KUWAIT Law and Practice Contributed by: Sam Habbas, Luis Cunha, Hisham Al-Quraan and Mustafa Sayed, ASAR – Al Ruwayeh & Partners
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour (MOSAL) reg - ulates employment matters in Kuwait and issues regu - lations, which should be complied with by employers/ sponsors in addition to those in the Labour Law (eg, in respect of the minimum wage). While the Labour Law provides certain express protections for unions and collective bargaining arrangements, in practice these are quite rare and are typically only seen in certain sectors where Kuwaitis, rather than foreigners, form the majority of the sector’s workforce. 4.2 Characteristics of Employment Contracts The employment contract is used to obtain the neces - sary work permits, residence visas and any other gov - ernment approvals required for an employee, and the Labour Law sets out the basic information required to be included in employment contracts. According to Article 28, the employment contract should be in writ - ing (although an employment relationship can be evi - denced through all means of proof) and must include the contract date (both the date of conclusion and the date of validity), the wage payable and the duration of the contract (if a fixed-term contract). The employ - ment contract must also be filed with the MOSAL. The duration of an employment contract can be either fixed (ie, for a specific period) or indefinite. Depending on the applicable duration, this affects notice periods to be afforded prior to termination, end-of-service benefits payable upon conclusion of the contract, etc. 4.3 Working Time As a general premise, Article 64 of the Labour Law provides that employees are not to work more than eight hours per day or 48 hours per week, except as specified in the Labour Law. Article 66 stipulates that workers may work overtime if the necessity arises, provided that the overtime work does not exceed two hours a day, three days a week, 180 hours a year or 90 days a year. Workers are entitled to a 25% increase on their original remuneration for the period of over - time worked, and employers must maintain overtime records detailing the dates, overtime hours and wag - es. Employees are also afforded certain rest periods under the Labour Law. In this regard, during the month of Ramadan, the working hours should not exceed 36
hours per week (Article 64). In addition to public holi - days, employees are entitled to a one-hour break after working for five consecutive hours (Article 65) and to at least one 24-hour rest day every six days (Article 67). If employees are required to work on a rest day or holiday, then employers must pay such employee an additional 50% for rest days or an additional 100% for holidays, and must afford the employee an alternative rest day/holiday, as applicable. 4.4 Termination of Employment Contracts Kuwait is not an employment-at-will jurisdiction. Under Article 41 (a) of the Labour Law, an employer may terminate the services of an employee without notice, compensation or benefit if: • the employee has committed a mistake that resulted in a significant loss for the employer; • the employee obtained employment through cheat - ing or fraud; or • the employee divulged secrets related to the estab - lishment that caused or could have caused real losses. Article 41 (b) provides that an employer may dismiss an employee (subject to the payment of the employ - ee’s end-of-service benefits) if the employee: • has been found guilty of a crime that relates to honour, trust or morals; • has committed an act against public morals at the work site; • has assaulted one of their colleagues, the employer or their deputy during work or for a work-related reason; • breached or failed to abide by any of the obliga - tions imposed on them by contract or under the Labour Law; or • is found to have repeatedly violated the instruc - tions of the employer. Employees also have the right to terminate their employment contracts without notification and shall be entitled to their end-of-service benefits if: • the employer does not abide by the terms of the contract or the provisions of the law;
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