How End of Service Gratuity Works for Expats in Qatar Under Labour Law Article 54

Here's how end-of-service gratuity works for expats in Qatar under the Labour Law (Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 54).

Eligibility. You qualify once you've completed one year of continuous service with the same employer. Below one year, no gratuity is due. It's payable whether you resign, are terminated, or your contract ends — though resigning before completing a year, or being dismissed under certain articles, can affect entitlement. 

The rate. The legal minimum is 21 days (three weeks) of basic salary for each completed year of service. An employer can pay more than this (some give higher rates for longer tenure), but never less. 

What counts as salary. Only your last basic salary is used — not gross salary or total compensation. Housing, transport, and other allowances and bonuses are excluded. 

The formula.

•    Daily wage = monthly basic salary ÷ 30
•    Gratuity per year = daily wage × 21
•    Total gratuity = (gratuity per year) × years of service

Partial years are paid proportionally by the number of months worked.

Worked example. Say your basic salary is QAR 6,000 and you've worked 5 years:

•    Daily wage = 6,000 ÷ 30 = QAR 200
•    Per year = 200 × 21 = QAR 4,200
•    Total = 4,200 × 5 = QAR 21,000

If that same person had worked 5 years and 6 months, you'd add half of one year's amount (≈ QAR 2,100), for about QAR 23,100.

A couple of practical notes: gratuity is generally calculated only from 2004 onward under the current law, and your final settlement also typically includes any unused annual leave pay, which is separate from gratuity. Since employers sometimes interpret the "basic salary" split differently, it's worth checking exactly what your contract lists as basic pay — that number drives the whole calculation. For anything disputed, Qatar's Ministry of Labour (mlsd.gov.qa) has an official calculator and a complaints process.