Employee Rights After a Job Termination in Qatar

Employee Rights After a Job Termination in Qatar

Find out what the law says in case you're ever terminated or if you choose to leave your current job.

The Qatar Labour has an extensive section discussing the rights and obligations of employees in the event that they choose to resign or if they are terminated by their employer.

These laws help ensure that both the employee and employer retain their rights and serve their obligations towards each other.

Here’s all you should know…

Notice period

The notice period needs to be given by the party that’s terminating the contract and it depends on the employee’s period of service.

For employees who receive their wages monthly:

Five years or less: One month notice

More than five years: Two months’ notice

For employees who receive their wages hourly, daily or weekly

Less than one year: One week notice

More than one year but less than five: two weeks’ notice

More than five years: One month notice

Failing to give the appropriate notice means that the party terminating the contract will have to pay compensation to the other party. The compensation should be an amount equivalent to the wage of the notice period or what’s remaining of it.

Wages and other sums

The employee is entitled to his salary in full for the notice period. The salary and any other owed sums have to be paid to the employee before the end of the day after the notice period ends.

If the employee has leave days which he has not taken, the employee is then entitled to payment in lieu of his annual leave.

The employee may also be entitled to end of service gratuity. 

End of Service Gratuity in Qatar

If you're about to leave your job, here are the laws in Qatar that you should know concerning your end of service gratuity.

End of Service (EOS) gratuity is a part of the Qatar Labour Law that stipulates a sum of money is to be paid to an outgoing employee. The terms will be included in the employee’s contract. These contracts are normally terminated once their duration has passed OR prematurely under several conditions i.e. employee termination or resignation.

Here are the excerpts pertaining to gratuity from the Qatar Labour Law, Law No 14 of the Year 2004. 

Article (51)

The worker may terminate the service contract before its expiry. date if the contract is of a definite duration and without giving reasons for the termination if the contract is of an indefinite duration and retains his full right to obtain the end of service gratuity in the following cases:

 If the employer commits a breach of his obligations under the service contract or the provisions of this law.

 If the employer or his responsible manager commits a physical assault or immoral act upon the worker or any of his family member.

 If the employer or his representative has misled the worker at the time of entering into the service contract as to the terms and conditions of the work.

 If continuance with the work endangers the safety and health of the worker provided that the employer is aware of the danger and does not take the necessary steps to remove it.

Article (54)

In addition to any sums to which the worker is entitled to upon the expiry of his service, the employer shall pay the end of service gratuity to the worker who has completed employment of one year or more. This gratuity shall be agreed upon by the two parties, provided that it is not less than a three-week wage for every year of employment. The worker shall be entitled to gratuity for the fractions of the year in proportion to the duration of employment.

The worker’s service shall be considered continous if it is terminated in cases other than those stipulated in article 61 of this Law and is returned to service within two months of its termination.

The last basic wage shall be the base for the calculation of the gratuity.

The employer is entitled to deduct from the service gratuity the amount due to him by the worker.

Article (55)

If the worker dies during the employment for whatsoever causes, the employer shall within a period not exceeding fifteen days from the date of death deposit with the court any wages or entitlements due to the worker in addition to the gratuity. The depositing record shall contain a detailed report indicating the method of calculating the sums referred to and a copy of the record shall be delivered to the Department.

The court shall distribute the deposited sums amongst the heirs of the deceased worker in accordance with the provisions of the Islamic Sharia or the personal law applicable in the country of the deceased and if three years lapse from the date of depositing without the person entitled to the deposited sums being known the court shall transfer the said sums to the public fund of the State.

Article (56)

The employer who maintains a retirement system or a similar system which secures for the worker a greater benefit than the end of service gratuity to which the worker is entitled under the provisions of Article (54) of this law shall not be obligated to pay to the worker the end of service gratuity in addition to the benefit available to the worker under the said system. 

If the net benefit accruing to the worker under the said system is less than the end of service gratuity the employer shall pay to the worker the end of service gratuity and return to him any sum whereby the worker may have contributed to the said system.

The worker may choose to receive either the end of service gratuity or the pension accruing to him under the said system.

Article (59)

The disciplinary penalties which may be inflicted on the workers are:

1. Notification, which shall be deemed to have been achieved by a written letter to the worker containing a notification of the violation he has committed and requesting him not to repeat the commission thereof and warning him of the infliction of a severer penalty in case of repetition.
2. Deduction from the wage of the worker for a period not exceeding five days in respect of one violation.
3. Suspension from work together with non-payment of the wage for a period not exceeding five days in respect of one violation.
4. Suspension from work without payment or with reduced payment pending the adjudication upon the criminal charge attributed to the worker and if the worker is acquitted or if the charge against him has been dropped the suspension shall be deemed to have never taken place and the worker shall be paid his entitlements during the suspension period.
5. Postponement of the grant of annual increment for a period not exceeding six months or the non-payment therefrom in the establishments which maintain increments systems.
6. Postponement of promotion for a period not exceeding one year in the establishments which maintain promotion systems.
7. Dismissal from work with payment of the end of service gratuity.
8. Dismissal from work and non-payment of the end of service gratuity.

Article (61)

The employer may dismiss the worker without notice and without payment of the end of service gratuity in the following instances

1. If the worker assumes a false identity or nationality o r submits false certificates or documents.
2. If the worker commits an act which causes gross financial loss to the employer provided that the employer shall notify the Department of the incident within twenty four hours from the time of his being aware thereof.
3. If the worker violates more than once the written instructions of the employer concerning the safety of the workers and the establishment despite his being notified in writing of the violation provided that these instructions shall be written and posted up in a conspicuous place.
4. If the worker fails more than once to carry out his essential duties under the service contract or this law despite his having been notified in writing thereof.
5. If the worker discloses the secrets of the establishment where he is employed.
6. If the worker is found during the working hours in a state of drunkenness or under the influence of a drug.
7. If the worker commits an assault on the person of the employer, the manager or one of his supervisors in the work during the work or by reason thereof.
8. If the worker repeats his assault on his colleagues in work despite his being warned in writing thereof.
9. If the worker absents himself from work without legitimate cause for more than seven consecutive days or fifteen days in one year.
10. If the worker has been finally sentenced for a crime involving immorality or dishonesty.

Article (72)

The wage of the worker during the annual or sick leave and his end of service gratuity shall be calculated on the basis of his basic wage on the date of entitlement and if the worker is employed on a piece-by-piece work basis the entitlement shall be calculated on the basis of his average wages for the three months preceding the date of entitlement.