The Ministry of Health (MOH) has set a certain condition (improving health services and ensuring the provision of high-quality healthcare) in order for employees to get the excellence allowance. It was made clear that, over the past three years, no technical or administrative punitive action was taken against health practitioners.
His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, for his part, has given his directives for the MOH officials at the various health regions, as well as the supervisors of medical cities, to give the excellence allowance to eligible MOH employees, under the conditions and regulations of the allowance, as of the issuance of the ministerial resolution on 21/11/2011, after completing the allowance form enclosed, so that the eligible employees will be automatically chosen by the Personnel Affairs e-System.
This directive given by Dr. Al-Rabeeah comes in concordance with the Cabinet Decision no. 178, dated 25/5/2009, which has to do with the allowances of (scarcity, training, supervision, and excellence). Such allowances are given to Saudi health practitioners under the conditions and regulations prescribed in the decision taken by the Minister of Civil Service, and the decision taken by the Minister of Health implying the approval of the regulations stipulated in the memorandum of the committee formed by the representatives of the health authorities making up the Council of Health Services (CHS), including the regulations of the excellence allowance. The decision is supposed to be carried out by manpower associated competent departments at health facilities. The decision no. 2/1616, dated 24/5/2011, taken by His Excellency the Minister of Civil Service, stipulates adding the full-time allowance the basic salary of physicians and pharmacists when calculating the allowances determined to a certain percentage of the level assumed by the physician or pharmacist. Another decision by the Minister of Civil Service obligates adding the over-time allowance to the basic salary of specialists, technicians and health assistants when calculating the allowances determined to a certain percentage of the level assumed by the specialist, technician or health assistant, in accordance with the list of health jobs.
The conditions of the excellence allowance given to all Saudi health practitioners include the fulfillment of all the terms of the basic element (according to the detailed account put down in the excellence eligibility form). Without the fulfillment of this condition, no allowance will be given. The basic element includes: getting "excellent" in the final staff appraisal of the last two years, discipline, productivity, and ensuring that no punitive actions have been taken against the allowance-nominee over the past three years.
Among the conditions to be met by the employee to get the excellence allowance, also, is to achieve one of the following requirements to get 10% of the first-degree salary, or two requirements to get 20%, or three requirements (at best) to get 30% - these conditions are: getting prizes or awards from accredited entities for excellence in work, engagement in works meant to serve the society, participating with worksheets in medical forums and symposia, submitting specialized scientific researches and experiments, authoring scientific or educational books, publishing researches at peer-reviewed journals, getting a patent of a medical device, inventing a medical therapeutic formulation, or a innovating a new technique that gives rise to the medical development.
The allowance mechanism was determined as such: the employee who has got “excellent” in the final appraisal of the last two years, and meeting the aforementioned conditions, shall submit an excellence allowance form to his boss, and fill in the basic information in the excellence allowance eligibility form, with the documents proving his fulfillment of the conditions enclosed with the form.
This mechanism shall be applied to all health workers at hospitals, specialized centers, primary healthcare centers, the headquarters of health affairs directorates, the MOH Headquarters, those eligible for the allowance, as well as the eligible directors-general and directors of health affairs directorates throughout the Kingdom's regions.