The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA) has announced that the conditions set by the ministry for changing jobs under Law No 21 of 2015 regulating the entry, exit and residency of expatriates apply to only the private sector.
The law stipulate that an expatriate can change jobs provided the new employer has an approval for a position for the same nationality, gender and profession.
The worker is required to submit a request to the ministry 30 days before the contract comes to an end, in case he is looking for a job change.
However, in case of an open-ended contract, the worker should stay not less than five years in service and the notice period would be 30 days if the duration of service is five years, and 60 days, if the duration of service is more than five years, as reported by The Peninsula.
Furthermore, expatriates aged above 60 years cannot seek a job change.
Out may be mentioned here that Exit permit and change of job were the most controversial issues in the old law and all discussions were focused around these points and some other relevant procedural issues.
The Peninsula reported a businessman from a contracting company who said that exit permit was not a big problem for more than 99 per cent of the expatriate employees in Qatar, but could be so for some categories of businessmen and investors.
He added that even though there is a multi-exit permit that businessmen use, the problem they face is mainly due to the absence of an economic free zone
It is felt that making it mandatory for workers to sign the job contract in the country of origin before coming to Qatar may be a problem for workers in some countries. Moreover, making all transactions electronic including change of employer may also cause difficulties for workers who do not know how to use computer or online services.
As such, the ministry has urged expatriate employees to visit its technical support section if they come across any problems or technical issues.The ministry has urged expatriate employees to visit its technical support section if they come across any problems or technical issues and given the contact address E-notice@ADLSA.gov.qa 40288888
Workers are also allowed to come back to the country on new work contract the next day after his departure which is good for many workers. However, according to some experts, the new law prevents return before four years if the employee’s contract is terminated for disciplinary reasons and if he did not file a complaint in the competent court or his complaint is rejected by the court.
An expatriate worker deported upon court decision will not be able to come back to the country without the minister’s approval. Another Mandoub pointed out that most private companies would opt for five years contract and if the worker refused he would be denied a job.
