Termination of Domestic Workers' Employment Contracts and Their Legal Effects in Jordanian Legislation

Abstract

The employment contract for domestic workers represents a special form of labor relations, governing the work of those employed in private households and similar categories, given their direct contact with the employer and their family, in addition to their exposure to private matters. For this reason, the Jordanian legislator issued a special regulation governing the employment of domestic workers. However, this regulation does not specify the mechanisms for terminating domestic work contracts or the rights that domestic workers may claim upon termination. Herein lies the problem addressed by this study.

This study aims to clarify the concept of domestic workers' employment contracts, to examine the mechanisms for terminating such contracts, and to explore the legal consequences of contract termination — whether by the domestic worker or the employer. To achieve this, the researchers adopted both descriptive and analytical methodologies.

The study reached several conclusions, the most important of which is that the legislator did not provide a specific mechanism for terminating domestic work contracts, but rather set forth the procedure to be followed after the expiry of a fixed-term contract. It also determined two cases in which a domestic worker has the right to terminate the contract unilaterally: in the case of sexual or physical assault by the employer, and in the case of a serious violation of any of the worker’s fundamental rights.

The study offers several recommendations, most notably the need to amend the Regulation for Domestic Workers, Gardeners, Cooks, and Those in Similar Positions, by adding a provision similar to that found in the Agricultural Workers Regulation, stipulating the application of the provisions of the Labor Law in cases not covered by the regulation.