All Work And No Play: Workplace Leave In Qatar

• Published date: 08 September 2020
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Discrimination, Disability & Sexual Harassment, Employee Benefits & Compensation
• Law Firm: Clyde & Co
• Author: Ms Emma Higham

In this article, our employment experts provide a brief summary of the key provisions regulating workplace leave in Qatar.

Background

The Labour Law* governs the majority of Qatar's expatriate workforce except those employees which are expressly excluded by virtue of Article 3 including, but not limited to, workers from ministries and governmental organisations companies established by Qatar Petroleum and casual and domestic workers.

Where individuals are excluded from the Labour Law, their employment is subject to alternative legal and regulatory provisions (e.g. Human Resource Law, Civil Code, Qatar Petroleum policies and domestic workers law). In each case, workplace leave will be calculated differently.

Annual Leave

Article 79 of the Labour Law provides that employees who have completed one continuous year of service with their employer shall be entitled to annual leave with pay. This leave shall not be less than three weeks for those employees who have completed less than five years of service and four weeks for those employees who have completed five years or more of service. The reference to "weeks" is to calendar weeks.

Public Holidays

Article 78 of the Labour Law provides that all employees regardless of the duration of their employment, are entitled to the following leave with full pay:

1. 3 days for Eid Al-Fitr;
2. 3 days for Eid Al-Adha;
3. 1 day for National Day;
4. 1 day for National Sports Day;
5. 3 days to be specified by the employer.

The Labour Law clearly specifies that the above national holidays are calculated as working days, meaning that if one or more of the holidays outlined above fall on a non-working day (e.g. Friday), the employer is required to compensate its employees with an additional day of holiday. This requirement does not apply to employees who work shifts which have been approved by the Qatar Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs.

It is important to note that the application of the three working days to be specified by the employer. It is common practice that foreign companies in Qatar use this provision to grant their employees holiday leave during Christian festivals, which are not official holidays in Qatar.

The dates in which Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha fall are not set and shift approximately 10 days per year. Usually a state body in Qatar confirms the dates of the Eid holidays close to the date the holiday is due to begin. National Sports Day falls on the second Tuesday of February, whilst...