The Real Rules on Second Jobs and Side Businesses

Picture this example: Maryam works reception at a clinic in Ruwi for OMR 500 a month, and a friend has just offered her weekend shifts at his café. Before she says yes, she needs one answer: in Oman, whether you can legally take a second job depends on what kind of worker you are, and what your existing contract already says. Get it wrong, and the extra income could put your main job at risk.

Three kinds of worker, three different answers

Oman does not have one single rule for second jobs. The answer changes depending on which of three groups you fall into: an Omani working in the private sector, a government employee, or an expatriate worker on a company work permit. Each group faces a different test before taking on extra paid work.

• Private sector, Omani national: allowed in principle, but your current contract and the type of second job both matter.
• Government employee: outside paid work is usually tightly controlled, and written permission from your ministry is the safer assumption.
• Expatriate worker: your work permit is tied to one employer, so a second job needs that employer to involve the Ministry of Labour first.

If you work in the private sector

Oman's Labour Law does not contain a blanket ban on Omani private-sector employees taking a second job. What it does say is that employees must not compete with their own employer, and it allows an employer to write a non-compete clause into your contract that stays valid for up to two years after you leave, if your role gives you access to trade secrets or customer relationships.

So the real test is not "am I allowed a second job", it is "does this second job compete with my current employer, and does my contract already restrict it". A salon employee taking evening shifts at a friend's grocery store is a very different case from a salon employee quietly doing hair and beauty work for cash on the side.

The official part-time route

Since January 2025, the Ministry of Labour has run a formal system for exactly this situation. Ministerial Decision 13/2025 lets Omani citizens, including people who already hold a full-time job, take on a registered part-time position through the ministry's own online portal.

1. Open only to Omani nationals: job seekers, retirees, students, and people already employed.
2. Working hours: at least 4 hours a day, no more than 25 hours a week.
3. Minimum pay: OMR 3 an hour, unless the ministry approves a lower rate in advance.
4. Paperwork: the second employer sends a written contract through mol.gov.om, and you personally accept or reject it online.
5. Social protection: your part-time hours must also be registered with the Social Protection Fund.
6. Exit: either side can end the arrangement with three working days' written notice.

None of the published rules for this route mention needing your main employer's sign-off. That does not cancel whatever your own contract already says. If your contract carries an exclusivity or non-compete clause, that clause still sits on top of the ministry's part-time rules.

Ministerial decisions like this one get updated more often than most people expect. If you want a simple way to keep an eye on what changes and when, our guide on where to check what the rules changed this week covers exactly that.

If you work for the government

If you are a civil servant, do not assume the private-sector part-time route above covers you. Government employment in Oman usually comes with tighter limits on outside paid work, and the exact wording of that specific rule was not confirmed in the official sources checked for this article. Ask your ministry's human resources office in writing before you start anything, so the answer is on record and not just a verbal yes from a colleague.

If you are an expat employee

For non-Omani workers, the rule is stricter and clearer. Your work permit, the document that lets you legally work in Oman, is issued to one named employer. Taking a second job on the side, even a few hours a week, without your employer notifying the Ministry of Labour and getting it authorised, counts as unauthorised work. Oman's Labour Law sets out real penalties for this: fines, and in serious cases prosecution or deportation, sometimes at the employer's expense too.

A worked example you can redo

Here is how Maryam, the clinic receptionist from the start of this article, worked through her own numbers before saying yes to the café shifts. Swap in your own salary and hours to run the same check.

What this means for you

Start with your own contract, not with what a friend told you over coffee. Reread the clause about exclusivity, confidentiality, or competing with your employer before you agree to anything.

• Omani, private sector: check your contract first, then use the ministry's part-time portal if it is a real job, not cash-in-hand work.
• Opening a side business instead of taking a job: make sure it does not compete directly with your employer's trade, and register it properly in your own name.
• Government employee: get permission in writing from your ministry before you start. Do not assume the private-sector route applies to you.
• Expat worker: ask your employer to route any second job through the Ministry of Labour, or turn the offer down. Do not take cash quietly on the side.

The bottom line

A second job or a side business is not automatically against the rules in Oman, but it is never automatically fine either. The real answer sits in your own contract and in which of the three categories you belong to. Check both before you say yes, not after your employer finds out on their own.