What is GOSI and How do Small Business in Saudi Arabia Comply?
A lot of you probably already know about GOSI. GOSI is administered by the branch of the national government of KSA and is embedded in the daily lives of the citizens of Saudi Arabia. In this article, we will discuss what GOSI is and how it impacts you as an individual and a citizen of KSA.
What is the GOSI?
GOSI is the acronym for the General Organization for Social Insurance. It is KSA’s equivalent of a national social insurance system. As such, it is an institution that is part of the national government of Saudi Arabia. It handles all types of government insurance, like medical and unemployment insurances. Even though it is a national institution, GOSI is considered a financially and administratively independent organization. It was conceptualized back in 1973. The headquarters are based in Riyadh. It also has 21 field offices in different locations in KSA. All countries with the exception of the UAE has a GOSI system.
The composition of GOSI
As an independent national organization, GOSI is headed by a board composed of 13 directors. These board members consist of government officials, employers, and other insured people. The government makes sure that the board members represent the people. Because of this, board members come from different backgrounds and have different jobs from each other.
What is GOSI for?
GOSI was established back in 1973 to collect contributions. It executes the provisions set by the Social Insurance Law. It mainly focuses on collecting contributions from both employers and employees. This pooled collection is used to give out social insurance benefits to contributors and family members who need them. Its aim is to help the employees and their families get social insurance benefits that are of world-class quality.
How many members does GOSI have?
The latest open report made by GOSI was shared to the public for the second quarter of 2020. It announced that there were about 554,000 employees enrolled in the GOSI list. 498,000 of them were from micro establishments, 48,000 were from small establishments, and 8,000 were from medium establishments.
How is GOSI computed?
GOSI collects 12% of the income of Saudi employers and 10% from the income of Saudi employees. The computations of GOSI are based on the salary of the employee, which would be the total of his or her basic pay and housing allowance. These computations are then divided into three: GOSI for Saudi Nationals, GOSI for GCC Nationals or those who are part of the Corporation Council for Arab States, and GOSI for Non-Saudi Nationals.
First, let us tackle Saudi Nationals. Saudi Nationals pertain to Saudi citizens who either work for public or private corporations. For them, the GOSI total calculation would amount to 22% of the person’s maximum applicable monthly income. This 22% can then be broken down into specific figures. 9% would be given by the employee for his or her pension or annuity. The other 9% is for the employee’s pension or annuity, which would be given by the employer. 1% would be paid by the employee and another 1% would be paid by the employer for the unemployment contribution. The remaining 2% would be given by the employer for occupational hazards.
Next, we will discuss the GOSI for GCC Nationals. The exact percentile given both by the employee and the employer for contribution varies from company to company. The contribution would also depend on which GCC country the employee is from. The percentage can range from 17% to 22%. Usually, the employer would pay 9% for the employee’s pension or annuity. The rest of the money would be what the employee must shell out. Some employers also pay 2% on top of the employee’s monthly income for their hazard pay.
Lastly, we will talk about the GOSI for Non-Saudi Nationals. For their GOSI, the employer shells out 2% of their maximum applicable monthly income. The value is usually between SAR 400 and SAR 45,000. The 2% will then be the person’s unemployment contribution. Payment of GOSI can then be made through the internet banking portals of local KSA banks.
What is GOSI composed of?
Like what was mentioned earlier, GOSI has 13 members composing the board of directors. They are made up of a Chairman as the Minister of Finance, a Vice Chairman as the GOSI governor, the Governor of the Public Pension Agency, a representative from the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, three representative members from employers, three representative members of qualified contributors, and three representative members from the following ministries: Ministries of Human Resource and Social Development, Finance, and Health.
What benefits can you get from GOSI?
There are a lot of benefits you can get from GOSI. The first one would be medical care. GOSI has partnered with several hospitals around KSA. These hospitals will treat employees who get injured due to an occupational hazard. They will be given comprehensive care until their recovery. The medical care would include treatment, medicine, diagnosis, supplies, and prosthetics.
GOSI can also provide a daily allowance for employees who get injured or become disabled while being employed. The employee’s daily allowance would depend on his or her income, and GOSI can cover up to 100% of its amount for each day he or she is injured. If the employee is undergoing treatment care of GOSI, the employee can receive up to 75% of his or her expected daily income. Take note that this would only apply if the employee is on sick leave or is admitted in the hospital.
If the employee gets permanently disabled during an occupational hazard, he or she can receive 100% of his or her average wage for the last three months before the injury. If the employee applies for permanent disability benefits, he or she will be regularly examined by medical officials regularly. This is to determine if the employee can still be considered for the permanent disability benefits. He or she would be examined at regular intervals for five years. After five years, the employee is re-evaluated. The board will then decide if he or she is eligible to receive permanent disability benefits. The employee is also evaluated if he or she needs the assistance of someone else. If deemed applicable, the GOSI will also shoulder the compensation for the employee’s caregiver.
GOSI would also give compensation for employees partially injured during their employment. If the employee is partially disabled by 50-90% during an occupational hazard, the percentage of his or her disability will be the percentage GOSI will shoulder. For example, if the hospital deems the employee 50% disabled, the employee will get 50% of his or her daily income from GOSI. If the employee needs a caregiver, GOSI will pay for that as well.
When the employee becomes unemployed, he or she is eligible for unemployment benefits. This scheme is called Saned. Registered individuals can apply for Saned within 90 days of them becoming unemployed, as long as the reason for unemployment is something beyond their control. For this, GOSI gives the individual a monthly compensation while he or she is in between jobs. Aside from that, GOSI can also give the individual up to SAR 9,000 for the first three months of employment. After these three months, the individual can claim a monthly amount of up to SAR 7,500. Saned can be availed for a maximum of 12 months.
If the employee dies from an occupational hazard, the family is eligible for equal compensation. The total amount would be the employee’s weekly income or an amount from SAR 345 to SAR 1,750, whichever amount is higher.
DISCLAIMER
This article is written in general terms and therefore cannot be relied on to cover specific situations; application of the principles set out will depend upon the particular circumstances involved and we recommend that you obtain professional advice before acting or refraining from acting on any of its contents.
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