Termination Of An Employee in Qatar

Termination from the company:

Qatar Labour Law

Employee’s contracts may be terminated for:

• Termination by the employer after giving due notice. In this case, employers are exempt from providing a cause for the termination, apart from the possibility that the employee is protected from termination.
• Summary dismissal for gross misconduct or absence from work owing to more than 12 weeks of sick leave.
• Mutual consent to end the relationship.

Employers may terminate a Employee without cause, for any of the grounds specified in the Qatari Labor Law.

Workers cannot be fired or given notice of termination while on maternity leave, annual leave, pilgrimage leave, or any other type of leave related to childbirth.

Unless the worker finds a new position in Qatar, employers are required to cover the cost of the worker's return to their own country within two weeks of the employment termination.

QFC Employment Regulations

Workers may be fired at any moment for any valid reason as long as they give the proper notice.

According to the QFC Employment Regulations, employers have the right to terminate an employee summarily, or without cause, for any of the following reasons. These situations include when an employee has "engaged in gross misconduct" or when they have materially violated their job contract. 

Notice Period:

Qatar Labour Law
If an employer gives notice to terminate an employment contract, the minimum statutory notice periods listed below are applicable:

• Employees who have worked for two years with less than a month's notice:
• Employees with less than one month's notice after two years of service.
• Employees with over two years of employment are entitled to a two-month notice period.
• Employers may choose to pay rather than provide notice. 

QFC Employment Regulations
Workers may be fired with notice if they provide at least:

• if the employee has been with the company for less than three months, two weeks' notice
• If the employee has worked for the company for three months to five years, they will receive one month's notice and
• If the employee has been there for longer than five years, they will receive three months' notice.
• Workers have the option to forego receiving notice in favor of payment. 

End of service gratuity/pension:

Qatar Labour Law

Employees who are not enrolled in a legally mandated pension plan are eligible for an end-of-service gratuity. Employees are entitled to 21 days' basic pay for every year of continuous employment, prorated to the precise termination date, for each year of employment.

Employees are not entitled to an end-of-service gratuity in the following situations:

• For flagrant misbehavior, they are summarily removed or
• The worker quits without giving the employer the required amount of notice.

Employees who are nationals of Qatar may be eligible for benefits under the state retirement pension plan. 10% of gross income is required of employers to be contributed to the state pension plan, which is run by the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority (GRSIA). An additional 5% contribution is required of qualifying employees, and this must be withheld at the source by the employer. 

QFC Employment Regulations

Within the QFC, it is also mandatory for employees who are Qatar Citizens to be protected by the state retirement pension program.

Employees at QFC are not required to receive an end-of-service gratuity payment. 

Employee claims:

Qatar Labour Law
Employees may sue their employers for damages if they are fired illegally from a fixed-term employment contract before it expires unless there is extreme misconduct. Workers may also file claims for any further labor law violations committed by the employer.  

QFC Employment Regulations

If there is a violation of the QFC Employment Regulations, employees may report it to the Employment Standards Office of the QFC. The QFC Employment Regulations do not grant any particular entitlement to file a claim for arbitrary or unjust dismissal.