Per Qatar's Labor Code, an employment relationship for an indefinite term can be terminated by either the employee or the employer without any reason by providing a written notice. If the employee's service period is two years or less, the notice period must be at least one month. If the service period is more than two years, the notice period must be at least two months.
For fixed-term contracts, the duration of the notice period is as follows:
The employer must pay the employee their full wage during the notice period if they perform their work in the usual manner during the notice period.
Foreign nationals who obtain employment in Qatar are required to apply for a work permit.
The employer is responsible for the following:
The permit contains the person's name, photo, signature, and personal information. It is valid for five years. The person must leave Qatar within 90 days after the expiration of the permit or must renew it.
Private sector employers are required to give priority to Qatari nationals and, if no suitable Qatari candidate is available, the children of Qatari women, before recruiting an expatriate worker when filling job vacancies.
Qatar's Labor Law entitles employees to annual leave after they complete 1 year of service. The annual leave is 3 weeks for employees who have worked for less than 5 years, and 4 weeks for employees who have worked for more than 5 years. An employee is entitled to leave for the fractions of the year in proportion to the duration of their service.
The employee's remuneration during annual leave is their basic wage at the commencement of leave. If the employee works on a piecework basis, the remuneration shall be based on the employee's average remuneration for the three months preceding the commencement of annual leave.
The employer shall determine the date of the annual leave for the employee according to the work requirements and may divide the leave with the employee's consent provided that it is not broken up into more than 2 periods.
At the employee's request, the employer may postpone not more than half of the annual leave to the following year.
Qatar's Labor Law stipulates that the maximum ordinary working hours are 48 hours per week and 8 hours per day. During Ramadan, working hours are reduced to 36 hours per week and 6 hours per day. The time spent by employees commuting to and from the workplace and their residence is not considered a part of the working hours.
Any work done in excess of the maximum ordinary working hours is considered overtime. The working hours for employees under 18 years of age are set at 36 hours per week or 6 hours per day.
Qatari labor law provides a maternity leave of 50 days with full pay to female employees who have at least 1 year of service with their employer. The postnatal leave must be no less than 35 days. If the remaining leave period (after birth) is fewer than 30 days, the employee may be granted a complementary leave, the duration of which will be deducted from her annual leave. Otherwise, the complementary period will be considered to be leave without pay.
Employers must not dismiss an employee for taking maternity leave or send a notice of termination during this period.
Effective March 2021, Qatar's Law No. 17 of 2020 sets the minimum wage for all private-sector workers, including domestic workers, at QAR 1,000 (Qatari riyals) per month. QAR 500 per month is allocated by the employer for accommodation expenses. Also, QAR 300 per month is allocated for food unless the employer already provides adequate food or accommodation for the employee or domestic worker. These are both in addition to the QAR 1,000 per month.
Workers whose wages are calculated annually or monthly are paid at least once a month. For all others, wages are paid at least every two weeks. In case of contract termination, the employer must pay the employee's wages by the end of the day after the contract's termination. If the employee leaves without notice, the employer must pay all wages within 7 days.
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