The terms of employment of the majority of employees currently working in Qatar are governed by Qatar Law No. 14/2004 (Labour Law) except those individuals and entities which are expressly excluded, including the employees of the Qatar Government and Qatar Petroleum amongst others. These employees are often subject to employment laws and regulations which are materially different than those set out in the Labour Law, e.g. they receive additional allowances, longer holidays and may be subject to different termination provisions. This article does not consider excluded employees.

Sick leave

Under the Labour Law, an employee is entitled to paid sick leave for each year of service. However, an employee will only be eligible for sick pay if the employee has been employed for a period of more than three months and only where a medical certificate is produced by a physician approved by the employer.

The minimum basis for payment during periods of sick leave is calculated as follows: