Kuwait Labour Law Employment and training: Articles 7–26
Permits, training, and work by juveniles and women.
This chapter covers how people enter work in Kuwait's private sector: hiring rules and manpower planning, the role of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM), work permits for expatriates, apprenticeships and professional training.
It also holds the special protections for young workers and women. The minimum working age is 15, with limits on hours and jobs for workers aged 15 to 18. Women's rights here include 70 days of paid maternity leave, nursing breaks and equal pay for equal work.
For employers, the practical points are reporting manpower needs correctly, keeping work permits aligned with the actual job, and handling training costs and post-training work commitments in writing.
Articles 7–26
- 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 paid days. At the employee's request, the employer may grant up to 4 unpaid months; dismissal is prohibited during the protected leave.
- 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.
This text follows PAM's January 2025 consolidated English edition; this local copy was not independently checked and is not legal advice.
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