Qatar Labor Law: Working Hours

Being one of the richest countries in the world, Qatar is one of the places where most people look for job opportunities. Before applying for a job in Qatar, you must first know the rules, the law, and other matters related to work in Qatar. One of these is with regard to working hours.

Here are some of the things you must know when it comes to working hours in Qatar, as provided by the Qatar Labor Law Articles 73 to 77.

Official Working Hours & Rest Periods in Qatar

Working Hours

  • The maximum ordinary working hours is 44 hours/week or 8 hours/day except for the month of Ramadan, when the maximum working hours is 36 hours/month or 6 hours/day.
  • The time spent by the worker in going to and from the workplace and residence is not part of the working hours.
  • Additional working hours may be required provided that the actual working hours per day shall not exceed ten hours. However, the following works are exempted and workers may render work for more than 10 working hours for the purpose of:

(a) Prevention of gross loss or dangerous accident
(b) Repair or alleviation of the consequences of the said loss or accident

  • Additional working hours shall be paid by the employer with a rate of not less than the basic wage plus not less than 25% thereof.
  • The workers, except for shift workers, who work between 9 PM and 6 AM, should be paid with the basic wage plus not less than 50% thereof.

Prayers, Meals, & Rest Periods

  • The worker should not work for more than five consecutive hours. There should be an interval or more for prayer, rest, and taking of meals which should not be less than an hour but not more than 3 hours.
  • However, the said interval is not taken into consideration in computing the working hours.
  • The weekly rest day for all workers is Friday except for those who are working on shifts. The rest day should not be less than 24 consecutive hours and the worker is also compensated on this rest day.
  • If the work requires the worker to work during the rest day as certain circumstances arise, the worker can have another day for his rest day and will be paid with the wage payable to him for the ordinary weekly rest day or with his basic wage plus an increase of not less than 150% thereof.
  • All workers, except for shift workers, should not be required to work for more than two consecutive Fridays.

Other Provisions

  • The above provisions are not applicable to workers who occupy responsible positions which grant them powers exercisable by the employer over the workers.
  • The provisions on working hours mentioned above are not applicable to the following categories:

(a) Workers carrying out preparatory and complementary works which are usually done before or after working time;
(b) Guarding and cleaning workers; and
(c) Other categories of workers specified by the Decision of the Minister (as the maximum working hours for these workers will be decided by the Decision of the Minister).

  • Employers should post the table of working hours, rest day, and the rest intervals for all categories of workers on the main gate of the workplace and on other conspicuous places and should give the Department a copy of this table.

DISCLAIMER: The topics presented in this article are for information-sharing purposes only.  To learn more about the Qatar Labor Law, please visit the official website of the Hukoomi Portal (Qatar e-Government).