RIYADH — In an update to the “remote-work” guideline issued on Monday, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on Wednesday announced new rules for private sector businesses to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Accordingly, the ministry instructed private sector establishments to suspend work for 15 days, and instead activate remote work procedures, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. The measures also include reducing the number of employees in offices to essential staff immediately for the smooth conduct of work and the availability of supply chains, while ensuring they abide by the precautionary measures set by the Ministry of Health. According to the guidelines, the technical system should facilitate for the firm or company to manage the productivity of the remote worker and supervise the assigned tasks and functions. The remote workers must have the authority to perform their work duties. The company must specify the method of work for its personnel working remotely, in terms of the working hours. The company should specify if the work hours are fixed; or are flexible during the day, week or month. It should also specify the mechanism for monitoring, following up and managing the productivity of its workers.