Headcount Reduction In The GCC

Written by Sara Khoja, Rebecca Ford and Jack Fletcher

With economic commentators predicting a difficult 2016 employers across the region may be forced to look at staffing levels. With commodity prices struggling to recover, the Chinese stock market losing 8% of its value on the first trading day of the year and with oil prices remaining low, it is no wonder that the first trend of 2016 looks set to be the implementation of cost reduction measures. More often than not, this means reducing the workforce.

In this article we examine the issues involved when an employer reduces headcount together with the various regulations applicable across the GCC.

An Employer's ability to lawfully reduce headcount