The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA) has put a new ruling that employees will have the right to switch jobs without getting a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from their employers if the company fails to pay their monthly salaries within seven days of the due date.
According to an official from the MADLSA, a decision to this effect has been taken at the ministerial level and it will be implemented soon.
The official stated that the government wants all companies operating in the country to pay monthly salaries to their employees on time or in certain cases within seven days from the due date. If they fail to do so, employees of such companies will have the right to change jobs even if they have not completed the contract period, as reported by the Qatar Tribune.
He noted that few companies in Qatar are yet to adopt the Wage Protection System (WPS), adding that the government is taking action to identify those companies.
Furthermore, the official said that any worker can approach the committee with complaints against the employer. If the grievances of an employee against the company is found to be true then the employee will be given a chance to change job even without completing the contract period.
While, if the employee is found to be guilty, the committee will allow the company to terminate the job of the employee.
The terminated persons will not be allowed to enter the country for four years from the date of termination. The four-year ban can be extended depending on the seriousness of the misdeed of the worker, as stated by the official.
In this connection, a Swiss company has also been hired by the ministry to smoothen the procedure of recruitment of expatriate workers and it will start functioning soon.
Any company operating in Qatar will have to hire the services of the Swiss firm to complete the employment prerequisites in the source country, the official noted.
