New Guidelines Protect Employee Benefits

Undersecretary Mansour Al-Daihani of the Ministry of Education has approved new guidelines for employees regarding termination of service requests. This decision addresses issues related to incomplete termination applications within the Administrative Affairs and Administrative Development Sector.

The new guidelines underscore the ministry’s commitment to ensuring employees retain their benefits when ending their service through resignation or retirement, aiming to prevent benefit losses due to lack of awareness that could affect their retirement pension.

The guidelines specify the following procedures for service termination requests:

1. Retirement Entitlement Review: Employees must consult the Public Institution for Social Security to verify their pension entitlement before submitting a termination request. A recent salary certificate should also be provided.

2. Submission Procedure: Termination requests must be submitted at the employee’s work center and approved by an authorized person according to ministerial decisions. The request should be signed by the employee or their representative, specifying the resignation or retirement date. Requests submitted after the specified termination date will not be accepted.

3. Request Date and Leave Balance: Requests submitted after the termination date will be rejected. The leave balance must be documented in both letters and numbers and approved by the relevant authority. Applications with manually altered termination dates will only be accepted if approved by the authorized person.

4. File Review and Timing: Employees should review their files with the termination of service department in their educational zone to confirm they have met the required retirement period. Requests should be submitted at least one month before the desired termination date to allow adequate processing time.

5. Supplemental Benefits and Insurance: Employees seeking benefits under Articles 1 and 42 of Law No. 8/2010 for persons with disabilities or wishing to subscribe to optional supplemental insurance under Minister of Finance’s Resolution No. 7/2019 must:
– Submit an electronic request via the Ministry’s website.
– Obtain approvals from the Public Authority for Disability Affairs and the Public Institution for Social Security.
– Attach these approvals to their official termination request.

6. Service Period Verification: Employees who have been on mission or study leave must complete a corresponding period of service upon return to avoid financial penalties as outlined in Article 32 of Civil Service Council’s Resolution No. 10/1986. They must also ensure delegation decisions are confirmed or canceled before submitting a termination request.

7. Leave Coordination: Employees must ensure no leave conflicts with the termination date. All leaves must be approved before submitting the termination request. Coordination with the Leaves and Attendance Department is required, including providing a leave extract for the last three years of service and obtaining clearance from the Supplies and Warehouses Department if applicable.

8. End-of-Service Bonus: Non-Kuwaiti employees with a second contract must submit their termination request at least one month before the contract end date to avoid losing part of their end-of-service gratuity. Requests for contract termination should be made three months before the service end date as stipulated in the contract to avoid losing a quarter of the gratuity. Employees must continue working until the termination date and avoid unapproved absences to ensure full gratuity.

The Ministry urges all employees to follow these guidelines to protect their rights.