المملكة: Lawyer for "today": manipulation "My presence" Forgery is punishable by imprisonment and summary dismissal

The legal researcher, Abdel-Malik Al-Fassi, warned against the tampering of some educational and administrative personnel in proving Attendanceand departure via the application "My presence" From outside the workplace, it is considered a full-fledged crime of forgery, the perpetrator of which is subject to criminal penalties including imprisonment and a fine.

He explained that severe disciplinary measures may lead to dismissal from service, based on what is included in Article Two regarding methods of forgery in the system.

Forgery crimes are a dividing line for such practices.

He explained to "today"“The article explicitly stipulates that: ‘Whoever forges a valid signature or fingerprint in a written document by deception is considered an outright forgery crime, and the penalty for it may reach three years in prison and a fine not exceeding 300,000 riyals, or one of these two penalties.’ This text means that the case goes beyond being an administrative violation, to fall within the scope of the criminal law, where the violating employee can find himself facing a judicial ruling.” “With imprisonment.”

Al-Fassi added, “When an employee changes the coordinates of his location, he deliberately submits a false statement in an official electronic document with the aim of obtaining an undeserved benefit, which is his salary, and this is one of the concepts of forgery. Therefore, the criminal punishment here exists and is independent of the administrative penalties imposed by the employer.”

In addition to the criminal punishment, the legal researcher detailed the administrative procedures that the violating employee will face in accordance with civil service regulations, saying: “Administratively, accountability begins through the model approved by the Ministry of Labor system in a progressive manner, which includes a written warning, then deduction from the salary not to exceed 60 days per year, and deprivation of the annual bonus, up to dismissal from service as a punishment.” “Ultimate.”

He stressed that this disciplinary measure is also based on the civil service system, which established the principle of “pay for work.” Tampering with proof of attendance is, in essence, an attempt to receive wages unjustly.

The Ministry had circulated to all education departments the necessity of applying the fingerprint via “My Attendance” to all employees without exception, including school guards appointed to the Ministry’s staff. To ensure complete discipline.

She stressed that school principals bear a direct legal responsibility in holding accountable any employee who is absent, late, or tampers with proof of attendance, and that any laxity in implementing the regulations will expose the principal to accountability on charges of negligence in performing his job duties.

The Ministry of Education adopted a flexible path in implementing the system "My presence" Concerning proving the attendance and departure of male and female teachers, with the aim of overcoming the problems resulting from technical malfunctions that may delay logging in or leaving.

The new flexibility included granting school principals the power to manually modify attendance or dismissal times, in cases where it is proven that a malfunction has occurred in the application, such as a suspension of the system or a delay in its response when trying to register a fingerprint.

According to the updated mechanism, the school principal can now modify the teacher’s attendance time to match the actual time of his arrival, in the event that the application fails to register the fingerprint. For example, if a teacher arrives at 6:30 a.m. and is unable to register due to a technical malfunction until 6:50 a.m., the principal has the right to correct the time to ensure that the teacher is not harmed.

It is noted that "My presence" It is a smart system that relies on Internet of Things technologies, and uses a face, voice, or finger print to record attendance. It comes within the ministry’s direction towards complete digital transformation and ensuring the highest levels of accuracy of job discipline.