Qatar Labour Law for employers: what must you get right?

Who counts as an employer under Qatar's Labour Law?

Qatar's Labour Law applies to every person or company that employs one or more workers for a wage in the private sector, whoever owns it (Articles 1 and 2). Its rights are a floor: a term that departs from them is void unless it is more favourable to the worker, and so is any waiver of them (Article 4).

• - It does not cover government bodies or domestic workers and, since Law No. 9 of 2026, part-time and self-employed work, unless a Cabinet decision applies it (Article 3).
• - To recruit expatriate workers, a company needs its head office or a branch in Qatar (Law No. 21 of 2015, Article 18).
• - Before starting work, the employer must notify the Ministry of Labour in writing of the business, its workers and its responsible manager (Article 7).

For the worker's side of the same rules, see our Qatar Labour Law guide.

What is on the employer's compliance checklist?

The table lists an employer's main duties under the Labour Law and its decisions, with the article to check. Breaching most of them is an offence or brings Ministry action.

Leave rules are covered in our guides to annual leave and overtime and sick and maternity leave.

What must the employment contract contain?

An employment contract in Qatar must be written in Arabic, attested by the Ministry of Labour and made in three copies, one each for the two parties and the Ministry (Articles 9 and 38). A translation may be attached, but the Arabic text prevails.

• - It names the parties, the job, the place of work and the start date, the term if it is fixed, and the wage with how and when it is paid (Article 38).
• - A fixed-term contract may last up to five years and can be renewed; if both sides simply carry on, it becomes open-ended (Article 40).
• - Probation may last up to six months, once per employer. Ending the contract during probation for unsuitability needs at least one month's notice (Article 39).
• - Since Law No. 9 of 2026, a non-compete clause may last up to two years, is enforced only with Ministry approval, and lapses if the contract ends during probation (Article 43).
• - When recruiting through an agency, the contract must be drawn up before the worker arrives, on the terms the worker accepted (Ministerial Decision No. 8 of 2005, Article 17).

When and how must wages be paid?

Since 8 September 2026, a monthly wage falls due on the first day of each calendar month and must be transferred to the worker's account through the Wage Protection System within seven days (Ministerial Decision No. 4 of 2015, Article 2, as replaced by Decision No. 50 of 2026).

• - Pay in Qatari riyals by bank transfer; only that transfer discharges the employer (Article 66).
• - A wage may be stopped only to carry out a court judgment. Employer loans carry no interest, loan deductions are capped at 10 per cent of the wage, and all deductions at 50 per cent (Article 70).
• - Disciplinary deductions may not exceed five days' wage a month (Article 60), and women are paid the same as men for the same work (Article 93).

If wages are late, the Minister may stop new work permits and suspend the employer's Ministry transactions until all arrears are paid (Decision No. 4 of 2015, Article 4). Since 2026, repeat offenders can be named on the Ministry's website, and the worker may ask to change employer or end the contract, with the employer paying the journey home (Articles 146 bis and 146 bis 1). See our unpaid salary guide.

How can an employer end a contract lawfully?

After probation, either side may end the contract without giving reasons, by written notice of one month in the first two years and two months after that; whoever skips the notice pays the worker's basic wage for it (Article 49).

• - Dismissal without notice or gratuity is lawful only on the grounds in Article 61, such as forged documents, a fault causing serious loss (reported to the Ministry by the next working day), repeated breaches despite a written warning, more than seven consecutive days' unexcused absence and, since 2026, inciting an unlawful strike.
• - No penalty without telling the worker the charge and questioning them in writing, and no charge for an offence you have known about for more than 15 days, unless it is a crime (Article 62).
• - No termination or notice during the worker's leave (Article 85), and no termination because a woman married or took maternity leave (Article 98).
• - Ending contracts for economic or structural reasons needs written notice to the Ministry at least 15 days ahead (Article 52 bis).

When the contract ends, pay all dues before the end of the next working day (Article 67), a gratuity of at least three weeks' basic wage for each year after a full year's service (Article 54), and the journey home (Article 57). See our guides to notice periods and the gratuity calculator.

What happens if a worker complains, and what are the penalties?

A worker's complaint goes first to the Ministry of Labour, which tries to settle it within seven days; if that fails, the Labour Dispute Settlement Committee, chaired by a judge, decides it within three weeks of its first hearing (Articles 115 bis and 115 bis 2).

1. 1

   1. A settlement signed by both sides and approved by the Ministry is directly enforceable. Without one, the dispute goes to the committee within three working days, with a hearing within seven working days (Article 115 bis).

2. 2

   2. The decision is enforceable at once. An appeal to the Court of Appeal within fifteen days does not stop enforcement unless that court orders it (Articles 115 bis 5 and 115 bis 6).

3. 3

   3. An arbitrary dismissal can end in reinstatement with pay for the time lost, or fair compensation (Article 64).

Since December 2024, employers can follow complaints against them, and file their own, on the Ministry's Unified Platform. See our guides to labour complaints and the labour dispute committees.

The Minister or a delegate may settle these offences before a final judgment, once the breach is put right, for the amount in the law's schedule or half the maximum fine (Article 147).

When should an employer speak to a lawyer?

Many of these duties can be handled in-house, but these situations are worth a legal review:

• - You are setting up in Qatar and preparing your first contracts and internal regulations.
• - You want to dismiss a worker without notice, or end several contracts for economic reasons.
• - Wages are more than seven days late, or the Ministry has suspended your transactions.
• - You want a non-compete clause, or to rely on one against a former employee.
• - A worker has complained, or a dispute committee has set a hearing.
• - A worker has had a serious work injury, or has left work without notice.

Questions people ask