Both the laws govern the employment of civil servants of Qatari ministries, other government agencies, public authorities and institutions. Similarly, with the Old Law, the New Law is not applicable to members of the judiciary, employees of the Emiri Diwan, State Audit Bureau, diplomats and consular corps, university lecturers or Qatari Petroleum employees. Additionally, the New Law specifically states that it is not applicable to employees of the Qatar Investment Authority.
The New Law largely upholds many of the previous provisions of the Old Law providing linguistic changes where necessary for clarity. A clear differentiation between Qatari employees and expatriates is evident most notably in relation to salary, allowances, increments and sick leave granted for employees sustaining a work injury or an occupational disease.
This article examines the main changes introduced by the New Law which has now been in effect, together with its Executive Regulations, for some nine months.
Planning and Organisation
As with the Old Law, the New Law details how a government entity should organise itself including, but not limited to, job descriptions, job positions, grading structures and start dates.
Probation
The New Law upholds the mandatory three-month probationary period which may be extended for a further three months; an employee who is reappointed to a similar position or promoted will be subject to a new three-month probationary period.
Salary, Increments and Allowances
Salary: A clear differentiation between Qatari and expatriate employees is evident in relation to salary and grading levels; Qatari employees may earn a monthly salary which is materially more than that which may be earned by an expatriate employee.
Increments: Qatari employees are entitled to salary increases of 1-6% per year; where salary reaches the maximum pay scale for his/her grade is granted a monthly bonus in line with the increment will be granted, regardless of performance.
Allowances: The New Law does not introduce any significant changes to allowances; however it does expressly restrict the levels of bonuses which may be awarded.
Leave
Similarly to the Old Law, the New Law provides that employees are entitled to leave of between 30 and 45 days depending on their positions and provisions to encourage employees to take holiday when it falls due.
Under the New Law the 16 types of leave detailed under the Old Law which employees may be entitled to as a right, or by virtue of their gender or marriage status are retained; in addition, the New Law provides that where a female employee gives birth to twins, the maternity leave duration increases from two months to three.
All leave taken by employees must be paid at full pay, save where the leave period (other than sick leave) exceeds one year. Whereas, an employee suffering a work related injury or occupational disease may be granted fully paid sick leave for a maximum period of one year. If the employee is a Qatari national this period can now be extended for a further year rather than six months under the Old Law.
Performance Evaluation Systems
Government entities must develop performance evaluation systems in order to “motivate” employees and “enhance team spirit” and must grade employees at one of five grades from “excellent” through to “poor” and sets out reference examples.
Promotions
Promotions are now generally conditional upon (i) the employee’s performance evaluation levels for the past two years not falling below “good’’; (ii) the employee satisfying the intermediate period set in the manual on public positions description, classification and grading; and (iii) the employee passing the applicable training courses. Employees may only be promoted by one grade at a time.
The New Law (in a schedule) sets out the minimum and maximum salary levels, and periodic increments, for each grade.
Disciplinary Actions
The New Law contains a broader list of penalties including (i) a reduction of salary; or (ii) degrading the employee by one grade and reducing the salary all of which are extended to all employees.
Absence
The New Law provides that if an employee is absent from work without permission for 15 consecutive days or 30 intermittent days without a justified reason, the employee will be deemed to have resigned. The employee must now be notified in writing of the legal effect of their absence after five days of consecutive absence (compared to seven days under the Old Law) or after 10 days of intermittent absence (compared to 15 days under the Old Law).
End-of-Service Gratuity
The New Law upholds the position of end-of-service gratuity (ESG) under the Old Law.
A Qatari employee with at least one year’s service shall be entitled to ESG calculated in an escalating scale depending on service whereas an expatriate employee will receive a flat rate which is restricted to an amount equal to 10 months’ basic salary.
Qatari employees entitled to ESG are not generally entitled to a pension as well unless they have been engaged for more than 20 years when they will receive ESG in addition to their pension for their period of service in excess of 20 years.
Note: Qatari Laws (save for those issued by, for example, QFC to regulate its own business), are issued in Arabic and there are no official translations, therefore for the purposes of drafting this article Clyde & Co LLP has used its own translations and interpreted the same in the context of Qatari laws, regulation and current market practice. Should you have any questions in connection with this article or the legal issues it covers, please contact Emma Higham, Legal Director of Clyde & Co, ([email protected]).
