Qatar Labour Law on Sick Leave and Maternity Leave (2024)

Doha Guides Team regularly reviews this article to ensure the content is up-to-date and accurate. The last editorial review and update were on 03 February 2024.

Qatar has well-defined labour laws concerning paid sick leaves for workers. In the case of female employees, the law has also included provisions for maternity leave. This article will cover the following important sections of the Qatar Labour Law on sick leave and maternity leave.

What is Sick Leave?

Sick leave is traditionally a paid time off from work provided voluntarily by an organization to its employees. Often this can be beneficial to both the employer and the sick employee. Sick people coming to work pose a risk of spreading disease to others. Offering paid sick leave can help prevent the spread and keep employees productive.

Qatar Labour Law on Sick Leave

Article 82 of Qatar Labour Law discusses workers’ sick leave and related topics. According to the article, a worker shall be entitled to sick leave with pay for every year of the years of his service.

The following are the conditions for granting sick leave:

  1. Sick leave shall only be granted after three months have passed since the first day of work.
  2. A medical report from a competent physician approved by the employer should be provided.

As a general practice, when a worker is absent due to illness, he or she must notify the employer as soon as possible, either by himself or another person.

Salary During Sick Leave

The payment of wages during sick leave will be as follows:

  • The worker shall receive his full salary if the sick leave is less than two (2) weeks.
  • The worker shall receive half his wage for the next four (4) weeks if the sick leave continues.
  • Any further extensions will be without pay until the worker returns to work, resigns, or is terminated for health reasons.
Sick Leave PeriodSalary Payable
Up to 2 weeksFull salary
Week 3 to week 6Half salary
Week 7 onwardsNo salary
Salary payable during sick leave

Termination Due To Sickness

At the end of the twelfth (12) week of sick leave, the worker’s service may be terminated if it is determined by a competent physician that he is unable to resume his duties.

Qatar Labour Law on Sick Leave

Resignation Due To Sickness

If the worker resigns from work because of sickness (with the approval of a competent physician) before the end of six weeks to which he is entitled to sick leave with pay, the employer shall pay the worker the balance of his entitlement.

Death Due To Sickness

Similarly, if the worker dies due to sickness before the end of six weeks to which he is entitled to sick leave with pay, the employer shall pay the worker’s family the balance of his entitlement.

Effect on End of Service Benefits

Termination, resignation or death due to sickness shall not affect the worker’s end-of-service benefits. A worker taking sick leave for a period of twelve weeks shall not be deemed to constitute an interruption of his continuous service.


Qatar Labour Law: Maternity Leave

According to Article 96, a female worker who has spent a whole year in service with the employer shall be entitled to maternity leave with remuneration for a period of fifty (50) days.

A medical report from a licensed physician stating the expected delivery date is required before leave can be granted.

These 50 days include the prenatal (before delivery) and postnatal (after delivery) period, provided that the postnatal period is not less than thirty-five (35) days.

If the remaining leave period after delivery is less than thirty days, the female Worker may be granted a complementary leave from her annual leave. Otherwise, the complementary period will be leave without pay.

Note: Availing of maternity leave shall not prevent the female worker from entitlement to any other leave.

Salary During Maternity Leave

A pregnant female worker is entitled to her full salary during her maternity leave.

What if a woman cannot return back to work after delivery?

A woman unable to return to work following delivery is considered to be on leave without remuneration if her health conditions do not permit them to do so.

In this case, she may not be absent for more than sixty (60) consecutive or interrupted days. She must also present a medical certificate from a licensed physician confirming her medical condition.

Please note that the Qatar Labour Law rules do not apply to domestic workers and those under personal sponsorship. The rules for employees at public sector companies and government workers are also not covered under the Labour Law.


Frequently Asked Questions


How many days of sick leave are allowed in Qatar?

A worker who has completed three months of service can get up to two weeks of sick leave with full salary. He can also get another four weeks of sick leave with half salary. A medical certificate is required in either case.

How many days of maternity leave can a woman get in Qatar?

Pregnant female employees can get 50 days of maternity leave with full pay. Out of this, the postnatal period should not be less than 35 days.


Related Articles:

  1. Qatar Labour Law: Working Hours and Overtime
  2. Qatar Labour Law: Annual Leave and Holidays
  3. Pregnancy And Baby Delivery in Qatar: Full Guide
  4. How To Calculate End of Service Gratuity
  5. Minimum Wage in Qatar: Everything You Need To Know
  6. How To Change Job in Qatar Without NOC
  7. Guide To Qatar Wage Protection System WPS
  8. 3 Ways To Easily Check Travel Ban in Qatar

Copyright © DohaGuides.com – Unauthorized reproduction of this article in any language is prohibited.

Disclaimer: The information posted above should only be used as a reference. For more updated guidelines, please contact Qatar Labour and the appropriate authorities.

Reference: Qatar Legal Portal


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13 thoughts on “Qatar Labour Law on Sick Leave and Maternity Leave (2024)”

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  1. Is there any specific law that Employer must pay the maternity leave while on leave or before leave start? Or can they delay the payment once they rejoin?

    What is the number of allowed leave to be combined from your maternity leave? Is there any specific number of days allowed to combined?

    What is the rules for applying maternity leave, can we apply early before the due date for the preparation?

    1. Doha Guides Team

      Hi, Please contact the Ministry of Labour helpline as these information are not available on the official websites.

  2. What if under probation has taken SL and he provided documents will he/she be paid on that?

    Also, For a person who was Absent which fall to PH are they entitled to get PH later on?

  3. Hi! is there any specific law that the Employer must pay my maternity leave while my leave start? Or can they delay the payment once I rejoin? is that legal? Where I can complaint if it’s happen.

    Also, Is there any number of leave I can add only during my maternity leave aside from 50 days. because what they are saying 60days is only allowed leave even though I have extra leave balance which I wanted to combined with my 50 days they told me to add only 10 days as 60 days is only allowed. Hence, it is different from what it says in the law.

    1. Doha Guides Team

      Hi jade, Unfortunately the law doesn’t mention specifically about combining maternity leave with other leaves. You can contact Ministry of Labour helpline for more info.

  4. i am resigning From my Job due to medical issue . My 3 month visa is ending On 22 april 2023 But i am going On 11 april i am resigning within Probation period ..
    Bcouse health issue
    But my company is asking for visa and ticket price is it Right according to Qatar law

  5. Good day,
    The Employer can reject to pay sick leave for a private hospital for 04 years of staff, Eg: Aster medical sick leave Form for 02 days has been rejected to pay to the employee due to not having Hamad Hospital medical paper.

  6. Hi, The following are my queries: 1) Is there any clause in the Qatar Labour Law that entitles an employee to have a right for a sick leave despite still under a probationary and not yet completes a 3-month period? 2) Regardless, will he or she receive the salary during the sick period especially when contracting the Covid-19? 3) Will his or her employer have the right to deduct his or her salary due to Covid-19 quarantine (regulation imposed by the government)? 4) Was the guideline issued by the Ministry of Development Labour and Social Affairs (MDLSA) applicable for employees or workers under the probationary period and for the employer to oblige? ( refer: https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/28/03/2020/Health-and-employment-guidelines-for-workers-in-Qatar#:~:text=Health%20and%20employment,03%3A15%20pm )
    Thank you.

    1. Hi, The Qatar Labour Law speaks about granting sick leave after 3 months only. As per Article 82, “This sick leave shall be granted only after the lapse of three months from the date of the commencement of his work for the first time.” Covid-related isolation is not specifically mentioned in the law. The news article in reference here was about guidelines issued in March 2020. We couldn’t find this on the ADLSA website now. So we are not sure if this still applies. You may check with Labour Department.

  7. 1. is the 2 weeks paid sick leave to be an accumulation of separate incidents of ‘sick leave’? (
    2. for example 2 days in March; 4 days in September; 10 days in December = 16. So
    (a) are all 16 paid at full wage or
    (b) only 14 paid at ful wage and remaining 2 days paid at 50% of full wage?)
    3. limited to 2 weeks in any specified period?
    4. – or throughout an employee’s overall working period with an employer?

    1. Doha Guides Team

      Hi Robert, (1) It can be separate incidents. (2) The law says two weeks (not 14 working days). So if you work 5 days a week, it would be 10 days only. The first 2 weeks will be full wage, Next 4 weeks will be half salary. (3) This is per year.
      Please note sick leave policies are flexible based on management decisions. Some companies may allow more than this if there is a valid reason (eg. an accident or surgery) and you have a physician’s certificate.

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