QUESTION: Does Qatar’s Labour Law specify an employment contract in writing and if so, can workers get a copy? We, a batch of seven engineers, are in Doha under work permit and immigration formalities have been completed three months ago. An employment contract has been signed but no copy is provided. On asking, we are told “word is valid and law in Qatar” and there is no need for the copy of the contract to be presented to workers. So far no salary has been paid to us. The company wants us to open a bank account but will not give any introductory letter to the bank. Salary, the company says, is payable only through bank as per law. Under such circumstance could we terminate the contract without serving notice? What’s the salary payment system?
PM, Doha
ANSWER: Article 38 of the employment laws of Qatar stipulates that the employment contract to be made in writing and the worker shall be entitled for the copy of the contract. In the matter of payment of wages and other benefits, entitlements shall be paid once in every month within the working day and during working hours in the usual place of work or any other place to be approved by the Labour Department . It is not mandatory that wages to be transferred to the account of the worker with the bank.
Under Article 51, an employee may terminate his employment with immediate effect if his employer has breached the terms of employment. The employer is under legal obligation to repatriate the employee upon termination of the employment contract at his cost. The employer shall complete the proceedings of returning the non-Qatari worker within a period not exceeding two weeks from the expiry date of the contract too.
Residence permit for daughters
Q: My wife, who is under her father’s sponsorship, is working with a company. My wife and I are expecting our first child. Can she continue under the father’s sponsorship? My job doesn’t give me family status. There is an offer from another company with family status. Can I resign, exit and come back without any delay?
FR, Doha
A: Under Article 16 of the Sponsorship Laws, the female children of the resident shall be given residence permit “till their marriage”. Accordingly, your father-in-law can sponsor neither his daughter as she is married nor his grandchild. Regarding re-entry, Article 4 of the sponsorship Law restrict grant of working visa to an expatriate, who has been residing in the state for work purposes for two years from the departure date unless otherwise supported by No objection letter issued by the current employer.
Outstanding loans to bank
Q: I have been working with a private company in Qatar for two years. I have a credit card and loan dues. The bank holds a signed blank cheque from me. Due to salary matters, the company terminated my services and sent me home suddenly. Hence I have been unable to pay my debts. What options do I have to solve this problem? I want to come back to Doha on another visa. Can I stop the cheque since it was blank?
KD, Doha
A: As per procedures, the bank may file a criminal complaint by virtue of the cheque deposited with the bank, and the case can be referred to the court in order to claim the outstanding amount. The court will issue its judgment even in the defaulter’s absence and the person will become a defaulter. Therefore seek settlement with the bank to avoid complications.
In the matter of blank cheques and stop payment, by endorsing a blank cheque with signature and handing it over to the beneficiary, the drawer of the cheque has effectively granted the beneficiary unqualified authority to fill in the amount.
Arbitrary dismissal
Q: My company has issued me a letter, announcing a reduction in salary. The letter says if the reduced salary is not acceptable to me, I may quit the job. Can a company terminate services on refusal of the employee to accept lesser wages? I have been with the company for more than five years. The letter refers to some penalty charges on me. Can the company impose any penalty without informing me about it earlier?
KS, Doha
A: The termination of employment contract on reasons of non-acceptance of salary reduction will not be in compliance with Labour Law. Termination of an employee in this manner may be deemed by the competent court as an arbitrary dismissal for which he is entitled to compensation.
Regarding penalties, Article 62 of the Labour Laws stipulates that the worker shall not be penalised before his being informed of the accusation against him and being inquired into in writing. The inquiry may be oral in the case of minor violations provided that the report of inquiry shall be filed in the record of the particular register of the worker. The minor violations referred are violations the penalties whereof prescribed in the penalties regulations do not exceed the notice or deduction not exceeding the wage for one day.
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LEGAL SYSTEM IN QATAR
Under Article 721, a special mandate, in respect of any act which is not an act of management, is required, and in particular for a sale, a mortgage, an admission, arbitration, the tendering of an oath and representation before the courts. However a special mandate to carry out a certain category of legal acts is valid, save as regards gratuitous acts, even though the object of such acts is not specified.
A special mandate only confers on the mandatory a power to act in matters specified therein and in matters necessarily incidental thereto in accordance with the nature of each matter and prevailing custom as well as the intended with of the contracting parties.
If the appointer authorises the attorney to nominate a substitute to perform his mandate without naming his person, the attorney shall only be responsible for the act of nominating the substitute or for his fault in respect of the instructions given thereto. In such case, the appointer and the appointed attorney’s substitute have a direct right of action against each other.
A mandate is deemed to be gratuitous in the absence of agreement which may be express or result by implication from the position of the attorney. If the remuneration is agreed, it is still subject to the assessment of the judge unless it has been voluntarily paid after the performance of the mandate.
Under Article 730, whatever result the attorney may have achieved in the performance of the mandate, the appointer must repay to the attorney any expenses incurred by him for the normal performance of the mandate. Unless otherwise agreed, the appointer must provide the attorney with the necessary sums for spending on the execution of the mandate.
The appointer is responsible for injury sustained by the attorney, without fault on his part, in the normal performance of the mandate. When several persons appoint a sole attorney for a common purpose, they are, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, jointly and severally liable to the attorney as regards the consequence of the performance of the mandate.
The mandate comes to an end by the completion of the work, impossibility of execution thereof or by the expiration of the period for which it was given and by the death of the appointer or of the attorney or by the disqualification of either.
The appointer may, at any time and notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, remove the attorney or restrict the mandate. When, however the appointer has been given in the interests of an attorney or of a third party, the appointer is not entitled to revoke or restrict the mandate without the consent of the person in whose interest the mandate was granted. In any case, the appointer shall indemnify the attorney for any damage suffered by the latter as a result of his removal at an inopportune time or without a justifiable excuse.