A HANDBOOK OF MAJOR

KUWAITI CORPORATIONS

15TH EDITION

WWW.KUWAIT.TOPLIST.COM
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An one receiving money which is not his, from another person, in good faith mu t return the money
to its owner or back to the one he received from. If he has malicious intentions (this must be
proved)then he must return the money in addition to what he may have gained from its u e, or
mis ed to gain, from the day he received the money; but if a mentally incompetent person receive
what is not hi ,he is not obligated to return the lawful gain he received from its use.
LABOR IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR
This law applies to employees in the private sector; it does not apply to dome tic helpers of all
kinds (driver, servants, cooks, maids, etc.). Employees in the public sector and oil sector have
different laws to them and they are only applied to Kuwaiti and Gulfnationals; foreigners working
in these ectors are under the jurisdiction of this law.
SCOPE OF APPLICATION
This law applies to employees who earn their living from physical, or mental work, and to owners
of businesses, be they persons or commercial entities who earn their living from employing workers
to do physical, or mental work for them.
An owner of a business company mu t issue a work permit for his employee from the Ministry
of ocial Affairs & Labor (henceforth referred to as the Ministry) excluding Kuwaitis or Gee
nationals. The Ministry issues the work permit upon the request of the owner of a Kuwaiti
company (henceforth referred to as employer) registered at the Ministry, and in accordance with
requirements tipulated by the Ministry and met by the company. Once the work permit is issued
a copy goes to Ministry of Interior based on which a work entry visa is i ued.
Anybod who is not registered at the Ministry is not allowed to work (having a work permit
means the per on is registered at the Ministry). The Ministry i authorized to license offices for
recruitment of workers from outside the country. These licensed offices are not allowed to take
money from workers for their recruitment services, and are prohibited from keeping the recruited
workers for themselves.
LABOR CONTRACT
The labor contract between employers and employee can be either written or verbal. It should be
in Arabic 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 contract, duration of contract (if it has fixed duration), salary or wage, type of
job and its nature, and any information and condition deemed necessary by the parties
to the contract.
• In case the contract is verbal and conflict arises between employee and employer, the
case of the wronged party shall be proven by all means possible; and if the contract has
a 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 in
case 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 the
employer can relieve him of hi work without notification but with payment of c r.a
compensation as agreed. (the law does not indicate whether this compensation i full salary or r t).
EMPLOYING JUVENILES
The law defines a juvenile as a male or female who i between 14 years and less than 18 years of age,
and prohibits employment of juveniles unles the following is met:
A permit to employ him must be taken from the Ministry.
Medical check up before employment and regular check-up after employment.
The juvenile should work in a healthy non-hazardous environment, but it is acceptable for ajuvenile
to be employed in hazardou work environment for training purpo es only, and after a special
permit is taken from the Ministry with the following conditions secured:
• The juvenile should not be less then 14 year 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 one
final hour of work.
EMPLOYING WOMEN
It is not allowed for woman to work during the night except in ho pital , clinics, and other places
which the Ministry approves. It is forbidden to employ \ omen in hazardous jobs or dangerou
industries. A pregnant woman has the right to a lea e as follows:
• Thirty days before delivery, forty day after delivery.
• And he has the right to top working, continually or intermittently, for hundred day
without payment, provided she submits a medical report recommending thi period of
rest. In this ca e she cannot benefit from her annual leave. The salary of woman is equal
to that of man if he does the same work.
SALARIES AND WAGES
A salary is what the employee earns monthly as remuneration for his work. Its consists of the basic
amount of money plus any benefit he might have agreed upon, plus rewards, increments,
commissions etc (as agreed with employer). At the end of the employment period, the employer
should 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 piece, or by
measure of work done, or work accomplished, then an average of the la t three months of his wage
should be taken into consideration when calculating his end of ervice remuneration. Wages are
considered either as daily basis, or weekly basis, or monthly basis or per hour of work done, or per
piece of work done. It is worth noting that common practice is of two kinds:
• Monthly paid salaries for white collar employee .
• Wages paid on a daily work basis at the end of the month for blue collar workers.
127
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Anyone receiving money which is not his, from another person, in good faith must return the money
to its owner or back to the one he received from. If he has malicious intentions (this must be
proved)then he must return the money in addition to what he may have gained from its use, or
missed to gain, from the day he received the money; but if a mentally incompetent person receives
what is not his, he is not obligated to return the lawful gain he received from its use.
LABOR IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR
This law applies to employees in the private sector; it does not apply to domestic helpers of all
kinds (drivers, servants, cooks, maids, etc.). Employees in the public sector and oil sector have
different laws to them and they are only applied to Kuwaiti and Gulfnationals; foreigners working
in these sectors are under the jurisdiction of this law.
SCOPE OF APPLICATION
This law applies to employees who earn their living from physical, or mental work, and to owners
of businesses, be they persons or commercial entities who earn their living from employing workers
to do physical, or mental work for them.
An owner of a business company must issue a work permit for his employee from the Ministry
of Social Affairs & Labor (henceforth referred to as the Ministry) excluding Kuwaitis or Gee
nationals. The Ministry issues the work permit upon the request of the owner of a Kuwaiti
company (henceforth referred to as employer) registered at the Ministry, and in accordance with
requirements stipulated by the Ministry and met by the company. Once the work permit is issued
a copy goes to Ministry ofinterior based on which a work entry visa is issued.
Anybody who is not registered at the Ministry is not allowed to work (having a work permit
means the person is registered at the Ministry). The Ministry is authorized to license offices for
recruitment of workers from outside the country. These licensed offices are not allowed to take
money from workers for their recruitment services, and are prohibited from keeping the recruited
workers for themselves.
LABOR CONTRACT
The labor contract between employers and employee can be either written or verbal. It should be
in Arabic 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 its nature, and any information and condition deemed necessary by the parties
to the contract.
• In case the contract is verbal and conflict arises between employee and employer, the
case of the wronged party shall be proven by all means possible; and if the contract has
a 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 in
case of discrepancy between the Arabic original and a translated version.
126
--------------------------------------------------~
The law states that it is legal to try the employee for a period of hundred days, after which the
employer can relieve him of his work without notification but with payment of certain
compensation as agreed. (the law does not indicate whether this compensation is full salary or not).
.MPLOYING JUVENILES
The law defines ajuvenile as a male or female who is between 14 years and less than 18 years of age,
and prohibits employment of juveniles unless the following is met:
A permit to employ him must be taken from the Ministry.
Medical check up before employment, and regular check-ups after employment.
The juvenile should work in a healthy non-hazardous environment, but it is acceptable for ajuvenile
to be employed in hazardous work environment for training purposes only, and after a special
permit is taken from the Ministry with the following conditions secured:
• The juvenile 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
during the day, and for six hours only; four hours of work, one hour of rest, and one
final hour of work.
.MPLOYING WOMEN
It is not allowed for woman to work during the night except in hospitals, clinics, and other places
which the Ministry approves. It is forbidden to employ women in hazardous jobs or dangerous
industries. 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 of
rest. In this case she cannot benefit from her annual leave. The salary of woman is equal
to that of man if she does the same work.
SALARIES AND WAGES
A salary is what the employee earns monthly as remuneration for his work. Its consists of the basic
amount of money plus any benefit he might have agreed upon, plus rewards, increments,
commissions etc (as agreed with employer). At the end of the employment period, the employer
should consider the last salary paid as the basis for calculation of the end of service remuneration,
(that is so if the employee is paid on a monthly basis). But if the employee works by piece, or by
measure of work done, or work accomplished, then an average of the last three months of his wage
should be taken into consideration when calculating his end of service remuneration. Wages are
considered either as daily basis, or weekly basis, or monthly basis or per hour of work done, or per
piece of work done. It is worth noting that common practice is of two kinds:
• Monthly paid salaries for white collar employees.
• Wages paid on a daily work basis at the end of the month for blue collar workers.
127