Labour and Employment Comparative Guide

1 Legal framework

1.1 Are there statutory sources of labour and employment law?

The primary instrument that governs employment in the private sector in Federal Iraq is the Labour Law (37/2015), which replaced its predecessor, Law 71/1987, in 2016.

Other sources of law include:

the Retirement and Social Security Law (39/1971), as amended; the Civil Code (40/1951), as amended; and the Penal Code (111/1969), as amended. In addition, governmental decrees and decisions of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and customary practices further regulate employment in Iraq.

Public sector employees are regulated by the Law on Civil Servants (24/1960) and the Law on the Disciplining of State and Public-Sector Employees (12/1991).

This Q&A discusses the Labour Law as applicable in Federal Iraq, with the exclusion of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq at the time of writing (September 2019). The Labour Law has not yet entered into force in the Kurdistan Region, pending its endorsement by the local Parliament of the Kurdistan Region. In practice, it is widely believed that the rules of Law 71/1987 still apply in the Kurdistan Region although such law has been annulled by the new Labour Law.

1.2 Is there a contractual system that operates in parallel, or in addition to, the statutory sources?

The Labour Law allows for collective agreements and collective negotiations aimed at, among other things:

encouraging cooperation between workers' associations and employers or their associations in an attempt to promote workers' social development; improving work terms and conditions; regulating the relationship between employers and employees; and settling work-related disputes. The employer must engage in negotiating collective terms upon written request by at least one registered union representing more than 20% of the enterprise's workers who will be subject to the collective agreement.

A binding collective agreement is generally concluded following a collective negotiation period. If the negotiations do not result in an agreement between the parties, any party may resort to the relevant authorities to take the necessary measures to settle the dispute in accordance with the Labour Law.

Generally, collective agreements provide for terms and conditions governing wages and the mechanism for their determination, working hours, paid holidays, overtime pay, probation periods, disciplinary rules and sanctions, trade unions' rights and dispute settlement procedures, among other things.

1.3 Are employment contracts commonly used at all levels? If so, what types of contracts are used and how are they created? Must they be in writing must they include specific information? Are implied clauses allowed?

Employment contracts may be oral or written. Written contracts are more common, particularly for office jobs. Employment contracts may be either indefinite or fixed term in duration.

Fixed-term contracts may be entered into for up to one year, for the performance of specific work or services relating to work or projects ending on a specific or expected date. An employment contract may not be entered into for a fixed-term period if the work is continuous, unless the work requires the hiring of additional workers for specified periods and tasks. If a fixed-term employment contract is renewed more than once, it shall be considered an indefinite-term contract.

The Labour Law allows for part-time employment contracts, as long the hours to be worked each week range between 12 and 24.

The minimum terms to be included in the employment contract are as follows:

the name of the employer and the type and address of enterprise; the name, date of birth, qualifications, profession, residence and nationality of the worker; the nature, type, duration and date of commencement of employment; the basic wage plus all increments or allowances and the date and place of payment; and the working hours.

2 Employment rights and representations

2.1 What, if any, are the rights to parental leave, at either a national or local level?

A female employee is entitled to maternity leave at full pay for at least 14 weeks per year. Subject to the employer's consent, the employee may take additional maternity leave at no pay for the duration specified in question 2.2, provided that her child is under one year of age.

The Labour Law does not grant fathers paternity leave.

Any parent (male or female) is entitled to unpaid leave for up to three days to tend to a sick child of under six years of age.

2.2 How long does it last and what benefits are given during this time?

An employee is entitled to at least 14 weeks of paid maternity leave per year. Up to eight weeks may be taken before the expected due date, subject to a medical certificate. The employee is entitled to take the remaining days of maternity leave after the delivery; the period of maternity leave taken after the delivery should be at least six weeks.

The 14 weeks of maternity leave can be extended to up to nine months, subject to a decision of the competent medical authority, in the event of a difficult childbirth, a multiple birth or pre or post-natal complications.

With the employer's consent, an employee can take unpaid maternity leave for up to one year to provide care for her child, provided that the child is under one year of age.

On completion of maternity leave, the employee should return to either the same position or an equal position with the same wage.

2.3 Are trade unions recognised and what rights do they have?

The freedom to establish and join trade unions is recognised and protected. Trade unions can play a major role in negotiating and concluding collective agreements on behalf of their members with the employer, a group of employers or one or more employers' associations.

When one or more trade unions representing more than 20% of an employer's workers submit a written request for the negotiation of a collective agreement to the employer, the employer cannot refuse such negotiations. Where there is more than one trade union, they can submit a common call for negotiations; otherwise, any union can negotiate on behalf of its members.

Trade unions can also play a role when labour disputes arise, particularly collective...