Legal consultations Thursday, 07 October 2010 04:45

Question: A female employee says that the company where her husband is working refused to give him a letter permitting him to transfer his wife under his sponsorship. Is this legal? She is also asking if she can sponsor her husband after the end of his current contract. Can she sponsor her children only if her husband is under another company’s sponsorship? Finally she is inquiring about her rights in getting the entitlements obtained by men who are working under the company sponsorship in similar job, especially accommodation allowance and family air tickets?

Answer: The status of the employee, bachelor or married, is subject to the agreement between the employee and the company in accordance with the employment contract which will also indicate the allowances conferred upon the employee by the employer like bringing the employee’s family, accommodation allowance and air tickets.
If the contract states that the employee is entitled to a family accommodation allowance and air tickets when bringing their family, the employee shall obtain such allowances once they submit the evidence of bringing their family for residence in Qatar. This applies to the employee irrespective their gender, provided that the employee is company-sponsored.
Regarding the wife’s right to sponsor her husband, this right is guaranteed for the wife on condition that personal sponsorship terms issued by the Directorate of Expatriate Affairs in the Ministry of Interior are complied with.
This also applies to children, where the mother shall have the right to bring her children under her personal sponsorship in accordance with conditions and procedures set by the Ministry of Interior’s Directorate of Expatriate Affairs.
As to the inquiry about the female employee’s entitlement to the salary and allowances, Labour Law No. 14/2004 stated that the female employee shall be entitled to a salary equal to the man’s if she is performing the same work and shall be offered the same training and promotion opportunities.

Question: A tenant inquires about whether he can terminate his two-year lease contract before its expiry date due to an emergency that makes his return to his home country necessary. He says the landlord refuses to give him the cheques he submitted.
Answer: Lease contracts come to an end when they expire. This is an important rule. These contracts can be extended for the sake of the weak party, which is the tenant for that matter. The tenant, however, can file a lawsuit to terminate the contract due to the aforementioned emergency in the light of Article No. 632 of the Civil Law No. 22/2004. This article states that in case of emergency, tenants and landlords can terminate lease contracts after a judge balances the interests of both. The other party has to be fairly compensated for contract termination.

Question: I regularly receive emails from people who ask me for my bank account so that they can send money to me. They promise me 50 per cent of the money. Is this legal?

Answer: Please, ignore these emails because most of these emails are bogus, while the source of most of these funds is not known. This must be a form of money laundering, which also comprises the following:
1- Conversion or transfer of funds by people who know that this money was brought about through criminal acts. They do this either in order to conceal the illicit origin of the money, or to escape the legal responsibility for these criminal acts if they are involved in them
2- Hiding the true nature of these funds, their sources, locations, and movement by people who know that these funds are the proceeds of crimes
3. Ownership, possession or use of funds by people who know or have suspicions that these funds are the proceeds of crime
Individuals or groups who commit money-laundering crimes will be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to 2 million Qatari riyals. In case of a gang, punishments will be doubled.
The law points to a regulatory agency that monitors financial institutions, businesses, and non-profit organizations to ensure their commitment to anti-money-laundering requirements.

Question: I was arrested and my car was confiscated by traffic police because I exceeded the speed limit although I had compelling reasons. I want to know what punishment is there in the law for those who exceed speed limits. Is it legal for traffic police to seize cars like this?

Answer: Article No. 95 of Traffic Law No. 19/2007, says whoever exceeds speed limits has to be put in jail for up to a year and fined up to 10,000 Qatari riyals or face any of these two punishments.
Drivers of police vehicles, ambulances, and fire fighting engines are exempted from this law during their work hours. But these drivers have to use warning tools and alarm systems that invite the attention of motorists to the need to slow down speed at crossroads.
Traffic Department officials also have the right to confiscate vehicles in case of reckless driving that poses dangers to the safety of drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or other motorists. The confiscation can be up to nine days depending on the reports traffic officers write at the time of the accident.
The person who asks this question has to head straight to the prosecutor and mention his/her compelling reasons for exceeding the speed limit.

Question: A person says that he travelled to Qatar to work in a hairdresser’s with a contract. However, after two months, the sponsor asked him to find a job in some other place. He did not find a job or a new sponsor. Therefore, he left Qatar. He does not have a residence permit in his passport. He asks if it is permissible for him to enter the country again or must he spend at least two years to be able to enter the country again?

Answer: The law No. 4/2009 on the organisation of entry and exit of expatriates, their residence and sponsorship indicates that the sponsor should end the proceedings and renovation of residence within a period not exceeding 9 days from the date of termination.
It also stipulates that a worker cannot be granted a visa for two years after leaving Qatar.
By applying this in this case, we find that this person did not get a residence permit in Qatar and he left the country within the grace period. She can enter Qatar anytime without applying the two-year condition.