HH The Emir issues new law to protect rights of domestic workers in the country

Qatar is continuing to make large strides in the field of labour reforms. 

After a slew of measures to improve working and living conditions of expatriate workers in Qatar, HH The Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued a new law pertaining to domestic workers in the country, reported Gulf Times.  

One of the new law’s salient features is that it also ensures domestic workers end-of-service benefits which shall be a minimum of three weeks wages for each year of service. 

The new law stipulates that domestic workers can only be hired through licensed recruitment agencies, with exceptions made by competent authorities at the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA), according to Qatar Tribune.
The employers are required to treat domestic workers well, guaranteeing their safety and dignity. The employers are also required to provide food, proper accommodation and medical care to their workers.

The law targets people who work as drivers, nannies, cooks, gardeners and similar jobs within the same category that are performed by the worker in the service of his employer and those living with him.

Contract for domestic workers

According to the new law, it is not possible to hire domestic workers without a written contract, approved by the department concerned at MADLSA. There should be three copies of the contract, one each for both the parties and the third copy to be filed at the department concerned. 

The contract shall be written in Arabic and it can be accompanied with a translation in another language. However, the Arabic text will be considered the main text in the event of litigation.

The minimum age for recruiting and hiring domestic workers is 18 and the maximum is 60. 

The employer shall abide by paying the worker the agreed monthly salary in Qatari currency at the end of each calendar month, not later than the third day of the following month. 

Another important feature is that domestic workers cannot be deployed for work outside the country without his or her approval.

Maximum time for work

The maximum working hours per day is set at 10 hours, unless otherwise agreed. The worker shall also have intervals for prayers, food and rest during duty hours, which are not to be calculated within the working hours. The worker is entitled to a paid weekly off, spanning consecutive 24 hours, specified by mutual agreement according to work contract.

The worker shall be entitled to a paid annual leave of three weeks for each calendar year of work, which he may split into parts, and chose the time and place to spend it, unless otherwise agreed in the contract. 
For each two years of service, the worker is entitled to a return air ticket to his home country to spend his due leave days or part of it. In case of leaving the country permanently, the worker is entitled to a one-way ticket to his home country. 

Death of expatriate worker

In case of death of an expatriate worker, the employer shall bear the costs of preparing the body and transporting it to his home country, if necessary. The employer will also have to deposit all financial dues and end-of-service rewards with the department concerned at MADLSA within a maximum of 15 days from the date of being informed of the worker’s death.