How long does it take for a government resignation to be accepted?

Up to 30 days from submission; if it is not decided by then, it is accepted by law. Acceptance can be deferred for work reasons by the same period, and you keep working until you are told it is accepted or the period runs out (Articles 109 and 110).

Can I get cash for unused annual leave?

Not while you are in service. The exception is when the chief executive refuses part of your leave or recalls you from it for work needs; you are then paid for those days on your gross salary (Article 63).

Does my pension record stop if I move to the private sector?

The Social Insurance Law covers Qataris in both sectors (Article 2). If you already qualify for a pension, your service counts as continuous if you ask within 30 days of leaving for it not to be paid and start a new job within 180 days (Law, Article 24; Regulations, Article 51).

Can a disciplinary penalty be challenged in court?

Yes, after a grievance. You file a grievance against the disciplinary committee's decision with the head within 30 days, and the head's decision can then be challenged before the administrative circuit of the Court of First Instance (Article 91), within 60 days (Law No. 7 of 2007, Article 6).

A government employee leaving a sealed letter on an HR desk while holding a box of her belongings.

Labour & employment12 min read

Qatar Civil Service HR Law: Rights, Leave, Resignation

Faysel Al-Mohannadi, lawyer, at Al Faisal Law Firm in Doha

Faysel Al-MohannadiLawyer admitted before the Court of Cassation · Reviewed on 31 October 2026

Short answer

Qatar's Civil Human Resources Law (Law No. 15 of 2016, last amended in 2025) governs civilian staff of ministries, government bodies and public institutions, not the military or private-sector workers. It covers appointment, leave, allowances and discipline. A written resignation is accepted by law if not decided within 30 days, though acceptance can be deferred by another 30 days.

Who does the Civil Human Resources Law cover, and who does it not?

The law applies to civilian employees of ministries, other government bodies, and public authorities and institutions (Issuing Law, Article 2). It was issued by Law No. 15 of 2016 and amended by Law No. 23 of 2020 and then by Law No. 25 of 2025, which took effect on the day it was issued.

Who	Governed by	Source
Civilian staff of ministries, government bodies and public institutions, Qatari and non-Qatari	The Civil Human Resources Law and its Executive Regulations	Issuing Law, Article 2
Judges and prosecutors, staff of the Amiri Diwan, the diplomatic and consular corps, university faculty, and staff of Qatar Petroleum (now QatarEnergy), the Qatar Investment Authority and the State Audit Bureau	Their own employment systems; the law does not apply to the extent those systems provide otherwise	Issuing Law, Article 2
Military personnel of the Ministries of Defence and Interior, State Security, Military Intelligence and the Internal Security Force	The Military Service Law, Decree-Law No. 31 of 2006	Article 2 of that law
Private-sector workers	The Labour Law, Law No. 14 of 2004, which excludes government staff and the military	Article 3 of that law

In this guide, the "head" is the minister or head of the entity, and the "chief executive" is the undersecretary or the official next in line (Article 1).

What are the rules on appointment, probation, working hours and leave?

You are appointed by a decision or under an employment contract, and non-Qataris are always appointed by contract (Article 9). A first-time appointee serves a three-month probation, renewable for a further period of the same length (Article 15). If it ends without written notice terminating your service, you are confirmed and the probation counts as service. No gratuity is owed for a probation that was not passed (Article 16).

Working days and official holidays are set by Amiri decision. The Council of Ministers sets weekly working hours and the rules on remote work and flexible hours (Article 60). Your entity may deduct from your gross salary for lateness or leaving early without permission (Article 79).

Leave	What the law says	Article
Periodic (annual)	On gross salary: 45 days for grade seven and above, 40 days for grades ten to eight, 30 days for other grades	62
Emergency	Up to ten working days a year, for an urgent reason	65
Sick	Gross salary for up to 30 days a year, then three quarters of it, then half beyond four months. More than three days at a time, or fifteen days a year, needs the competent medical body's approval	66, 69
Maternity	Three months on gross salary, six months for twins or a child with a disability. A Qatari employee may extend by up to three months on basic salary, social allowance and housing allowance	73
Hajj	21 days on gross salary for a Muslim employee, once in your career	75
Marriage	15 days on gross salary	76
Iddah	Four months and ten days on gross salary, for a Muslim employee whose husband has died	77

You must take at least half your periodic leave each year. The rest carries over to the next year only, and no cash is paid for the balance while you are in service (Article 63).
Allowances include the social allowance, housing, transport, nature-of-work, overtime and a performance incentive. The Executive Regulations set the rates and conditions (Article 26).

What disciplinary penalties apply, and how are they imposed?

No penalty can be imposed without a written investigation in which you are heard and your defence is examined, and the decision must give reasons. The investigation may be oral for a caution, a warning or a deduction of up to three days (Article 84). You may be suspended during the investigation on full gross salary, for no more than 30 days unless the disciplinary body extends it (Article 86).

For grade one and below, the penalties are as follows, with only one penalty per offence (Article 89):

A warning.
A deduction from gross salary of up to 45 days a year, and no more than 15 days at a time.
Suspension with half gross salary for up to three months.
Loss of the periodic increment for up to six months, or deferral of promotion for up to a year.
Demotion to the start of the next lower grade.
Dismissal, with the right to gratuity and pension preserved.

Each entity's disciplinary committee hears cases against grade one and below; the Permanent Disciplinary Council hears cases against assistant undersecretary up to special grade (Articles 90 and 93). You must be notified at least 15 days before the hearing, and you may see the investigation file, answer in writing and be represented (Articles 95 to 97).

How long does resigning from a government job take?

Your resignation must be decided within 30 days of submission, or it is accepted by law. Within those 30 days, acceptance can be deferred for work reasons by the same period, so the wait can reach 60 days (Article 109).

Issue	Rule	Article
Form	In writing, with no condition attached, stating the date your service ends; accepted by the authority that appoints to your post	109
While you wait	You keep working until told it is accepted or the period runs out	110
Withdrawing it	In writing, before the end date you gave or within a month of submitting, whichever is sooner; no more than twice at the same entity	110 bis
Disciplinary referral	Accepted only after a decision other than dismissal	109
Handover	You can be kept for a month after service ends, extendable by one more month, paid at your gross salary	112

Stopping work before acceptance has legal effects. An employee absent without permission for more than 15 consecutive days is treated as having resigned, unless they give an acceptable excuse within the next 15 days, and may lose pay for the absence (Article 111).

If you are not Qatari, check your contract too. The model contracts attached to the Executive Regulations let either side end the contract at any time with at least 60 days' written notice, and let the employee leave during probation with at least 15 days' notice.

What are you owed when service ends, and how does the pension fit in?

Service ends for reasons including reaching 60, the end of a contract, resignation, medical unfitness and disciplinary dismissal. The 2025 amendment added ending service at the employee's request at age 55, under conditions set by the Council of Ministers (Article 107).

Employee	End-of-service gratuity	Article
Qatari with at least one year	One month's basic salary per year for the first five years, one and a half months per year for the next five, and two months per year after that, on the last basic salary	117
Qatari entitled to a pension	Gratuity is paid alongside the pension only for service beyond 20 years	117
Non-Qatari with at least one year	One month's salary per year, capped at ten months over all government service in Qatar, for the last ten years, on each year's basic salary	118
Part of a year	Paid pro rata	120

Article 117 still refers to the old Pensions Law, Law No. 24 of 2002, which the Social Insurance Law (Law No. 1 of 2022) repealed, so it is worth asking HR in writing how your gratuity will be worked out.

The Social Insurance Law covers Qataris in government and in the private sector, but not the military (Articles 2 and 5), and both sectors pay into the Civil Pension Fund run by the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority (Article 59). On resignation, a pension is due after at least 25 years of contributions, including 20 years of actual service, and is not paid before age 50 (Article 24). It is reduced for each year between your age when you leave and 60 for men or 55 for women (Article 36).

Moving from government to the private sector: what should you check?

Resign in writing with a set end date, and keep proof of the date you submitted it: the 30-day period runs from then (Article 109).
Do not start the new job before your service ends. The law bars working for anyone else, even outside working hours, without prior written permission from the chief executive (Article 80).
If you are Qatari and already qualify for a pension, ask the Authority within 30 days of leaving not to pay it. Your service then counts as continuous if you start the new job within 180 days (Social Insurance Law, Article 24; its Executive Regulations, Article 51).
If you do not yet qualify, a one-off compensation is paid only in cases set by the regulations, such as reaching 50 (Law, Article 42; Regulations, Article 64). Your new employer must report you to the Authority within 30 days (Article 8).
If you are not Qatari, check the notice period in your contract. The end-of-service ticket is tied to leaving Qatar for good (Executive Regulations, Article 39), and a move to another employer follows the competent ministry's rules (Law No. 21 of 2015, Article 21), after which the Labour Law applies. See our guide to employment contracts in Qatar.
Ask in writing about your leave balance and anything you may have to repay, such as the unused part of a furniture allowance if you resign within four years of receiving it (Executive Regulations, Article 37). Confidentiality continues after you leave (Article 80).

How do you challenge a decision, and when can it go to court?

The route starts with a grievance to your employer within the deadlines the law sets. A decision can be challenged in court only once those grievance stages are used up (Law No. 7 of 2007 on Administrative Disputes, Article 10).

Decision	Grievance and deadline	Answer	Article
Performance report	To the head, within 15 days of being notified	Within 30 days; silence means refusal; the head's decision is final	42
Penalty by your department manager after an oral investigation	To the chief executive, within 30 days	Within 60 days; silence means refusal	84
Penalty by the chief executive	To the head, within 30 days	Within 60 days; silence means refusal	85
Disciplinary committee decision	To the head, within 30 days	Within 60 days; the head's decision can then be challenged before the administrative circuit of the Court of First Instance	91
Job entitlements	To the Grievances and Complaints Examination Committee at the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau	Its decisions are binding	120 bis
Pension and social insurance	To the Disputes Committee at the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority; no court case is accepted before it rules	Its decision can be challenged at the Court of Appeal within 60 days	Social Insurance Law, 71 to 73

The administrative circuit of the Court of First Instance hears disputes over salaries, pensions, bonuses and allowances at any grade, requests to cancel final decisions on the promotion, dismissal or discipline of staff in grade one and below, and related compensation claims (Law No. 7 of 2007, Article 3).

A cancellation case must be filed within 60 days of being notified of the decision or knowing of it for certain. A grievance stops the clock, and 60 days without an answer counts as a refusal from which the 60 days run again (Article 6). The court may order your salary to keep being paid while it decides a challenge to a termination (Article 7). Money claims under the Civil Human Resources Law lapse after 15 years (Article 126 bis).

When should you speak to a lawyer?

These situations are worth a legal review before any deadline runs out:

You have been referred for investigation or to a disciplinary body, or received notice of a hearing.
Acceptance of your resignation has been deferred or refused, or you were told your absence counts as a resignation.
A dismissal or penalty decision has been issued and the grievance or court deadline is close.
You disagree with your employer about your gratuity, an allowance or an increment, or with the Authority about your pension.
You have been asked to sign a clearance or release before your dues are paid.

What the law says

This guide relies on the Civil Human Resources Law issued by Law No. 15 of 2016, as amended by Law No. 23 of 2020 and Law No. 25 of 2025, in particular Articles 9, 15, 16, 26, 60 to 77, 84 to 91 and 107 to 120 bis, and on its Executive Regulations and their model contracts. Articles 3, 6 and 10 of Law No. 7 of 2007 govern challenges before the administrative circuit, and Articles 2 and 24 of the Social Insurance Law (Law No. 1 of 2022) govern contributions and pensions. Texts checked on Al Meezan on 31 October 2026.

Read on Al Meezan

Questions people ask

No. The Labour Law excludes staff of ministries, government bodies and public institutions, and the military (Article 3). Civilian government staff fall under the Civil Human Resources Law unless their entity has its own employment system.