Legal consultations Thursday, 17 March 2011 01:31

by Abdelaal A Khalil

Question: An employee was terminated after ten-year service and his employment contract was for an unlimited duration. After one month of ending his service, the employer re-appointed him with the same allowances. This employee is asking if his joining the company one month after ending his service is considered an extension to his first service or not. How end of service gratuity are calculated and what are his entitlements?

Answer: Article 54 of Labour Law No. 14/2004 states that the employer shall pay the end of service gratuity to the employee who spends one year and more. The employee’s service is considered as it is continuous if it is ended by cases other than provided for by Article 61 of the Law and the employee is being appointed within two months of the end of service. Therefore, the employee’s service is considered as continuous due to the elapse of one month only.
The end of service gratuity is determined in accordance with the agreement between the employer and employee, provided that is should not be less three weeks of each service year and the basic salary is the basis of calculating the end of service gratuity.
In addition to the end of service gratuity, Article 79 of the said Labour Law states that the employer, who spent one continuous year of service with the employer, shall be entitled to an annual leave on the basis of his basic salary at the due date. The employer shall pay to the employee the latter’s total wage for the notice period, which shall be at least one month if the service is less than five years and two months if the service is five years or more, which applies to this case.

Question: A person says his friend was residing in Qatar and a deportation judgment was issued against him for theft. The deportation was carried out two years ago. Can he come back for work again?

Answer: Law No. (4) of 2004, concerning the entry, exit, residence and sponsorship of expatriates, states that the expatriate is obliged to go out of the State if a deportation order has been issued against them. Work permit shall be given to the expatriate who worked in Qatar before only two years after the date of departure.
The Interior Minister or their deputy may overlook this period and the competent authority may exclude some cases on a written letter by the previous sponsor. If  the dismissal is due to a final judgment of honour or trust crime in accordance with Article (61) of Labour Law No. 14 of 2004 or as per the provisions of regulations of the State personnel or any other law and the decision is not appealed before the court of jurisdiction, the person may return to work in the State only four years after the date of departure.
Therefore, this person may enter the country only four years after the date of deportation.

Question: A resident rented an apartment consisting of one bedroom, Majlis and annexe under a lease contract for one year. After two months of the contract, the landlord demolished part of the Majlis without notifying the tenant. When the tenant asks the landlord about the reasons of demolition, the latter said that he intends to construct another annex on the roof neighbouring the leased apartment. The tenant rejected that, then the landlord told them to search for another accommodation or complete the contract duration on existing terms. The tenant is asking about their legal stance under this modification on the apartment, knowing that he wants to stay at the property instead of searching for another apartment.

Answer: Article Four of Real Estate Leasing Law No. 4 of 228, concerning the obligations and rights of landlord and tenant, states that the landlord is obliged to hand over the leased property and annexes to the tenant for the benefit of the tenant in accordance with the two parties agreement or the nature of the property. The tenant may request to cancel the contract or reduce the rental value according to the deficiency if benefit as per the decision of the Dispute Settlement Committee.
Therefore, if the inquirer decided to stay at the leased property, they may agree with the landlord to reduce the monthly rental value in  light of the deficiency of the apartment area amicably.
Should the landlord reject to reduce the rent, the tenant shall approach the Dispute Settlement Committee and file a lawsuit against the landlord requesting to reduce the rental value according to the deficiency in the leased apartment’s area.
To prove that, the tenant may make a police report of the incident and request to review the property to prove the demolition and construction works made by the landlord and to attach a copy of this report with the said lawsuit filed against the landlord.  
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