KUWAIT LABOUR LAW
Kuwait Labour Law Directory
Search all 150 articles by number or by a word from your topic, then open the article with clear links to the official source.
150 articles
Official text per PAM's consolidated English edition (2025). For guidance only; not legal advice.
General provisions
- Definitions of key terms (Art. 1)In the application of the provisions of this Law, the following terms shall mean: 1.
- Who the law applies to (Art. 2)Applies to workers in the private sector.
- Marine work contracts (Art. 3)The provisions of this Law shall apply to marine work contract in respect of any thing not provided for in the…
- Oil sector workers (Art. 4)The provisions of this Law shall apply to the oil sector in respect of any thing not provided for in the Law of…
- Excluded workers (Art. 5)Does not include domestic workers (Law 68/2015).
- Law sets minimum rights (Art. 6)The law sets a minimum; any better benefit applies.
Employment and training
- Employment rules by the Minister (Art. 7)The Minister shall issue resolutions that regulate the conditions of employment in the private sector, particularly…
- Reporting manpower needs (Art. 8)Every employer shall inform the competent authority about its need for manpower and shall annually inform the…
- Public Authority for Manpower (Art. 9)There shall be established a public authority that shall be a corporate body with an attached budget , and named The…
- Hiring expatriate workers (Art. 10)The employer shall be prohibited from employing expatriate manpower unless authorized by the Authority.
- No discrimination in work permits (Art. 11)The Ministry and the competent authority shall not engage in any discriminatory or preferential treatment in dealing…
- Who is an apprentice (Art. 12)A professional apprentice is every person who, having completed his 15th year of age, signs a contract with the…
- Apprenticeship contract (Art. 13)The professional apprenticeship contract should be written and made in three copies: one copy for each party and a…
- Ending an apprenticeship (Art. 14)The employer shall have the right to terminate the apprenticeship contract in the event where the apprentice fails…
- Professional training defined (Art. 15)Professional training includes theoretical and practical means and programs that provide the workers with the…
- Training programme rules (Art. 16)The Minister shall, in cooperation and coordination with competent academic and professional entities, determine all…
- Full pay during training (Art. 17)The establishment which is subject to the provisions of this Chapter, shall pay the worker his entire remuneration…
- Work obligation after training (Art. 18)The professional apprentice or trainee worker shall, after completing his apprenticeship or training, to work for…
- Minimum working age (15) (Art. 19)It shall be prohibited to employ persons who are below the age of 15 years.
- Employing juveniles (15–18) (Art. 20)Subject to the approval of the ministry, it shall be allowed to employ juveniles who reached 15 years of age but did…
- Juvenile working hours (Art. 21)Juveniles shall work for maximum of six hours per day, and shall not be employed for more than four hours straight,…
- Women's night work (Art. 22)It is prohibited to employ women at night during the period from 10:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning.
- Jobs prohibited for women (Art. 23)It shall be prohibited to employ any woman in works that are hazardous, arduous or harmful to health.
- Maternity leave (Art. 24)Maternity leave is 70 days plus 4 unpaid months; dismissal is not allowed during that period.
- Nursing break and nursery (Art. 25)Two hours for nursing; a nursery is required if there are more than 50 female employees or more than 200 employees.
- Equal pay for women (Art. 26)Equal pay for women.
Work contracts
- Age to sign a work contract (Art. 27)Minimum age is 15.
- Written contract and pay protection (Art. 28)The contract is written in 3 copies, one filed with PAM. Salary cannot be reduced, and the employee cannot be assigned work outside the nature of the contract.
- Contracts in Arabic (Art. 29)The contract is in Arabic, and the Arabic text prevails.
- Fixed-term contract length (Art. 30)Fixed-term contracts run from 1 to 5 years and renew automatically.
- Automatic contract renewal (Art. 31)Fixed-term contracts run from 1 to 5 years and renew automatically.
- Probation period (Art. 32)Probation is a maximum of 100 working days, once with the same employer.
- Subcontracted work (Art. 33)In the event where the employer entrusts another employer with the performance of a task or part thereof under the…
- Housing and transport for remote sites (Art. 34)The employer, who contracts for the execution of a government project or who employs his workers in remote areas,…
- Penalties table (Art. 35)The regulation must be approved and posted, penalties must be progressive, only one penalty may be imposed for each violation, and there is a 15-day period.
- Ministry approval of penalties (Art. 36)The regulation must be approved and posted, penalties must be progressive, only one penalty may be imposed for each violation, and there is a 15-day period.
- Investigation before penalty (Art. 37)No penalty without written notice and hearing the employee's account.
- Pay deduction limit for penalties (Art. 38)Deductions cannot exceed 5 days per month.
- Suspension during investigation (Art. 39)Suspension for investigation is a maximum of 10 days.
- Penalty deductions fund (Art. 40)Deducted amounts go to a fund for the benefit of workers.
- Dismissal without notice (Art. 41)Dismissal (a) without indemnity, (b) with indemnity, and (c) challenging arbitrary dismissal.
- Dismissal for absence (Art. 42)Absence for 7 consecutive days or 20 separate days.
- Worker detained or imprisoned (Art. 43)Imprisonment following a complaint by the employer.
- Notice period (Art. 44)Notice is 3 months for monthly-paid workers and one month for others, with one paid day per week to look for work.
- No termination during leave (Art. 45)No notice during leave.
- Unfair dismissal (Art. 46)No dismissal without a reason or for prohibited reasons.
- Wrongful end of fixed-term contract (Art. 47)Early termination of a fixed-term contract: compensation is capped at the wages for the remaining period.
- Worker quits with full benefits (Art. 48)Cases where the worker leaves with indemnity.
- Death or disability of worker (Art. 49)Death, incapacity, bankruptcy, closure, and transfer of the establishment.
- Contract ends: bankruptcy or closure (Art. 50)Death, incapacity, bankruptcy, closure, and transfer of the establishment.
- End-of-service indemnity (Art. 51)Monthly-paid employees receive 15 days' wage for each of the first 5 years, then 1 month's wage for each subsequent year, capped at 18 months' wage. Daily-, weekly-, hourly- and piece-rate employees receive 10 days for each of the first 5 years, then 15 days for each subsequent year, capped at 1 year's wage. Partial years are proportionate. Social-security contributions must not be deducted (2017 amendment).
- Cases of full indemnity (Art. 52)Full indemnity cases include employer termination (subject to the Article 41(a) forfeiture grounds), expiry of a fixed-term contract without renewal, cases under Articles 48–50, and a female employee ending the contract within 1 year of marriage.
- Indemnity when the worker resigns (Art. 53)For resignation from an indefinite contract: under 3 years, no Article 53 entitlement; 3 to under 5 years, one half; 5 to under 10 years, two thirds; 10 years or more, full EOS.
- End-of-service certificate (Art. 54)End-of-service certificate.
Wages
- What counts as pay (Art. 55)Wages = basic pay + fixed allowances.
- Pay dates (Art. 56)Monthly-paid employees must be paid at least monthly; payment must not be delayed more than 7 days after its due date.
- Salaries paid to bank accounts (Art. 57)Employers with 5 or more workers must transfer wages to employees' bank accounts or local financial institutions. The Cabinet may exempt certain activities from transferring expatriate workers' wages to banks.
- Changing pay basis (Art. 58)A monthly-paid employee cannot be moved to another wage category without written consent.
- Loan deductions limit (Art. 59)Deductions are capped at 10% for loans and 25% overall.
- No forced purchases (Art. 60)Employees cannot be required to buy from particular shops.
- Pay during forced closure (Art. 61)Wages continue during a closure.
- Pay basis for entitlements (Art. 62)For EOS, use the last wage and include applicable recurring wage components, rather than invariably using basic salary alone.
- Minimum wage (Art. 63)The minimum wage is reviewed every 5 years (currently KD 75, Order 14/2017).
Working hours and leave
- Working hours and Ramadan hours (Art. 64)8 hours per day or 48 per week, and 36 during Ramadan.
- Rest breaks (Art. 65)Employees must not ordinarily work more than 5 consecutive hours without a break of at least 1 hour, which is not counted as working time. Financial, commercial and investment sectors have an exception permitting 8 consecutive hours.
- Overtime (Art. 66)Overtime is paid at +25%, capped at 2 hours per day, 180 hours per year, 3 days per week, and 90 days per year, with a written order and register.
- Weekly rest day (Art. 67)The weekly rest day is paid at +50% with a substitute day. Daily pay = salary ÷ actual working days.
- Official holidays (Art. 68)Official holidays (13 days) are paid at double rate with a substitute day.
- Sick leave (Art. 69)Sick leave: 15 days at full pay, then 10 at three-quarters pay, 10 at half pay, 10 at quarter pay, and 30 unpaid.
- Annual leave (Art. 70)Annual leave is 30 working days per year; first-year leave can be taken after 6 months. Weekends, official holidays and sick leave falling during annual leave are excluded; entitlement for a fraction of a year is proportionate (2017 amendment).
- Leave pay in advance (Art. 71)Pay is due before leave.
- Scheduling annual leave (Art. 72)Leave may be accumulated for up to 2 years.
- Cash for unused leave (Art. 73)Cash compensation is due when the contract ends.
- No waiving annual leave (Art. 74)Waiving leave is not allowed.
- Study leave (Art. 75)Study leave is optional.
- Hajj leave (Art. 76)Paid Hajj leave is 21 days after 2 consecutive years of service, once during service.
- Bereavement and widow leave (Art. 77)Bereavement leave is 3 days; iddah leave is 4 months and 10 days for a Muslim woman, and 21 days for a non-Muslim woman.
- Leave for labour conferences (Art. 78)The employer shall have the right to give the worker a paid leave to attend conferences, annual gatherings and…
- Unpaid leave (Art. 79)Unpaid leave at the employee's request.
Safety and injuries
- Employee personnel file (Art. 80)A file for each employee.
- Safety registers (Art. 81)Each employer shall keep occupational safety registers in accordance with the forms and regulations stipulated in a…
- Posting working hours at workplace (Art. 82)The work-hours regulation must be posted.
- Employer safety duties (Art. 83)The employer is responsible for safety equipment.
- Informing workers of risks (Art. 84)Explain the risks.
- Activities needing safety equipment (Art. 85)The Minister shall, after seeking the opinion of competent authorities, issue a resolution specifying the types of…
- Protection from occupational diseases (Art. 86)The employer shall take the necessary precautions to protect the worker from health damage and occupational diseases…
- Worker safety duties (Art. 87)The worker shall take preventive measures and use the equipment in his possession with care.
- Work-injury insurance (Art. 88)Injury insurance.
- Social security replaces injury rules (Art. 89)When implementing the provisions of work injury insurance according to the Social Security Law, the said provisions…
- Reporting work accidents (Art. 90)Immediate reporting.
- Medical care for injured workers (Art. 91)Treatment is the employer's responsibility.
- Injury statistics to the ministry (Art. 92)Each employer shall periodically submit to the competent ministry statistics relevant to work injuries and…
- Full pay during injury treatment (Art. 93)Full wages during treatment, then half after 6 months.
- Compensation for injury or disease (Art. 94)The worker or the beneficiaries through him shall have the right to claim compensation for the work injury or…
- When no injury compensation is due (Art. 95)Lapse of compensation.
- Disease appearing after service (Art. 96)Occupational diseases.
- Medical report and arbitration (Art. 97)1.
Unions and collective contracts
- Right to form unions (Art. 98)The right to establish unions for employers and the right to syndicate organization for workers is guaranteed in…
- Kuwaiti workers' syndicates (Art. 99)Kuwaiti workers shall have the right to form syndicates to protect their interests, improve their financial and…
- Founding a syndicate (Art. 100)The procedures that shall be implemented for the establishment of the organization are as follows: 1.
- Syndicate articles of association (Art. 101)The articles of association of the organization shall specify the objectives and goals for which it has been…
- Syndicate registration (Art. 102)The elected board of directors shall submit to the Ministry all papers relevant to the establishment of the…
- Syndicate legal obligations (Art. 103)Workers, employers and organizations shall, upon acquiring all rights stated in the Chapter, abide by all applicable…
- Ministry guidance to syndicates (Art. 104)The Ministry shall guide the syndicates and employers unions in implementing the law, keeping records and financial…
- Syndicate restaurants and cafeterias (Art. 105)The syndicates may open restaurants and cafeterias for the workers at the establishment after obtaining the approval…
- Forming unions (Art. 106)Syndicates registered in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter shall have the right to form unions to…
- Joining Arab and international unions (Art. 107)Unions, general union and syndicates shall have the right to join Arab and international unions of similar interests.
- Dissolving a syndicate (Art. 108)Workers and employers organizations may be voluntarily dissolved by a resolution of the general assembly in…
- Sharing rules with workers (Art. 109)Employers shall submit to workers all resolutions and by-laws related to their rights and duties.
- Syndicate delegates (Art. 110)The employer may delegate one or several members of the syndicate or union board of the directors to follow-up the…
- Collective contract defined (Art. 111)The collective work contract organizes conditions and circumstances of work between one or more syndicates or unions…
- Collective contract in writing (Art. 112)The collective work contract shall be made in writing and signed by the worker.
- Collective contract duration (Art. 113)The collective work contract shall be made for a definite period not exceeding three years.
- Not renewing a collective contract (Art. 114)In the event where any party of the collective work contract expresses its wish not to renew after the expiry of the…
- Void terms against the law (Art. 115)Any condition that reduces a statutory right is void. Any settlement that reduces rights during the contract or within 3 months of its end is void.
- Collective contract registration (Art. 116)The collective work contract shall enter in effect upon its registration with the concerned ministry and its…
- Collective contract levels (Art. 117)The collective work contract may be concluded at the establishment level, the industry level or the national level.
- Who a collective contract binds (Art. 118)The provisions of the collective work contract shall apply to the following: a.
- Leaving the syndicate (Art. 119)The worker’s withdrawal or dismissal from the syndicate shall not affect their being bound by the provisions of the…
- Joining an existing collective contract (Art. 120)Non-contracting workers syndicates, unions or the employers unions may join the collective work contract after the…
- Applies to all establishment workers (Art. 121)The collective work contract signed by the syndicate of the establishment shall apply to all workers of such…
- Lawsuits for contract breach (Art. 122)Workers and employers organizations that are party to the collective work contract shall have the right to file all…
Labour disputes
- Collective disputes defined (Art. 123)Collective work disputes are the disputes that arise between one or more employers and all his or their workers or a…
- Direct negotiation (Art. 124)In the event of collective disputes, the involved parties shall resort to direct negotiations between the employer…
- Request for reconciliation (Art. 125)Either party to the dispute may submit to the competent ministry a request to settle the dispute amicably through…
- Reconciliation committee (Art. 126)The Work Disputes Reconciliation Committee shall consist of the following: a.
- Reconciliation hearing (Art. 127)The Reconciliation Committee shall hear the dispute within one month after the submittal of the application.
- Arbitration panel (Art. 128)The Arbitration Panel shall, in the event of collective work disputes, be formed as follows: a.
- Arbitration timeline (Art. 129)The Arbitration Panel shall hear the dispute within 20 days from the date of submittal of the documents to the…
- Arbitration panel powers (Art. 130)The Arbitration Panel shall have all the powers of the Court of Appeal in accordance with provisions of the law…
- Ministry intervention in disputes (Art. 131)As an exception from Article (126) of this Law, the competent Ministry may interfere in the event of collective…
- No work stoppage during disputes (Art. 132)The disputing parties shall not be allowed to suspend work, whether entirely or partially, during direct…
Inspection and penalties
- Labour inspectors (Art. 133)The competent employees designated by a resolution from the Minister shall have the capacity of judicial officers to…
- Inspection powers (Art. 134)The employees referred to in the preceding Article shall have access to the establishments during the official…
- Closure for safety danger (Art. 135)In the event where employers violate the provisions of Articles 83, 84 and 86 of this Law and the resolutions passed…
- Tickets for informal workers (Art. 136)Employees entrusted with the inspection shall have the authority to write violation tickets to workers who work in…
- Fines for key violations (Art. 137)Up to KD 500 for violating Articles 8 and 35.
- Penalty for visa trading (Art. 138)Employing workers without a permit or bringing in workers without employing them: imprisonment for up to 3 years and/or a fine of KD 2,000–10,000 per worker. The same penalty applies to an employer who employs a worker in breach of these requirements (2016 amendment).
- Fine for not paying to bank accounts (Art. 139)Failure to transfer wages to a bank: a fine up to the total wages.
- Obstructing inspectors (Art. 140)Obstructing PAM inspectors: a fine of KD 500–1,000, doubled for repeat offences (2016 amendment).
- General penalty for other violations (Art. 141)A 3-month warning, then KD 100–200 for each employee.
- Violating a closure order (Art. 142)Breaching a closure or suspension decision: imprisonment for 1–6 months and/or a fine of KD 500–2,000 (2016 amendment).
Final provisions
- Labour Affairs Consulting Committee (Art. 143)The minister shall issue a resolution for the establishment of a Labour Affairs Consulting Committee that consists…
- One-year limit to file claims (Art. 144)A claim is not heard after one year if the employer denies it; exemption from fees.
- Workers' rights have priority (Art. 145)Workers' dues have priority over the employer's assets.
- Labour department before court (Art. 146)File a complaint with the Labour Department; it is referred to court within one month. If the court finds that the employer is stalling payment of the worker's entitlements, it may award the worker compensation of 1% of their value for each month of delay.
- Court hearing schedule (Art. 147)A hearing within 3 days.
- Implementing regulations (Art. 148)The Minister shall, within six months from the date of the publishing hereof in the Official Gazette, issue all…
- Old law 38/1964 cancelled (Art. 149)The Law No.
- Entry into force (Art. 150)The Prime Minister and ministers, each within his jurisdiction, shall Implement this Law which shall come into force…
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