Kuwait on Friday allowed private sector workers to take on a second part-time job after getting approval from their original employer. The policy will take effect from early January next year, Gulf News quoted Kuwaiti media as saying.

However, the policy will allow a maximum of four hours per day for the second job and will require an additional permit from the Kuwaiti Public Authority of Manpower (PAM).

Meanwhile, the contracting sector is exempt from the limit of four hours owing to a labour shortage.

The announcement was made after a decree issued by the Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Talal Al Khalid.

According to reports, the policy has been introduced to make use of manpower already available in Kuwait instead of recruiting workers from abroad.

The move will help address the demographic imbalance in the country while meeting the job market needs.

The authorities have also been directed to assist employers to allow their employees to work online in jobs that can be without the need to report to the workplace.

Gulf News reported that illegal foreign residents are estimated at 150,000 in Kuwait.

Kuwait has recently toughened measures against illegal foreign residents and warned that any expatriate covering up an unlawful resident will be deported too.