Legal Consultation Thursday, 14 October 2010 03:29

Article 144 of Labour Law No. 14 of 2004 states that each entity employing non-Qatari labourers before the approval of the Labour Department and without issuing them work permit in accordance with the rules and regulations set by the Labour Department shall be fined at leastQR2,000. The maximum fine cannot exceed QR5,000. The penalty will be calculated according to the number of workers in violation without prejudice to a more severe penalty stated by any other law.

Labour Law No 14/2004 states that when a dispute arises between the labourer and the employer, the damaged party shall resort to the Labour Department, Complaint Division, and the labour office will settle the issue amicably between the parties. Should the parties not accept the reconciliation, the labour court shall have the jurisdiction to consider the case and the labourer’s case will be registered without fees. Regarding the claimed right, the subject of this question, the labourer may claim from the employer the total value of overtime with retrospective effect for a maximum of five years if this consideration was a part of the salary paid to the employee every month. Civil Law No 22/2004 stipulates that the case claiming for renewing periodic right will be considered old with after the lapse of five years. Periodic rights include rental value of buildings and lands, salaries, wages, incomes and pensions.

The labourer, who filed the case, shall prove the validity of his allegation and the employer, defendant, shall prove his discharge of the claimed debt.

Women may work without the condition of sponsorship transfer, provided that she shall be family-sponsored. Article 23 of Labour Law No 14 of 2004 states that non-qatari workers may be employed only after the approval of the Department and after obtaining the work permit of the State in accordance with the regulations and procedures set by the Ministry of Labour. Work permit is determined according to the residence period on the condition that the permit shall not exceed five years and on presenting the following papers:

• Copy of the company’s registration.

• Copy of the employee’s passport and valid residence visa.

• Copies of education certificates and experiences attested and translated.

• Copy of the sponsor’s (husband’s)
ID card.

• Valid good conduct certificate.

• After the initial approval of the Labour Department, three copies of employment contract shall be attested.

Payments of work permit fees plus contracts attestation fees.

Property Leasing Law No. 4/2008, concerning property maintenance, states that the landlord shall have the right to take up urgent maintenance to protect the rented property even if the tenant objected to that. In case the maintenance resulted in full or partial breach to the usufruct of the leased property, the tenant may, as the case may be, abrogate the contract, deduct or not to pay the rental value for the period of not utilising the property, or to extend the lease duration according to the period of non-utilising of the property.

Accordingly, the tenant may not object to the landlord undertaking the maintenance.

Regarding the landlord’s refusal to receive the rent, the said Law states that the tenant shall pay the rent determined in the contract fully to the landlord within a maximum of seven days from the due date under a receipt proving the rental value. Should the landlord refuse to receive the rent and give a discharge bond, the tenant, before the lapse of seven days from the date of the landlord refusing, shall have the right to notify the landlord under a registered letter to the landlord’s address mentioned in the contract to receive the rental value within seven days. In case the landlord did not receive the rent within this period, the tenant within the next week shall deposit the rental value with the Rent Dispute Settlement Committee’s treasury without fees. This deposit is considered as a payment of the rent in the set time. The tenant shall notify the landlord with this action under registered letter to the latter’s address mentioned in the lease contract.

Regarding the renewal of the lease contract duration, Lease Law states that the lease contract ends with its expiry of the set duration. Should the contract duration expire and the tenant still using the leased property without landlord’s objection, the contract is considered as it is renewed for similar duration with the same conditions.

Therefore, we advise the tenants to negotiate with the landlord in order to renew the lease contract or evacuate the current property once they find another place pursuant to the landlord warning of evacuation with liability to settle the rental value till the date of evacuation only.