February 18, 2015: His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani issued Law No. (1) of 2015, amending some provisions of the Labor Law No. (14) of 2004, mandating that employers must transfer an employee’s salary to the employee's account at any of the recognized financial institutions in Qatar.
• Currency: Article 2 of the new law has replaced the governing text of Article 66 of Law No. (14) of 2004. The new provision stipulates that salaries and/or other amounts due to an employee shall be paid in Qatari Riyals.
• Period: Employees salaried on an annual or monthly basis shall be paid, at least, once a month. Any other compensation structures shall require the Employer to remunerate the employees at least once every two weeks.
• Transfer: The employer must transfer the remuneration to the bank account of the employee at any of the recognized financial institutions in Qatar, in a way that allows the employee to withdraw it at the designated time according to the stipulations of the law. The employer shall not be discharged from the responsibility of paying the wage otherwise.
• Penalty: A person found in violation of the new law shall be punished by a prison term of not more than a month and/or a fine not less than QR 2,000 and not exceeding QR 6,000.
• Adherence: Article 4 of the new law stipulates that employers shall modify their situation in accordance with the provisions of this law within a period of six months. However, the Minster of Labor and Social Affairs may extend the grace period.
On another relevant note, the Law No. (4) of 2008 regarding Property Leasing was recently addressed by the Cabinet Decision No. (8) of 2015 to extend certain lease contracts:
• Extension: Per Article 1 of the Decision, lease contracts for non-residential property and parts of said property that are subject to the Property Leasing Law and valid as of February 14, 2015, shall be extended for one year starting from February 15, 2015. This however is only applicable where the lessee is currently occupying any effected property, unless the lease is for a longer period or the lessee does not wish to renew the contract.
• Exemptions: Article 2 dictates that the aforesaid extension shall not take effect on the following non-residential leased property:
1. administrative HQ of commercial companies including tradesmen;
2. offices of lawyers, accountants and engineers; and
3. veterinary clinics and offices of agriculture experts, animal wealth and fisheries.
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