Kuwait Labor Law - TopList 2009

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  • 8/9/2019 Kuwait Labor Law - TopList 2009

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    ------------------------~~An one receiving money which isnot his , from another person, ingood faith mu t return the moneyto its owner or back to the one he received from. I f he has malicious intentions (this must beproved)then he must return the money in addition to what he may have gained from its u e, ormis ed to gain, from the day he received the money; but ifa mentally incompetent person receivewhat i snot hi ,he is not ob liga ted to return the lawfu l gain he received from i ts use.LABOR IN THE PRIVATE SECTORThis law app lies to employees in the pr iva te sec tor; it does not apply to dome tic helper s of allkinds (driver, servants, cooks, maids, etc.). Employees in the pub lic sector and o il sector havedifferent laws to them and they are only applied to Kuwaiti and Gulfnationals; foreigners workingin these ectors are under the jur isdict ion of thi s law.

    SCOPE OF APPLICATIONThis law applies to employees who earn their l iving from physical, or mental work, and to ownersof businesses, be they persons or commercial entities who earn their living from employing workersto do physical, or mental work for them.An owner of a business company mu t issue a work permit f or his employee from the Ministr yof ocial Affai rs & Labor (hencefor th refer red to as the Min is try) exc luding Kuwai ti s o r Geenationals. The Ministry issues the work permit upon the request of the owner of a Kuwaiticompany (henceforth referred to as employer) registered at the Ministry, and in accordance withrequirements tipulated by the Ministry and met by the company. Once the work permit is issueda copy goes to Ministry of Inte rior based on which a work entry visa is i ued.Anybod who is not r egistered at the Ministry is not allowed to work (having a work permitmeans the per on i s regi stered a t the Min is try) . The Minist ry i author ized to l icense o ff ices forrecru itment of workers f rom outside the coun try. These l icensed offices are no t a llowed to takemoney from workers for their recruitment services, and are prohibited from keeping the recruitedworkers for themselves.

    LABOR CONTRACTThe labor contract between employers and employee can be either written or verbal. Itshould beinArabic with a translation to the language spoken by the employee, or into English, if requested,and it hould at least comprise the following information: Date of cont ract , durat ion o f cont ract ( if i thas f ixed durat ion) , s alary or wage, type of

    job and its nature, and any information and condition deemed necessary by the partiesto the contract.

    In case the cont ract i s verbal and conflict arises between employee and employer, thecase of the wronged par ty sha ll be proven byall means poss ible; and i f the cont ract hasa fixed duration itshould not exceed five years, renewable upon the consent of parties.

    I t shou ld be noted tha t the Arabic version of the con trac t i s the one lega lly binding incase of discrepancy between the Arabic original and a translated version.

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    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -The law tate that it is legal to try the employee for a period of hundred day, after which theemployer can relieve him of hi work without notification but with payment of c r.acompensation as agreed. (the law does not indicate whether this compensation i full salary or r t).

    EMPLOYING JUVENILES

    The law defines a juveni le asa male o rfemale who i between 14years and les s than 18years of age,and prohibits employment ofjuveniles unles the following is met:A permi t to employ him must be taken from the Min is try.Medical check up before employment and regular check-up after employment.

    Thejuvenile should work ina healthy non-hazardous environment, but it isacceptable for ajuvenileto be employed in hazardou work env ironment for t ra in ing purpo es only, and after a spec ia lpermit is t aken from the Ministry with the following conditions secured: The juveni le shou ld not be les s then 14year old. The juvenile should be healthy and physically fit for the job. The juvenile should not work during the night, he or she should be allowed to work

    during the day, and for six hours only; four hour of work, one hour of rest, and onefinal hour of work.

    EMPLOYING WOMENIt i snot a llowed for woman to work dur ing the n ight excep t inho p ital , clinics, and other placeswhich the Minist ry app roves . I t i s forbidden to employ \ omen in hazardous jobs or dangerouindust ri es. A pregnant woman has the r igh t toa lea e as fol lows: Thirty days before delivery, forty day after delivery. And he has the r ight to top working , cont inua lly o r intermi tt ent ly , for hundred day

    without payment , provided she submi ts a medica l repor t recommend ing thi period ofrest. In thi s ca e she cannot benefi t f rom her annual leave . The salary of woman isequa lto tha t of man if he does the same work.

    SALARIES AND WAGESA salary iswhat the employee earns monthly as remuneration for his work. Its consists of the basicamount of money plus any benef it he might have agreed upon, plus r ewards, inc rements,commiss ions e tc (as agreed with employer). At the end o f the employment period, the employershould consider the last salary paid as the basis for calculation of the end of service remuneration,(that is so if the employee i paid on a monthly basis). But if the employee works by pie ce, or bymeasure of work done, o r work accomplished, then an average o f the la t three months of hi s wageshould be taken into consideration when calculating his end of ervice remuneration. Wages areconsidered e ither asdaily basi s, o rweekly basi s, o r monthly basi s or per hour of work done, or perpiece of work done . I t i s wor th no ting tha t common prac ti ce i so f two kinds:

    Monthly paid salaries for white collar employee . Wages pa id on a daily work basi s a t the end of the month for blue col la r workers .

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    Anyone receiving money which isnot his , from another person, ingood faith must return the moneyto its owner or back to the one he received from. I f he has malicious intentions (this must beproved)then he must re turn the money in addition to what he may have gained from its use, ormissed to gain, from the day he received the money; but if a mentally incompetent person receiveswhat i snot hi s, he i snot obl igated to return the lawfu l gain he received from i ts u se .

    LABOR IN THE PRIVATE SECTORThis law app lies to employees in the p riva te sec tor ; i t does not app ly to domest ic he lpers of a llk inds (dr ivers , se rvant s, cooks, maids, e tc .) . Employees in the pub lic sec tor and o il sec to r havedifferent laws tothem and they are only applied to Kuwaiti and Gulfnationals; foreigners workingin these sectors are under the jurisdiction of this law.

    SCOPE OF APPLICATIONThis law applies to employees who earn their l iving from physical, or mental work, and to ownersof businesses, be they persons or commercial entities who earn their living from employing workersto do physical, or mental work for them.An owner of a bus iness company mus t i ssue a work permi t for hi s employee from the Minist ryof Social Affairs & Labor (hencefor th refer red to as the Minist ry ) exc luding Kuwai tis o r Geenationa ls. The Ministry issues the work permit upon the request of the owner of a Kuwaiticompany (henceforth referred to as employer) registered at the Ministry, and in accordance withrequirements stipulated by the Ministry and met by the company. Once the work permit is issueda copy goes to Minist ry o finter ior based on which a work ent ry v isa i s i ssued.Anybody who is not register ed at the Ministry is not allowed to work (having a work permitmeans the person i s regi stered a t the Min ist ry ). The Min ist ry i sautho rized to l icense o ff ices forrecrui tment o f workers f rom ou ts ide the coun try. These l icensed o ff ices are no t a llowed to takemoney from workers for their recruitment services, and are prohibited from keeping the recruitedworkers for themselves.

    LABOR CONTRACTThe labor contract between employers and employee can be either written or verbal. It should beinArabic with a translation to the language spoken by the employee, or into English, if requested,and it should at least comprise the following information: Date of contract, duration of contract (if it has fixed duration), salary or wage, type of

    job and i ts na tu re , and any information and condi tion deemed necessary by the part iesto the contract.

    In case the contract is verbal and conflict arises between employee and employer, thecase o f the wronged party shal l be proven byal l means possible; and i f the cont ract hasa fixed duration it should not exceed five years , renewable upon the consent of parties .

    It should be noted that the Arabic version of the contract is the one legally binding incase of discrepancy between the Arabic original and a translated version.

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    The law states that it is legal to try the employee for a period of hundr ed days, af te r which theemployer can relieve him of his work without notification but with payment of certaincompensation as agreed. (the law does not indicate whether this compensation is full salary or not).

    .MPLOYING JUVENILESThe law defines ajuvenile asa male or female who isbetween 14years and lessthan 18years of age,an d prohibits employment ofjuveniles unless the following ismet:

    A permit to employ him mus t be taken from the Min ist ry.Medical check up before employment, and regular check-ups after employment.

    The juvenile should work ina healthy non-hazardous environment, but itis acceptable for ajuvenileto be employed in hazardous work envi ronment for t ra ining purposes only, and after a specialpermit is taken from the Ministry with the following conditions secured: The j uvenile should not be less then 14 years old. The juvenile should be healthy and physically fit for the job. The juvenile should not work during the night, he or she should be allowed to work

    dur ing the day, and for six hours only; f our hours of work, one hour of rest, and onefinal hour of work.

    .MPLOYING WOMENIt is not allowed for woman to work during the night except in hospitals , clinics , and other placeswhich the Minist ry approves. I t i s forbidden to employ women in hazardous jobs or dangerousindustries. A pregnant woman has the right to a leave as follows: Thirty days before delivery, forty day after delivery. And she has the right to stop working, continually or intermittently, for hundred days

    without payment, provided she submits a medical report recommending this period ofrest. In this case she cannot benefit from her annual leave. The salary of woman isequalto tha t o f man i f she does the same work.

    SALARIES AND WAGESA salary iswhat the employee earns monthly as remuneration for his work. Its consists ofthe basicamount of money plus any benefit he might have agreed upon, plus r ewards, incr ements,commissions etc (as agreed with employer). At the end of the employment period, the employershould consider the last salary paid as the basis for calculation of the end of service remuneration,( that i s so i f the employee i spaid on a mon thly basi s) . But if the employee works by p iece , o r bymeasure of work done, or work accomplished, then an average of the last three months of his wageshould be taken into consideration when calculating his end of service remuneration. Wages areconsidered either as daily basis , or weekly basis , or monthly basis or per hour of work done, or perp iece o f work done . I t i swor th no ting tha t common pract ice i so f two kinds :

    Mon thly paid salar ies for whi te col la r emp loyees. Wages paid on a daily work basi s a t the end o f the mon th for blue col la r workers .

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