How much sick leave and maternity leave do you get in Qatar?

How much sick leave do you get, and how is it paid?

A worker under the Labour Law has a right to paid sick leave for each year of service. It is granted only once three months have passed since you first joined the employer, and only if a doctor the employer approves certifies your illness (Article 82).

• - Example: five weeks off sick in a row means two weeks on full wage, then three on half wage.
• - Article 82 uses the word "wage". The law defines the wage as the basic wage plus all allowances, while the basic wage leaves allowances out (Article 1).
• - The law sets a minimum. Your contract or company policy can give longer sick leave or higher pay, and any term that gives you less is void (Article 4).
• - If the illness or injury is caused by work, the work-injury rules apply instead: full wage for the treatment period or six months, whichever is shorter, then half wage until you recover or a permanent disability is established, whichever comes first (Article 109).

Sick leave is separate from annual leave and public holidays, which we cover in our guide to annual leave and overtime.

What happens to your job if the illness lasts a long time?

Your employer may not end your contract, or give you notice, during any leave the Labour Law grants, sick leave included. Nor may it give notice that would run out during that leave (Article 85). Article 82 makes one exception: the employer may end your service at the end of the twelfth week of sick leave, if a report from the competent doctor shows you cannot return to work at that time.

• - If you resign because of your illness, with the competent doctor's approval, before your six paid weeks run out, the employer must still pay you the rest of what you are owed. The same applies if a worker dies of the illness before the six weeks end (Article 82).
• - Up to twelve weeks of sick leave does not break your continuous service, and it does not affect your end-of-service gratuity (Article 82).
• - If your service ends, your other dues are part of the final settlement, and claims lapse one year after the contract ends (Article 10). Our guide to resignation and notice explains the final settlement and notice periods.

Keep a copy of every medical certificate, with proof of when you sent it to your employer.

How long is maternity leave in Qatar, and is it paid?

A woman who has completed a full year in her employer's service is entitled to 50 days' maternity leave on full pay. The 50 days cover the time before and after the birth, but at least 35 days must fall after it (Article 96).

The year is counted in the service of the employer you are asking for leave. Your contract or company policy can give more, because a term more favourable to the worker stands (Article 4).

If you have served less than a year: the Labour Law gives no maternity leave before a full year of service, and it does not say what you get instead. Ask your employer to confirm in writing what leave it will give you and whether it is paid, and check your contract and company policy well before your due date.

How do nursing breaks work?

A nursing mother is entitled to one nursing hour a day for a year, starting when her maternity leave ends. This is on top of the normal rest breaks in Article 73 (Article 97).

• - The worker, not the employer, chooses when to take the nursing hour.
• - The nursing hour counts as working time, and your pay may not be reduced because of it.
• - It is added to your daily rest breaks and does not replace them.
• - An employer that breaches Article 97 faces a fine of QAR 2,000 to 5,000 (Article 144).

Can you be dismissed while pregnant or on maternity leave?

An employer may not end a woman's contract because she marries or takes maternity leave. It may not give her notice during that leave, or send a notice that would run out during it (Article 98).

• - Article 85 also bars ending a contract, or giving notice, during any other leave under the Labour Law, such as sick leave.
• - The Labour Law has no separate article on dismissal because of pregnancy itself. Its express protection is tied to marriage and to maternity leave.
• - A woman must receive the same wage as a man doing the same work, and the same chances of training and promotion (Article 93).
• - If the Labour Dispute Settlement Committee finds a dismissal arbitrary or contrary to the law, it either cancels it and reinstates the worker with back pay, or awards appropriate compensation (Article 64).

Is there paternity leave, and who follows different rules?

The Labour Law sets no paternity leave for a worker whose child is born. A contract or company policy may give some, or the father can ask for part of his annual leave, whose dates the employer sets according to the needs of the work (Article 80).

• - Employees of ministries, government bodies and public institutions are outside the Labour Law (Article 3). Their leave follows different rules under the Civil Human Resources Law, Law No. 15 of 2016, as amended, most recently by Law No. 25 of 2025.
• - Domestic workers, such as drivers, nannies and cooks, fall under Law No. 15 of 2017. The employer must provide suitable health care, medicines and medical supplies, at no charge to the worker, when the worker falls ill or is injured at work or because of it, and must not make the worker work during sick leave (Article 7). The Ministry of Labour's model contract for domestic workers says their sick leave follows Article 82 of the Labour Law.
• - Since Law No. 9 of 2026, the Labour Law no longer covers part-time or self-employed workers, unless a Cabinet decision applies it to them (Article 3).

For who the Labour Law covers and its main rules, see our guide to Qatar's Labour Law.

When should you speak to a lawyer?

These situations are worth a legal review:

• - Your employer rejects your medical certificate, or insists on a particular doctor you have not agreed on.
• - Your sick pay was cut sooner than the law allows, or worked out on a basis you think is wrong.
• - You were given notice during sick leave, before the end of the twelfth week, or without a doctor's report.
• - Your contract was ended, or you were given notice, after you announced a pregnancy or marriage, or during maternity leave.
• - You were asked to resign or sign a clearance while pregnant or on leave.
• - You were refused your nursing hour, or your pay was cut for it.
• - You have served less than a year and your employer has not said what leave you will get for the birth.
• - It is nearly a year since your contract ended. Claims lapse after that (Article 10).

A labour dispute starts with a request for settlement at the Ministry of Labour. Our guide to filing a labour complaint sets out the steps.

Questions people ask