QUESTION: I will complete seven years of employment with my company by June. My visa is valid until then. I want to terminate the contract by June or before June. I have submitted my resignation notice to the management which has responded, saying that that I am eligible only for 50% of the gratuity because of my resignation and I have to arrange my own return ticket. When I resign am I not eligible for return passage?
OM, Doha
ANSWER: As per Qatari laws, upon termination of the employment contract, by employer or the employee, the employer is under obligation to repatriate the employee. You have got your right for an air ticket back to the place of recruitment or to any other agreed location.
With regard to terminal benefits, employees are entitled for full gratuity minimum at the rate of three weeks’ of their termination basic salary for every year and pro-rate that he has worked for the employer.
Right of action against the debtor
Q: I am a guarantor for a business loan procured by four people who are known to me for long time. Now the creditor has attached part of the loan from my account and the rest is also going to be attached. Please advice about my rights against the debtors and the procedures to be followed so as to settle the matter with creditor.
PV, Doha
A: According to Article 833 - 836 of the Qatar Civil Laws, a surety shall give the debtor notice before paying the debt. However, if action is brought against him by the creditor, he must involve the debtor as a litigant in the case. If he fails to give notice to the debtor before payment of the debt or if he does not seek to involve him as a litigant in the case, he will forfeit his right of action against the debtor if the latter has himself paid the debt or had grounds for having the debt declared void or extinguished.
A surety who has paid the debt has the right of action against the debtor to claim the principal amount of the debt, costs of the first claim and expenses incurred from the date of giving notice to the debtor in respect of the action against him. A surety who has paid the debt is subrogated to all the rights of the creditor against the debtor.
If, however, he pays only part of the debt, the surety can only exercise such rights in respect of that part he has paid after the creditor has recovered from the debtor the whole of the debt due. Where there are several debtors jointly and severally liable for one and the same debt, a surety who has guaranteed them all, has a remedy against each of them for all that he has paid in respect of that.
Workers’ benefits can’t be denied
Q: Our management deputed us to another company’s site. Though we go there daily, there is no job because of various reasons. We don’t sign any time sheet. Are we eligible for salary? Our company says when there is no time sheet, no invoice could be submitted.
ST, Doha
A: Worker is entitled for all his benefits if he attends place of work as provided under Article 44 of the Labour Laws. The employer shall undertake to enable the worker to perform the work and to provide him with all things necessary therefore, and if the worker attends the place of work and is willing to perform the work but could not do so for reasons beyond his control, he shall be considered to have actually done the work and be entitled to all the benefits.
Violation of rental law
Q: Is it legal for a building owner to terminate a rental contract, saying he wants to demolish the structure to reconstruct it and later not doing it? We were operating from a rented place and our landlord asked us to vacate it on the pretext of reconstructing it. Later he rented the building to another man. Can we take any action now?
AG, Doha
A: Article 19 of the Rental Laws stipulates that the lessor should proceed with the licensed works within six months of the date on which the leased premises were vacated. Accordingly, lessee may invoke Article 19 to claim compensation in such circumstances. In the event if the lessor does not undertake the licensed works, or lets the premises to another lessee before undertaking such works, the lessee may submit a claim for compensation if such is warranted.
Overstaying visit visa
Q: I arrived on a business visit to Doha 40 days ago. Unfortunately I couldn’t get my visit visa renewed due to oversight and my sponsor’s absence. Do I need any exit permit and will there be a fine for overstay?
SD, Doha
A: Staying more than 30-days under visit visa requires exit permit to leave the country. Also as per sponsorship Laws, visitors who arrive on a 30-day visit visa will be fined QR200 per day for each day of overstay. The maximum fine in this case, however, cannot exceed QR20,000.
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LEGAL SYSTEM IN QATAR
An insured means the person who undertakes to perform the counter obligations to these of the insurer. The beneficiary means the person or persons to whom the insurer pays what it has committed to pay in case of the occurrence of the accident or realisation of the risk indicated in the contract. The insured shall be considered as the beneficiary unless another beneficiary is specified in the contract.
If the insurance contract is concluded without authority from the insured, the contract shall be to his benefit if it is approved by him even after the realisation of the insured risk. If the risk is realised and the insured has not approved the contract during three years from the realisation of the risk, the premiums paid shall belong exclusively to the insurer.
An insurance against damages shall become null and void unless it is based upon a legitimate economic interest. Also an insurance shall be invalid if it is found that the insured risk no longer exists or if it was realised before concluding the contract. In all cases where the insurer re-insures with third parties the insured risks, the insurer shall remain solely liable towards the insured or the beneficiary.
According to Article 774, the insurance application shall not be solely binding upon the insurer nor the insured and the contract shall not be concluded unless the insurer signs the insurance policy. If the contract is concluded, the insurance application and its contents of particulars and declarations shall be deemed as an integral part of the contract.
Meanwhile, the contract shall be entered into even before signing the policy if the insurer delivers in response to the insured’s request a temporary cover note containing the basic conditions and requirements of this contract. However, if the insured produces a receipt confirming payment of a part of the insurance premium, he shall be empowered by all means of proof that the contract has been concluded even though he has not received a temporary cover note.
If the conditions indicated in the policy do not conform to what has been agreed upon, the insured shall have the right to ask for correcting such conditions within thirty days from the date of receiving the policy, failing which he shall be deemed to have accepted the conditions stated therein.