Can I resign during probation?

Yes. Give at least one month's written notice if you are moving to another employer in Qatar, or the agreed notice, up to two months, if you are leaving the country (Article 39).

Will I lose my gratuity if I resign?

No, if you have completed a full year. The law does not reduce the gratuity for resignation, though notice compensation you owe may be deducted from it.

Does my employer have to pay my ticket home?

Article 57 requires the employer, at the end of service, to return the worker at its own expense to the place of recruitment or another agreed place. If you join a new employer before leaving, the new employer takes on that duty.

When must my final settlement be paid?

Before the end of the next working day after the contract ends, or within seven days if you left without the required notice (Article 67).

An employee placing a sealed envelope on her manager's desk.

Labour & employment8 min read

Resigning in Qatar: notice periods and what you're owed

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

Faysel Al-MohannadiLawyer admitted before the Court of Cassation · Reviewed on 18 October 2026

Short answer

After probation, you can resign without giving reasons by written notice: one month in your first two years, two months after that (Article 49). If you leave sooner, you owe your basic wage for the notice not worked. You are then owed your remaining pay, unused leave, gratuity after a full year, and a ticket home.

How much notice do you have to give?

Your notice period depends on how long you have worked and whether you are still on probation. Notice must be in writing, and the law does not require you to give reasons (Article 49).

Your situation	Notice	Article
After probation, in your first or second year	One month	49
After your second year	Two months	49
On probation, moving to another employer in Qatar	At least one month	39
On probation, leaving Qatar	As agreed, up to two months	39

Probation can last up to six months from your first day of work, and only once with the same employer (Article 39). If you move to a new employer during probation, the new employer compensates your current one for your ticket and recruitment fees, if any, up to two months of your basic wage.

You are owed your full pay for the notice period if you work it as normal (Article 50). The same notice periods apply when the employer ends the contract.

This guide covers workers under the Labour Law. Domestic workers are covered by their own law, Law No. 15 of 2017, instead (Article 3).

What if you leave before your notice ends?

Whoever ends the contract without the required notice owes the other side compensation equal to the worker's basic wage for the notice period, or for the part not worked (Articles 39 and 49).

- Example: your basic wage is QAR 6,000, your notice is two months, and you leave after one. You owe QAR 6,000 for the month not worked.
- Your employer may deduct amounts you owe it from your gratuity (Article 54).
- An expatriate worker who leaves Qatar without keeping to the notice rules cannot be given a work permit for one year from the date of departure (Articles 39 and 49).
- If you leave without notice, the employer has seven days from the day you left to pay your dues, instead of the next working day (Article 67).

The exception is the list of cases in Article 51, where you may leave without notice and keep your full gratuity. See the section on resigning versus being terminated below.

What must your final settlement include?

When the contract ends for any reason, the employer must pay your wage and everything else you are owed before the end of the next working day (Article 67). A final settlement usually covers:

Item	What the law says	Article
Remaining pay	Your wage up to your last day, including any notice period you worked	50, 67
Unused annual leave	Cash equal to your wage for the leave days due and not taken	81
End-of-service gratuity	At least three weeks' basic wage for each year, once you complete a full year	54
Ticket home	Return at the employer's expense to the place you were recruited from, or another agreed place	57
Service certificate and documents	A certificate of service on request at no charge, and the return of certificates and documents you handed over	53

- Annual leave is at least three weeks a year below five years' service and four weeks from five years, with part-years counted pro rata (Article 79). Leave pay is based on your basic wage (Article 72).
- Resigning does not reduce your gratuity. For the calculation and worked examples, see our guide to end-of-service gratuity.
- The rights in the Labour Law are a minimum. A contract term that gives you less is void unless it is more favourable to you, and so is any release or waiver of those rights (Article 4).
- The employer must complete a non-Qatari worker's return arrangements within two weeks of the contract ending. If you join a new employer before leaving Qatar, that duty passes to the new employer (Article 57).

Can you change employer or leave Qatar after resigning?

Yes. Since the 2020 reforms, an expatriate worker may move to another employer under the rules and procedures set by the Ministry of Labour (Law No. 21 of 2015, Article 21, as amended by Decree-Law No. 19 of 2020). The move follows the notice periods above.

An expatriate worker under the Labour Law also has the right to travel out of Qatar temporarily, or leave for good, while the contract is running (Law No. 21 of 2015, Article 7, as amended by Law No. 13 of 2018). An employer may ask the Ministry in advance to require its approval before certain named staff leave, because of the nature of their work, within a share of its workforce capped by law. If you are prevented from leaving for any reason, you can turn to the Expatriates' Exit Grievances Committee, which must decide within three working days.

If your contract has a non-compete clause, Law No. 9 of 2026 changed the rules: it can last no more than two years, takes effect only with the Ministry's approval, and falls away if the contract ends during probation (Article 43).

How is resigning different from being terminated?

The Labour Law does not reduce the gratuity because you resigned. The real differences are the notice, and the cases where the employer can dismiss you without gratuity.

What happens	Notice	Gratuity
You resign after probation	One or two months (Article 49)	Full, after a full year
You leave in an Article 51 case, such as the employer breaking its obligations or an assault on you	None needed	Full
The employer ends the contract after probation	One or two months (Article 49)	Full, after a full year
The employer ends the contract during probation	At least one month (Article 39)	Not owed for under a year
The employer dismisses you in an Article 61 case	None	May be withheld

- If your employer breaks the wage-payment rules, you may apply to change employer or to end the contract, and the employer must pay for your journey home (Article 146 bis, added by Law No. 9 of 2026).
- An employer ending contracts for economic or structural reasons must also notify the Ministry at least fifteen days before (Article 52 bis).
- You can challenge a dismissal before the Labour Dispute Settlement Committee. If it finds the dismissal arbitrary or unlawful, it orders reinstatement with back pay for the time lost, or fair compensation (Article 64).

When should you speak to a lawyer?

These situations are worth a legal review, ideally before you hand in your letter:

- Your wages are late, or you think your situation is an Article 51 case.
- You are on a fixed-term contract that has not yet run out.
- Your employer won't release your dues or documents, or wants you to give up part of them.
- Your employer claims notice compensation or deductions you think are wrong.
- Your contract has a non-compete clause and a competitor has offered you a job.
- You have been stopped from leaving Qatar or from moving to a new job.
- It is nearly a year since your contract ended. Claims lapse after that (Article 10).

What the law says

Articles 39 and 49 of the Labour Law (Law No. 14 of 2004), as replaced by Decree-Law No. 18 of 2020, set the notice periods and notice compensation. Articles 53, 54, 57, 67, 79 and 81 cover the final settlement, and Articles 51, 61 and 64 the cases of leaving or dismissal without notice. Articles 7 and 21 of Law No. 21 of 2015 govern leaving Qatar and changing employer, and Law No. 9 of 2026 amended Article 43 and added Article 146 bis. Checked on Al Meezan on 18 October 2026.

Read on Al Meezan

Questions people ask

The law lets either side end the contract after probation by written notice, without giving reasons (Article 49). It does not make a resignation depend on the employer's approval.