Verbal firing illegal

An employer or company has no right to verbally terminate any employee for any reason, Acting Director of the Public Authority for Manpower Abdullah Al-Mutawtah said. The labor law in the private sector stipulates that termination should be done through an official letter signed by the employer and has a specified date, while an employee is given the legal 90 days’ termination period, he explained. “Verbal termination is a violation to the labor law, and such practice is subject to punishment according the law,” he explained. — Al-Anbaa

Natural reserves

Kuwait plans to carry out the ‘largest environmental rehabilitation project in the world’ by creating five major natural reserves over a total area of 1,600 square kilometers, said a source at the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources. The $470 million project is expected to finish in 2022, he added. — Al-Anbaa

Education’s budget

The Ministry of Education is requesting a KD 1.6 billion budget to cover its expenses for the 2017/2018 fiscal year, Assistant Undersecretary for Financial Affairs Yousuf Al-Najjar said. The budget was recently prepared and submitted to the Finance Ministry for approval, he added. — Al-Rai

Genetic records

Kuwait is studying a project to collect genome data for Kuwaiti citizens in order to create a genetic record for each individual that can be used to prevent genetic diseases and help cut spending on medicine, said Dr Laila Bastaki, Head of the Kuwait Medical Genetics Center. The project can be applied on all Kuwaitis or certain families, she added. —Al-Rai

Environmental reports

The Environment Public Authority (EPA) made a request to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to compel companies working in Kuwait to present periodic environmental monitoring reports for developmental and industrial projects, sources said. This condition should also cover projects that require environmental and social impact studies before being executed, they added. — Al-Qabas