Suha Al Muhannadi
Qatar has made amendments to its Labour Law with the aim of making Qatar more attractive to foreign investment and to professional skills and competencies.
First: Amendments to the Labour Law, Decree-Law No (18) of 2020 amending some provisions of the Labor Law promulgated by Law No. (14) of 2004.
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Important changes have been made to the probationary period, which is the determination of the requirements for workers to terminate the employment contract during the probationary period. It has become that the worker may terminate the contract during the probationary period. The new version of Article 39 of the Labour Law stipulates: "The worker may terminate the employment contract during the probationary period, provided that the following are observed:
1- If the worker wishes to move to work for another employer, he must notify the contracting employer in writing of his desire to terminate the contract at least one month prior to the date of termination of the contract, and the new employer is obligated to compensate the contracted employer for the value of the ticket and recruitment fees, if any, provided that the compensation does not exceed the basic wage of the worker for two months.
2- In the event that the worker wishes to terminate the contract and leave the country, he must notify the employer in writing of his desire to do so according to the agreed period of notice, provided that it does not exceed two months.
Foreign workers must bear in mind that if they leave Qatar without being bound by the period of risks mentioned in the law, they may not be granted a licence to work for a period of one year from the date of departure in accordance with Article 39 of the Labour Law.
Work termination
notice:
Article (49) of the Labour Law has undergone many amendments that would have a great impact on employers and workers. Where the new version of this article stipulated the following:
Either party to the work contract may, after the expiry of the probation period, or in the event that the labour contract does not stipulate a probationary period, terminate the contract without giving reasons, provided that the party wishing to terminate the contract takes care to notify the other party in writing of its desire to do so in accordance with the periods of notice indicated. Below:
During the first and second year of work, the notice period is one month.
After the second year of work, the notice period is two months.
If the contract is terminated without observing these periods, the person terminating the contract is obligated to pay the other party a compensation equal to the worker’s basic wage for the period of notice or the remaining period of it.
In all cases, if the expatriate worker leaves the country without being bound by the provisions stipulated in this article, he may not be granted a work permit for one year from the date of his departure.
The most important change from our view is that this article appears to apply to all employment contracts, whether they are of a fixed-term or indefinite period (open). Before the amendment, the termination of the employment contract was limited to open employment contracts, and the article stipulated that "if the employment contract for an indefinite period, each of its parties may terminate it without giving reasons.
We believe that after the amendment, employers and workers are allowed to terminate the employment contract, whether it is of a fixed-term or indefinite period, by submitting a notification to the party with adherence to the duration of the notice. The notice period is thirty (30) days, and if it is more than two years, it will be sixty (60) days.
If the workers did not comply with the provisions of this article and left the country, they may not be granted a license to work for a period of one year from the date of departure.
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The latest amendment to the Labour Law added Article (106), which states that "in all cases in which the employer is obligated to provide housing for his workers, such housing must meet the conditions and specifications to be determined by a decision of the minister.”
The conditions for workers’ housing are determined by Qatari Ministerial Resolution No (18) of 2014 specifying the conditions and specifications for suitable housing for workers.
Non-competition clause:
The non-competition clause was also amended within the recent amendments, and we see that the amendments made to Article No (43) of the Labour Law are in the interest of workers, as the non-competition clause was included in accordance with the new formula of Article (43), so it became mandatory in the work contract to include this condition also, the period for the non-competition clause was reduced to a maximum of one year (instead of two years before the amendment).
We must clarify that the non-competition clause becomes void if the worker terminates the employment contract in accordance with Article (51) or if the employer violates the provisions of Article (61) of the Labour Law.
Procedures for changing the employercColor:>
Law No (21) of 2015 before the amendment set specific options for those who wish to change the employer, but after the amendments that were made to the law regulating the entry, exit and residence of expatriates, there is freedom for the worker to change the workplace without obstacles. Only the worker has to apply to the Ministry of Labour in order to fulfill the ministry’s requirements of procedures and steps to change the employer, including notifying the current employer as stipulated in Article (49 of the Labour Law), as well as filling out the form for changing the employer and attaching the required documents, and then following up on the rest of the procedures until approval is done if all the conditions are met for transferring the worker to another employer.
We believe that this decree is an effective step to support human rights and support the direction of the State of Qatar to guarantee the freedoms of individuals and to achieve equality.
We have summarized some of the amendments that were made, which we saw as being in the interest of the worker, the employer and the state.