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Updated March 2021

 

KEY LEGISLATION

PRIVATE SECTORS (OTHER THAN DOMESTIC WORKERS)

Labour Law No. 14 of 2004, and Entry, Exit and Residence Law No. 21 of 2015.

DOMESTIC WORKERS

Law No. 15 of 2017 Concerning Domestic Workers.

RECRUITMENT

RECRUITMENT FEES

It is clearly prohibited by the Labour Law to charge workers recruitment fees or expenses or any other costs.

Employers are prohibited from deducting recruitment fees, charges or expenses from workers’ pay.

PASSPORT CONFISCATION

It is illegal for employers to confiscate passports. Persons engaging in such act may be subject to fines of up to 25,000 Qatari riyal (QAR) (US$6,865).

Employers are required to provide accommodation that includes personal storage facilities for each worker where they can keep their personal belongings and documents, including passports. This storage must be lockable and accessible to workers at any time.

The passport can only be kept in the employers’ custody with the written consent of the worker. However, the employer must return the passport to the worker upon request.

WORKING CONDITIONS

CONTRACT

Contracts must be in Arabic and authenticated by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (ADLSA). It is possible to attach to the Arabic version a translated one in another language. ADLSA issued a standard contract in 2016 in Arabic and English, to be used by recruiters and employers.

A copy is handed to each party to the contract.

MINIMUM WAGE

A non-discriminatory minimum wage was introduced by Law No. 17 of 2020 and entered into force in March 2021. It applies to all workers regardless of their nationality and the sector in which they work, including domestic work and other sectors not covered by the Labour Law. The accompanying Ministerial Decision No. 25 of 2020 stipulates a minimum basic wage of QAR1,000 (US$275), and minimum allowances for food and accommodation of QAR300 (US$82) and QAR500 (US$137), respectively.

WORKING HOURS

The Rule

Eight hours per day or 48 hours per week.

Exceptions

The month of Ramadan (36 hours per week, 6 hours per day).

 

The Rule

Ten hours per day, excluding rest, food and worship breaks. 2

Exceptions

Can be longer if both parties agree.

 

Summer working hours

Working outdoors or in open spaces for more than five hours is banned during summer, from 15 June till 31 August.

Working in these same spaces during the same period is totally banned between 11.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. 3

 

REST PERIODS

One day per week, as well as daily rest break.

One day per week.

OVERTIME

The Rule

Overtime provisions are at 125 per cent of the wage, noting that the actual working hours per day cannot exceed ten hours (or two hours maximum overtime).

Exceptions

Daily working hours can exceed ten in very limited circumstances. 4

Workers who work between 9.00 p.m. and 3.00 a.m. are paid 150 per cent of their basic wage, except for shift workers.

The Domestic Workers Law does not prohibit overtime work.

However, the standard contract states that overtime work cannot exceed two hours per day. Overtime compensation is not specified by law.

PAYMENT OF WAGES

Employers have to pay wages electronically in accordance with the Wage Protection System introduced in November 2015.

It is possible for the employer to pay wages through the worker’s bank account, or in cash by virtue of a receipt signed by the worker, which confirms his/her receipt of the full wage.

Employers must pay wages at the end of the month and no later than the third day of the following month.

ANNUAL LEAVE

During the first five years

At least three weeks per year.

After this period

At least four weeks per year.

In addition to annual leave, workers are entitled to ten days of public holidays.

Three weeks per year.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

 

Employers have to provide workers with accommodation, food and healthcare free of charge.

There are no explicit legal provisions for sick leave.

END OF SERVICE GRATUITY

At least three weeks of basic salary per year to a worker who has completed employment of one year or more. The worker shall be entitled to a gratuity for fractions of a year in proportion to the duration of employment.

At least three weeks of basic salary per year to a worker who has completed employment of one year or more. The worker shall be entitled to a gratuity for fractions of a year in proportion to the duration of employment.

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

RIGHT TO JOIN TRADE UNION

Worker committees – enterprise-level unions – are permitted at establishments in which the number of Qatari workers is 100 or more.

Enterprise unions in the same industry can affiliate into an industry-wide federation. 5

GRIEVANCES AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

LODGING COMPLAINTS/ RESOLVING DISPUTES

Lodging a Complaint

Workers can submit their dispute to the ADLSA. Lodging a complaint is free of charge for workers. Workers can lodge complaints no later than one year after the end of the contract.

Special procedure for dismissed workers

  1. A dismissed worker must submit a written “grievance” within seven days of being informed of the penalty;
  2. employer has seven days to respond;
  3. if the worker disagrees with employer’s response/employer does not respond, the worker has seven days to lodge their grievance with ADLSA; and
  4. if they disagree with ADLSA’s decision, they can request that the matter be transferred to the Dispute Settlement Committee.
 

Conciliation

Once a complaint is registered, the ADLSA will request the parties to attend conciliation. This is compulsory and the ADLSA will seek to resolve the dispute amicably between the parties.

 

Judicial remedies

In cases where an amicable solution is not reached, the ADLSA submits the case to a Workers’ Dispute Settlement Committee. 6 The Committee meets three times a week. It is chaired by judges of the First Instances Court and two representatives from ADLSA. During these hearings, parties should be prepared to present their evidence, explain their reasons and answer questions from the Committee.

It is possible to appeal against the decision issued by the Workers’ Dispute Settlement Committee before the Appellate Court.

SPONSORSHIP

SPONSORSHIP AND CHANGING EMPLOYERS

Legal restrictions on migrant workers’ ability to change jobs were eliminated. Law No. 19 of 2020, complemented by Ministerial Decision No. 51 of 2020, removes the requirement to obtain a no-objection certificate to change jobs for all migrant workers; while Law No. 18 of 2020 provides new rules on termination of employment.

Workers who are covered by the Labour Law, domestic workers and maritime and agricultural workers are able to change employer after their probation period, after giving written notice of one or two months, depending on their length of service. If workers wish to change employer during their probation period, they must give one month of notice and the future employer must pay the current employer compensation not exceeding two months of the worker’s basic wage.

If the worker wants to terminate the contract without observing such notice periods, the worker shall pay the employer a compensation in lieu of notice, equivalent to the worker’s basic wage for the notice period or the remaining part of the notice period.

LEAVING THE COUNTRY

Migrant workers have the right to leave the country temporarily or permanently during their contract period. However, employers may submit for approval to the ADLSA the names of workers for whom an exit permit should still be required, with a justification based on the nature of their work. The number of these workers must not exceed 5 per cent of the workforce of each institution, and exceptions cannot be requested for domestic workers.

Positions for which exit permits may be requested are limited to the following:

  • chief executive and financial officers, who bear primary responsibility for the financial affairs of an establishment, including financial planning, financial risk management, record keeping and financial reporting;
  • director in charge of supervising the daily operations of the business; and
  • director of information and communication technology.

If a worker is not able to leave the country, regardless of the reason, he/she can appeal to the Expatriates’ Exit Appeals Committee, which will issue a decision within three working days.

  1. This factsheet was prepared by the ILO FAIRWAY Programme, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. It was reviewed by ILO colleagues with the Technical Cooperation Programme between Qatar and the ILO.
  2. Period of rest breaks not specified.
  3. Ministerial Resolution No. 16 of 2007.
  4. Per article 74 of the Labour Law, workers may be required to work beyond ten hours in a day if “the overtime work is necessary for the prevention of gross loss or dangerous accident or for mitigation of the consequences of the said loss or accident”.
  5. Labour Law, article 116.
  6. Created in 2018 by the Council of Ministers Decision No. 6.