Kuwait's private sector runs on Law No. 6 of 2010. The law itself hasn't changed much since 2018. The rules around it have: working-hours registration, exit permits, new residency fees and new transfer exceptions. This guide covers what every employer needs, with the article number next to each rule.
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Who the law covers
- All private-sector workers, Kuwaiti and expatriate (Art. 2).
- Not domestic workers. They fall under Law 68/2015 (Art. 5).
- Not government employees. They fall under the Civil Service system.
- The law is a minimum. Better contract terms win (Art. 6), and any clause that reduces a legal right is void (Art. 115).
Contracts
- Contracts must be written, in Arabic, in 3 copies, with one copy filed with PAM (Arts. 28–29).
- A fixed-term contract runs from 1 to 5 years. It renews automatically if you both carry on (Arts. 30–31).
- Probation is up to 100 working days, once with the same employer. If you end it, you pay end of service for the days worked (Art. 32).
- You cannot cut the salary during the contract (Art. 28).
Wages
- Pay monthly-paid staff at least monthly, and no later than the 7th day after the due date (Art. 56).
- Employers with 5 or more workers must transfer wages to employees' bank accounts or local financial institutions (Art. 57). The Cabinet may exempt certain activities from transferring expatriate workers' wages to banks.
- Deductions are limited to 10% for loans you gave, with a 25% total cap (Art. 59).
- The private-sector minimum wage is KD 75 a month (Ministerial Order 14/2017).
- If the court finds that the employer is stalling payment of workers' entitlements, it may award compensation of 1% of their value for each month of delay (Art. 146).
Hours and overtime
- 8 hours a day or 48 a week. In Ramadan, 36 a week (Art. 64).
- Employees must not ordinarily work more than 5 consecutive hours without a break of at least 1 hour; the break is not working time. Financial, commercial and investment sectors may work 8 consecutive hours (Art. 65).
- Overtime is paid at +25%. The limits are 2 hours a day, 180 hours a year, 3 days a week and 90 days a year (Art. 66).
- Rest-day work is paid at +50% plus a substitute day (Art. 67).
- Public-holiday work is paid double, plus a substitute day (Art. 68).
- Since 1 November 2025, you must enter every schedule on PAM's system and post it (Resolution 15/2025).
- No outdoor work from 11:00 to 16:00, 1 June–31 August (Resolution 3/2026).
Leave
| Leave | Entitlement | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Annual | 30 working days a year; first-year leave after 6 months. Weekends, official holidays and sick leave during annual leave are excluded; part-year entitlement is proportionate | 70 |
| Sick | 15 days full pay, 10 at ¾, 10 at ½, 10 at ¼, 30 unpaid | 69 |
| Maternity | 70 days paid + up to 4 months unpaid | 24 |
| Hajj | 21 paid days after 2 consecutive years of service, once during service | 76 |
| Bereavement | 3 days | 77 |
| Iddah | 4 months 10 days (Muslim), 21 days (non-Muslim) | 77 |
End of service
- Monthly-paid staff get 15 days' wage for each of the first 5 years, then one month's wage for each subsequent year, capped at 18 months' wage. Daily-, weekly-, hourly- and piece-rate staff get 10 days for each of the first 5 years, then 15 days for each subsequent year, capped at one year's wage. Part years are proportionate (Art. 51).
- On resignation from an indefinite contract: no Article 53 entitlement under 3 years, one half from 3 to under 5 years, two thirds from 5 to under 10 years, and full EOS from 10 years (Art. 53).
- You cannot deduct social security contributions (Law 85/2017).
Termination
- Notice is 3 months for monthly-paid staff and 1 month for others (Art. 44).
- You cannot give notice during leave (Art. 45).
- Dismissal without a valid reason can be ruled arbitrary. The court then adds compensation on top of end of service (Arts. 41, 46).
Work permits, transfers and exits
- A transfer is possible after 1 year with your approval, or after 3 years without it.
- Since May 2026, PAM can approve an early transfer if the employer was negligent or filed a false absence report (Decision 680/2026).
- From 1 July 2025, Article 18 private-sector expatriate workers need employer approval on Sahel for an exit permit; the permit is valid for 7 days (Circular 2/2025).
- From 23 December 2025, the standard annual private-sector residency charge is KD 20; KD 100/year is the separate standard health-insurance planning amount. Reduced or exempt categories apply; KD 120 is a limited planning assumption, not a complete fee schedule for every expatriate.
Penalties employers should know
- Employing workers without a permit, or bringing workers into the country without employing them: KD 2,000–10,000 per worker and/or up to 3 years in prison. The same penalty applies to an employer who employs a worker in breach of these requirements (Art. 138, as amended in 2016).
- PAM can suspend your company file for violations, including missing working-hours registration.
Kuwaiti staff
- Social security: the employer pays 11.5% and the employee 8%, on salary up to KD 2,750, plus an extra employee share on the first KD 1,500.
- Kuwaitization requirements vary by sector.