No doubt that the labour market is anxiously waiting for the new law of entry, exit and residency to be enforced in December 2016. All are waiting with different feelings, anxiety and concepts. Employers have a careful feelings, while the workers have optimistic hopes.

Qatar has completed the preparation for the regulations of the law regulating the entry and exit of expatriates and it will come into effect from 13th of December this year.

Executive regulations are bye-laws that explain each article of a law and explain in detail how they are to be put in force.

The new law No. 21 of 2015 regulating the entry, exit and residency of expatriates will come into force on December 13, one year after its publication in the official gazette.

The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs recently announced a two-month awareness campaign to promote wider understanding of the changes in the Qatari labour and residency laws.

The executive regulations of the new residency law indicate that expatriate workers who terminate their job contracts and leave the country before completion of the contract period are not allowed to return to the country before the end of the contract period, Al Sharq reports.

The law will have a major impact on expatriate workers as it replaces the sponsorship (Kafala) system with a contract-based one and revoked the exit permit system and workers could come back to Qatar next day of their departure if he/she found new work contracts, said Jaznan Al Shamari, a prominent lawyer and vice-chairman of Qatari Lawyers Association.

Al Shemari said that the law aims to promote human rights and the rights of expatriate workers and seeks establishment of special committees to resolve labour disputes, in addition to the existing labour courts. “No one needs to fear this law. It protects the rights of all partners — employer and the employee— because their relation will be based on the contract and its terms and conditions,” Al Shemari told.

The way one of the parties could cancel the contract is supposed to be mentioned in the contract itself, said Al Shemari, when asked whether the worker can end his contract before its termination date.

The target groups of the two laws — the labour law and the residency law — are expatriate workers who must be aware of their rights and obligations under the new laws.

According to Abdelaal Khalil, a legal consultant, there is no need for the companies to make new contracts with their employees after implementation of the new law but the existing contracts will be valid as long as the employee is willing to continue in his job.

16 things you need to know about new law kafala changes

1. New law would be implemented by this year 2016.(updated)
2. New law will make employment and stay of expatiates entirely contract-based.
3. Two-year ban on a new work visa will no longer be applicable.
4. No approval from former employer if he is recruited by a new employer.
5. Worker who has got a new contract to work in Qatar can come back even on the next day.
6. Exit permit will not be required for travel it will become invalid with enforcement of new law.
7. To leave country employee needs to inform his employer before three days and apply through in Metrash 2 system.
8. All employment contracts of all expatriate workers who are already here will be replaced with new contracts by the end of this year.
9. Date he has signed the fresh employment contract will be the date from his contract would be counted.
10. Employment contract has to approved by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
11. Closed contracts shall not exceed a period of five years.
12.  Employes with Open-ended contracts can move to another employer after spending a minimum of five years with the first employer.
13. Workers with fixed job contracts can change their work and sign new contracts if they wish so at the end of the contract period without any NOC but approval from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
14. An expat can also move to another sponsor with the approval of MOI and MOLSA if the sponsor is dead or the company no longer exists for any reason.
15. QR50,000 fine and jail terms of up to three years for recruiters who allow their employees to work for other parties without prior official approval.
16. QR10,000 to QR25,000 fine for keeping passport of expatriate employee.

Some citizens unhappy about new law

However, all types of contracts will start from the date of enforcement of the new law regardless of how many years the employee had served in the company, but this does not mean the previous years of service are not counted, he observed.

He said the new law applies to all expatriate workers, including domestic helps.
It is not necessary for newcomers to sign a work contract before coming to Doha, he said.

If the employer has agreed to hire the worker and processed his/her entry visa for work, the worker can sign the contract after arriving in Qatar. However, in case he refuses to sign the contract, he would be forced to go home, said Khalil.

Some citizens, commenting on social media, expressed apprehensions about some provisions of the law but many were more positive as they see it fair and believe that it will create balanced relations between the employer and the employee.

All over the world, people work according to the job contract but in Qatar the sponsorship system was making the employer responsible for everything related to the expatriate employee and this is not fair, said a commentator.

The work contract needs to be certified by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs and the maximum period for work contract is five years.

Those who sign open contracts need to stay with the company for a minimum of five years to change their job, said another comment.

What changes in the law mean for residency permits

The work force in Qatar, particularly expats are eagerly awaiting the implementation of the changes in the labour law. The changes are set to be implemented in December later this year. Everyone has his or her own expectations from the changes. The employers may be anxious and circumspect but the workers are overwhelmingly hopeful.

The changes are set to reform the labour market to a significant extent as the ambiguity surrounding many issues would be cleared and the role of the Ministry of Labour would become much more effective in regulating the labour market and overseeing the relations between the workers and the employers.

The changes are expected to pave way for a work environment which is more efficient on the one hand and on the other it is hopefully going to put an end to the practice visa selling and also prevent bogus companies from misusing the visa laws. If all goes well, the changes should overhaul the image of the labour market of Qatar in the eyes of international media and rights organisations.

The State has made it clear that it intends to plug all the loopholes in the law and update the regulations to improve the work culture in the country.

In order to prove their serious, the concerned authorities updated wages control system that enables all related organisations to be involved in a way that leads to the best improvement in labour market. Also, the new wage system facilitates supervision of companies’ compliance to the law and assures their committed to their obligations towards their employees, points out Abdelaal A Khalil, a legal advisor.

The new labour law won’t be much different from the current labour law, however, many articles which were habitually misused by employers have been amended.

One such article is concerned with the transfer of ‘sponsorship’, the old article was somewhat favourable to the employers, however, the new amended article mandates that the employees can change their sponsors without the approval of their current sponsors, provided some conditions are met.

The changes in the labour law suggest that authorities in Qatar have identified the need to amend the laws in order to make the economy function efficiently and remain competitive in the global economic system. And also at the same the changes in the law would also clear many ambiguities that plague the current law.

The most significant reform that the new law would inculcate in the labour law of Qatar the essence of employment contracts. Previously, an employee was required to mandatorily produce a ‘no objection letter’ from his current employer if he/she wanted to work for another employer, this clause was misused by employers many a times and even led to many talented people leaving Qatar altogether. The new law seems to have addressed this issue to a great extent as the new article states that the employee has the right to change the employer in two ways; either upon completion of his contract term or after five years of service in case the contract is unlimited.

The new law also makes the residency of an employee as a responsibility of the employer and the employee-employer relation is codified, enumerated, iterated in the form of the employment contract and remains effective from the date the employment begins to the date it ends.

Credit: Qatar Day
URL: http://www.qatarday.com/blog/legal/24-days-to-go-long-awaited-qatar-kafala-sponsorship/21263