Rights to maternity leave

QUESTION: We have a pregnant employee who was hired on October 4, 2015. She is expected to deliver by May 2 this year. The Labour Law apparently says that maternity leave is given only for those who have completed one year but in this particular case, she will just be seven months with the company. What benefits are she entitled to? MA, DohaANSWER: Labour Law provides 50 days’ paid maternity leave after one year of continuous service for female employees. The leave may be extended, on the basis of unpaid leave if sickness prevents the employee resuming to work on the due date of return. One year in employment with the same employer is the basic requirement for entitlement of maternity benefits. Under Article 96 of the Labour Law, female employees are entitled to 50 days paid maternity leave with full salary. The leave must be taken in the period immediately before and after delivery provided that the leave must include 35 days in the post-delivery period. If the post-delivery health condition hinders return to work after the end of the maternity leave period then, provided that an adequate medical certificate is furnished, an employee may take unpaid leave for a period not exceeding 60 consecutive or staggered days. To avail of the leave, the employee should provide to their employer a medical certificate issued by a licensed physician stating the expected delivery date. Also, the law states that such leave should not be calculated or covered by the annual leave or otherwise. In addition to the leave benefits the nursing female employee shall be entitled to a nursing interval which shall not be less than one hour per day during the year following.Delivering a projectQ: We were executing a project and when we approached the client to receive the project, he would not accept it. Instead the client issued a legal notice, stating that under Article 694 of the contract laws, he refused to accept the same. In fact, the work is outdated and no spares are available. We had notified the deficiency in writing in the early stage. Through letters, the client and the consultant have asked us to follow their instructions. What is this Law 694?AX, DohaA: Under Article 694 of the Civil Code, an employer may refuse to take delivery if there is a defect in the works or breach of mutually-agreed conditions exceed such an extent that they would not serve the intended purpose. If the defects are not of such seriousness, the employer shall only be empowered to reduce the consideration in proportion to the significance of the defect or shall oblige the contractor to rectify the defect within a reasonable time without involving exorbitant costs. However, under Article 695, an employer shall not invoke such rights where he is responsible for causing the defect, whether this is by issuing orders contrary to the contractor’s view or in any other manner.Offensive gestures Q: My friend once shouted at a person who was driving his car rashly and in a negligent way. A few days later he got a call from the police, informing him that there was a case against him on the ground of offensive acts in public. What will be the punishment for such acts? He had reacted out of anger; it was not intentional at all. What is the law in this regard?VB, DohaA: Article 290 of the penal laws states that any person who makes offensive gestures, says or sings immoral things or performs obscene acts in a public place or an open space shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months and/or a fine not exceeding QR3,000.Liquidator shall not start new worksQ: Can a company’s liquidator commence new business activities? What is the law on this? Our company is under the process of liquidation and the liquidator plans to launch a new venture in the company’s name? Who will be held responsible for such acts? Moreover, how will the liquidator settle the debts of the company? SD, DohaA: As per Article 311 of the Commercial Companies law, the liquidator shall not commence new works unless they are necessary for accomplishing previous works. If the liquidator begins with new works not required by liquidation, he is considered responsible in all his money for these works and in case of multiple liquidators they will be jointly responsible.The liquidator shall settle the debts of the company after the payment of liquidation expenses including remuneration of the liquidator in the following order of priority: (1) amounts due to the company employees; (2) amounts due to the state; (3) rent due to the landlord of any property rented to the company and (4) other due amounts each in accordance to its preference with respect to operative legislations.- Please send your questions by e-mail to: leges@qatar.net.qa (Mobile:55813105)LEGAL SYSTEM IN QATARAs per Article 714, if the proceedings of the bankruptcy have stopped due to insufficiency of assets prior to ratification of the composition or the state of consolidation, the court may, ex proprio motu or based on a report of the receiver, order the closure of the bankruptcy. The decision to close the bankruptcy for insufficiency of assets shall have the effect of restoring to each creditor will have the right to institute proceedings and individual action against the bankrupt. if the debt owed to the creditor has been verified and accepted ?nally in the bankruptcy, he may enforce against the properties of bankrupt by virtue of an order for payment. Such order must state that the debt has been accepted ?nally together with the decision of closing the bankruptcy on the grounds of the insufficiency of assets.According to Article 717, where it is established after the inventory of the bankrupt’s property that their value does not exceed one hundred thousand riyals, the adjudicator may, either of his own accord or pursuant to an application from the receiver or one of the creditors, order that the bankruptcy proceedings be conducted pursuant to following provisions: (a) reducing the period of the proceedings as the adjudicator deems fit; (b) supervisor shall not be appointed; (c) In case of disputing the debts, the creditors shall be summoned to deliberate on conciliation within ?ve days from the date of resolving the dispute by the adjudicator; (d) composition shall come into effect upon its approval in the meeting of creditors and it’s ratification by the adjudicator at this meeting; (e) The receiver shall not be changed when the condition of alliance has been achieved; and (f) after selling the assets of the bankruptcy, one distribution of assets shall be made among the creditors. As per Article 719, Any other commercial company, except for joint venture companies, professional firms and State-owned enterprises or companies in which the state owns more than half of the capital and engaged in the management of a public facility, may be declared bankrupt if it ceases payment of its debts upon maturity due to the instability of its financial operations. The bankruptcy of a company may be declared even if it ceases payment of its commercial debts when it is the course of its liquidation. Every creditor who has not collected his debt may apply for the company to be declared bankrupt within the three years following the deletion of its record from the commercial register.A de facto corporation may be declared bankrupt. Any company fails to become a de jure corporation for any grounds of nullity shall be considered to be subject to the same rule as a de facto company with regards to the period prior to the judgment declaring this nullity.