Overtime Regulations’ Flaws under the Omani Labour Law

Bariş was employed by the Oman Aluminium Factory LLC. The agreed working hours in the employment contract were 40 hours per week; whereas the statutory maximum working hours under the Omani Labour Law is 45 hours per week. Bariş performed extra 10 hours as overtime work. The employer calculated the overtime hours based on the statutory maximum working hours and therefore deducting 5 hours from the extra hours Bariş has performed. Is the employer entitled to do so?Moreover, Bariş worked 50 hours a week during a period of 48 weeks. He claimed payment for overtime premium for the entire 48 weeks. However, the employer offered him payment for a period of 20 weeks only. The employer claimed that Bariş has obtained a written approval for the extra hours for a period of 20 weeks not 48 weeks, notwithstanding of the fact that Bariş has worked the extra hours during the whole 48 weeks. This issue raises the question of under what conditions the overtime work is allowed according to the Omani Labour Law and whether a prior approval by the employer constitutes a condition for compensating overtime work.The final issue will be discussed in this paper, is to what extent can the employer force the employee to perform overtime, in particular when the contractual working hours are less than the maximum statutory working hours. On the other hand, is it possible to require the employee to perform overtime work during the whole period of the employment contract? Does the Omani Labour Law permit this practice and if so, to what extent does this practice affect the health and safety of the employee? Keywords: Overtime (definition, conditions, premium), compulsory work, health and safety

Highlights on the law regulating the use of cash in some transactions in Qatar: An analytical study

This study delves into Qatar's legislation concerning the prohibition of cash payments in transactions exceeding fifty thousand riyals, advocating for alternative payment methods. Despite recent legislative attention, the law grapples with loopholes and ambiguity, prompting a critical examination in this research. Employing a descriptive and analytical approach, the study is structured into two sections: the first scrutinizes the rules of the cash ban and delineates transactions subject to it, while the second analyzes alternative payment methods.Notably, the research reveals that the legislator's attempt to confine the cash ban to specific transactions lacks success, as the justifications for the ban extend beyond particular scenarios. Ambiguity further surfaces in some transactions subjected to the ban, leading to the recommendation for a comprehensive amendment that removes limitations on banned transactions. Additionally, the research suggests that cash alternatives need not be solely linked to banks; instead, they should be authorized by the Central Bank and legitimately circulated within the country

Students’ Relative Attitudes and Relative Intentions to Use E-Learning Systems

Aim/Purpose This study, drawing on and extending research on the adoption of information technologies (IT), develops a research model to investigate: (1) the key relative factors that affect the adoption of e-learning versus using IT in traditional classrooms; and (2) students’ relative attitudes and relative intentions to use e-learning systems. Background Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions (HEIs) have rapidly adopted e-learning and students are now engaging with e-learning systems. These systems present a new research opportunity for examining the relative efficacy of using e-learning systems versus using IT in traditional classrooms. Although prior research has examined various types of e-learning systems in different contexts and using various methodological approaches, evidence in the literature indicates that the relative efficacy of e-learning remains uncertain as little is known about the factors that affect the adoption and use of e-learning systems during COVID-19, as there is limited academic research. Methodology The model is tested based on the perceptions of a group of 569 students of the adoption of e-learning versus using IT in traditional classrooms in the United Arab Emirates. The data were analyzed with IBM SPSS statistics 26 and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) implemented in SmartPLS 3 software. Contribution This research contributes to the literature by: (1) extending the UTAUT model to understand students’ relative attitudes and relative behavioral intentions towards using e-learning systems; (2) an extension to e-learning studies to examine relative factors affecting the adoption of e-learning systems by comparing the perceptions of the same group of students on e-learning and using IT in a traditional classroom environment in the context of COVID-19; and (3) providing valuable practical implications for HEIs to improve pedagogical approaches and e-learning systems. Findings The findings suggest that relative computer self-efficacy, relative cognitive absorption, relative system interactivity, and relative system functionality each positively influence both relative performance expectancy and relative effort expectancy, which in turn affect relative attitude; and that relative intention to use is positively affected by relative attitude and relative facilitating conditions. Recommendations for Practitioners Firstly, HEIs should feel more confident that e-learning systems indeed provide an appropriate learning approach, demonstrated by a high relative efficacy of e-learning systems perceived by the sample students in this study. Thus, it seems fitting for HEIs to use e-learning systems to enhance the development and delivery of programs and the quality of student experience, especially in the context of COVID-19. Secondly, HEIs wishing to use e-learning systems successfully should at least pay attention to a few key factors to ensure that students will have a positive attitude toward using e-learning systems. Such factors include students’ perceived usefulness of e-learning systems, developing encouraging facilitating conditions such as training, technical and IT support, thereby enabling students to use e-learning systems while enjoying their engagement with e-learning systems. Recommendation for Researchers First, this study shows that relative to using IT in a classroom environment, e-learning is favored by the students involved in this research. Second, this research indicates the value of examining relative antecedents and relative UTAUT related constructs, evaluating the relative perceptions of students, thereby understanding the relative efficacy of e-learning systems versus using IT in a traditional classroom environment in HEIs. Third, in addition to examining students’ perceptions of different learning approaches, or comparing the relative efficacy of different learning approaches based on the perceptions of different groups of students, the relative approach based on comparing the perceptions of the same group of students used in this research could offer a new way to advance our understanding of IT adoption. Finally, this study demonstrates that relative attitude, relative performance expectancy, and relative facilitating conditions are the top three vital factors that affect the adoption and use of e-learning systems during the COVID-19 crisis. Impact on Society The positive result of the students’ relative perceptions of e-learning systems suggests that private and public organizations, as well as education policy-makers in providing the learning process, could certainly use e-learning systems as a valuable means of training and/or education, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cancellation of Flights - Complicated Issues for Passengers

This paper analyses the legal basis for the carrier’s liability in the cases of cancellation of flights or denied boarding. The important question is whether cancellation cases are treated as forms of delay and therefore, the provisions of the carriage by air conventions which limit the carrier’s liability and base it on a presumed-fault is to be applied. On the other hand, there is a strong argument that cancelation and prolonged delay amount to a breach of the carriage contract by non-performance and therefore, the claim falls outside the scope of the carriage by air Conventions. The important issue is which one of these views reflects the objectives of the Conventions and which view was adopted by the UAE courts. The European Union and some countries provided specific rules for delays, cancellations and denied boarding. IATA on the other hand, recognises the right of air passengers to re-routing, refunds or compensation if the denied boarding and cancellations are within the carrier’s control. This paper discusses how wide is the application of these rules and what effects do they have on the uniform application of the Conventions on one hand. On the other hand, to what extent the existence of several rules provide protection to air consumers

The concept of 'bodily injury' under the Montreal Convention 1999

A perennial problem in applying international conventions is terminology - especially where consistency of application is important in preserving the uniformity of intemational law. Not only is the meaning of the words an issue, especially where there is an authentic version in more than one official language, but also those words must be given meaning within the jurisdiction where they are to be applied. In jurisdictions without a common law background, (the English version is one of six authentic versions), the temi would include psychiatric disorder or mental injury. In common law jurisdictions, most prominently English law the term 'bodily injury' is not used elsewhere than in these conventions, although it appears in insurance policies. The sue of protecting the consumer is a key issue under Montreal Convention. The theme of this thesis is to predict the future interpretation of the Montreal's term 'bodily injury' in the light of the spirit of the twenty-first century and the existing medical and legal sciences at the time of agreeing the Montreal Convention should include both physical and mental injuries.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The Extent of the Civil Liability of Artificial Intelligence Technologies for the Infection and the Spread of Covid-19

With the on-going situation of the global pandemic coronavirus (COVID-19) and the implementation of social-distancing measures by the higher authorities in countries around the world, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies increased especially with the rapid technological developments. AI are not harm free, thus various questions were raised by legal practitioners. The first question raised was regarding the classification of the legal status of AI bearing in mind that national and international legislations did not consider AI as a subject of law yet. The second question raised was who shall be legally liable in case harm was caused by AI technology for instance an injury caused by a robot to individuals. Hence, this paper will shed light on the concept of AI by providing the definition of AI and exploring its legal status in addition to analysing the basis and the rules of liability and the defences to avoid liability for injury resulted by AI technologies