Saudi Arabia has introduced a midday work ban to protect the safety and health of workers operating in direct sunlight at the hottest point of the day.

Started on June 15 and running through to September 15, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) announced the ban, which extends to all private sector companies.

تأكيداً على القيم الإنسانية، وتعزيزاً لجاذبية بيئة العمل في السوق السعودي؛ يأتي قرار #حظر_العمل_تحت_أشعة_الشمس للحفاظ على سلامة وصحة العاملين، ورفع إنتاجيتهم، وذلك في إطار الجهود المبذولة بين @HRSD_SA والمجلس الوطني للسلامة والصحة المهنية؛ لتطبيق القرار اعتباراً من 15 يونيو 2023. pic.twitter.com/Bp0fETVhaa

— أحمد سليمان الراجحي (@Ahmed_S_Alrajhi) June 12, 2023

Saudi Arabia is currently in the midst of a construction boom, with many projects centred around tourism, culture and visitor attractions. The kingdom is set to invest a further US$800bn on top of the US$1tn investment it has already made in tourism, with even more new projects set to come up in the kingdom over the course of the next decade

The ban will be in effect daily between 12:30pm until 3:00pm.

Read more on Saudi Arabia’s tourism investments here