of the launch of an updated WPS later that month.
The system aims to protect the rights of foreign employees, especially low-income workers, who are sometimes paid in cash without a salary slip – resulting in exploitation. It also aims to crack down on non-payment of wages by employers.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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