According to Iraq's Labor Law, the employer must generally give notice before terminating an employee's employment contract. The duration of the notice period is 30 days. If the employer does not provide notice, they will be liable to pay 30 days' compensation to the employee.
If it appears to the employer that the employee is not capable of performing the assigned work during a probationary period, the employer may terminate the contract within the probation period, provided the employer provides the employee with notice sent at least 7 days before the date of termination.
Iraq's Labor Law makes it mandatory for foreign nationals working in Iraq to obtain a work permit issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Employers must apply for the permit before the employee's entry. The following documents are required to obtain the permit:
Employers must prove that the position cannot be filled by a local Iraqi worker. The permit is granted for 1 year and is renewable. Employees can only work for the employer specified in their permit, but a change can be requested by filing an application. In some cases, additional approvals, such as security clearance, may be required from the Retirement and Social Security Department and the Residence Affairs Directorate. Under the Pension and Social Security Law No. 18 of 2023, employers must pay a one-time registration fee of IQD 2,000,000 (Iraqi Dinar)per foreign national entering Iraq, paid to the Pension and Social Security Department.
Anyone employing a foreigner must notify the residency officer within 48 hours of the foreign national's employment or departure from Iraq. Anyone who brings a foreign national into the country for employment purposes must deposit financial guarantees or a valid return ticket to ensure the employee's return.
Employers must ensure that 80% of their workforce is Iraqi employees. Effective April 1, 2026 foreign employees must not exceed 50% of the project's total workforce.
Iraq's Labor Law guarantees a fully paid annual leave of 21 days to employees after at least one year of service with the same employer. Employees performing work that is arduous or harmful to health are entitled to at least 30 days of paid leave for each year of work. Leave is increased according to the number of years of service with the same employer.
An employee shall be entitled to proportional leave in relation to any fraction of a year of work. The days during which an employee is not working for reasons beyond their control, such as illness, injury, accident, or maternity, are included within the service period.
Employees are entitled to receive a wage for the entire period of leave corresponding to not less than the wages they received during the last six months of service. However, transportation, food, and risk allowances are excluded from this amount. The employee's wages for the leave period must be paid to them before they take the leave.
Iraq's Labor Law defines working hours as the time during which the employee is at the disposal of the employer engaging them, excluding meal periods. The law stipulates that normal working hours cannot exceed 8 daily or 48 weekly, subject to some exceptions. For work performed over 2 shifts and intermittent work, the employee must not be present at the workplace for more than 10 hours, provided the number of actual working hours does not exceed eight per day. Working hours may not exceed 7 hours per shift for night work or 7.5 hours for mixed-schedule work. Working hours for employees under 16 cannot exceed 7 hours per day.
In exceptional cases, employees and employer associations may agree to increase the daily working hours for a specified period, provided the average number of weekly working hours does not exceed 48 hours.
The number of working hours per day shall be reduced for work that is arduous or harmful to health. Whether work is of such a nature and the maximum number of working hours shall be determined by the Minister's instructions upon the National Center for Occupational Health and Safety's proposals.
Iraq's Labor Law entitles pregnant employees to a fully paid maternity leave of at least 14 weeks, which can start eight weeks before their expected due date by providing a medical certificate issued by a competent medical authority. The pregnant employee is entitled to take the remaining days of the leave after the delivery, provided that the period of this leave after the delivery is not less than six weeks.
Maternity benefits are provided by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and amount to 100% of an insured worker's earnings provided in addition to a lump sum maternity grant of one month for each year of contributions.
A competent medical authority may extend the leave for up to nine months in the case of a difficult childbirth, the birth of more than one child, or in the event of pre or post-natal complications. At the end of her maternity leave, the working mother must be able to go back to the same position or to be employed in a similar position with the same wage.
The statutory minimum wage in Federal Iraq is IQD 350,000 per month, set by the Council of Ministers under Article 63 of Labour Law No. 37 of 2015 and effective since 1 January 2018. This rate has not been formally amended at the federal level since 2018. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) operates a separate minimum wage framework. As of August 2025, the KRG Council of Ministers set the minimum monthly wage for unskilled workers in the KRI at IQD 450,000, with a corresponding daily minimum of IQD 15,000 for daily workers. This rate applies within KRG-administered tenders and private-sector employment in the Kurdistan Region.
Salary must be paid weekly for employees hired by the day or week, and monthly for other employees. The maximum delay allowed in the payment of wages is 5 days.
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