Under Qatar’s Labour Law, a worker who completes one full year of service is owed at least three weeks of paid annual leave a year, and four weeks from five years of service. On top of that come ten paid public holidays, sick leave after three months, and 50 days of maternity leave after a year.
Leave in Qatar’s Labour Law at a glance
- Annual leave after one year; 4 weeks from five years
- 3 weeks
- Paid public holidays a year
- 10 days
- Paid sick leave a year: 2 on full pay, 4 on half
- 6 weeks
- Maternity leave on full pay
- 50 days
From Labour Law No. 14 of 2004, Articles 78, 79, 82 and 96, with Law No. 9 of 2026 (Arabic text on Al Meezan), checked 26 Oct 2026.
These figures are floors. Article 4 makes void any term that gives a worker less, and any waiver of these rights, so a contract or staff policy can add to them but never cut them.
| Leave | Who qualifies | Pay | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | After one full continuous year; part years pro rata | Full, on the basic wage | 79, 72 |
| Public holidays | Every worker | Full | 78 |
| Sick leave | After three months of service | 2 weeks full, 4 weeks half, then unpaid | 82 |
| Maternity leave | After one full year of service | 50 days on full pay | 96 |
| Nursing hour | For one year after maternity leave | One hour a day, counted as work | 97 |
| Hajj leave | Muslim workers, once during service | Unpaid, up to 20 days | 83 |
Since Law No. 9 of 2026, part-time, self-employed, domestic and casual workers, among others, are outside the Labour Law.
Annual leave: how much, how it is paid, and when
Article 79 gives a worker who has completed a full, continuous year with the employer at least three weeks of paid annual leave. From five years of service, the minimum is four weeks. Part of a year earns leave in proportion to the time served.
| Service with you | Minimum annual leave |
|---|---|
| One year up to five years | 3 weeks a year |
| Five years or more | 4 weeks a year |
| Part of a year | In proportion to the time served |
Leave pay follows Article 72: it is worked out on the basic wage at the date it falls due. The law defines the basic wage as the rate paid for the work, plus only the annual increment. Allowances belong to the wider wage, so paying them during leave is a matter for the contract.
You set the dates
Under Article 80 the employer decides when each worker takes leave, according to the needs of the work.
Two parts at most
With the worker’s consent, leave may be split, but into no more than two periods.
Half can roll over
At the worker’s written request, up to half of a year’s leave may move to the following year.
Paid out on leaving
A worker cannot give up annual leave (Article 81). Leave not taken when the contract ends is paid in cash with the final dues.
While someone is on leave, they may not work for another employer (Article 84), and you may not end the contract or give notice, including notice timed to run out during the leave (Article 85).
Public holidays and Eid for the private sector
Article 78 gives every worker ten paid days off a year, separate from annual leave. Law No. 9 of 2026 changed one item: the one-day holiday is now the State’s National Day, where the old text said Independence Day.
| Holiday | Paid days |
|---|---|
| Eid al-Fitr | 3 working days |
| Eid al-Adha | 3 working days |
| The State’s National Day | 1 working day |
| Days the employer chooses | 3 working days |
The article counts the holidays in working days, so a Friday inside the Eid break is not one of the three. Eid dates follow the Hijri calendar and move each year; the three days you choose are yours to fix, so announce them early in the year.
Sick leave
- First three months
No paid sick leave yet. Article 82 grants it once three months have passed from the day the worker joined.
- Weeks 1 and 2
Full wage, on a certificate from a doctor the employer approves.
- Weeks 3 to 6
Half wage.
- After week 6
Unpaid, until the worker returns, resigns, or service ends on health grounds.
- End of week 12
The employer may end the contract if a specialist doctor reports that the worker cannot go back to work.
The entitlement runs for each year of service, and sick pay, like leave pay, is worked out on the basic wage (Article 72).
A worker who resigns because of illness, with the specialist doctor’s approval, before the six paid weeks are used up is paid the rest of what is due. The same applies if the worker dies of the illness within that time.
Twelve weeks of sick leave do not break continuous service, and none of this reduces the end-of-service gratuity.
Maternity leave, nursing time and paternity leave
Article 96 gives a woman who has completed one full year with the employer 50 days of maternity leave on full pay. The 50 days cover the time before and after the birth, and at least 35 must fall after it. The leave is granted on a licensed doctor’s certificate that gives the expected date of birth.
After the 50 days
- If her health after the birth keeps her from returning, she is on unpaid leave for up to 60 days, in one block or several, on a licensed doctor’s certificate.
- Maternity leave does not reduce any of her other leave.
Back at work
- For a year after maternity leave she has one nursing hour a day, on top of the normal breaks (Article 97).
- She chooses when to take it. It counts as working time, and her pay is not cut.
Her job is protected
- The contract may not be ended because she married or took maternity leave (Article 98).
- No notice may be given during the leave, or timed to run out during it.
Breaking the nursing-hour rule is one of the offences Article 144 fines at QAR 2,000 to 5,000, in its 2026 text, and Article 143 multiplies the fine by the number of workers affected.
Writing a leave policy for your company
The law sets the minimums; a written policy turns them into practice.
- How a week of leave converts into days, and the date from which service counts.
- How staff ask for leave, who approves it and how much notice you need, since you set the dates.
- Whether you allow leave in two parts, and carrying over up to half on written request.
- Your three chosen holiday days, and how holiday work is paid.
- The clinics whose sick-leave certificates you accept, and any paternity or compassionate leave you add.
- Hajj leave: up to 20 unpaid days, once in a worker’s service; you set how many staff take it each year, longest service first (Article 83).
Record the leave each worker takes in the workers’ register (Article 48). A worker who disputes a leave decision goes first to the labour department, which tries to settle it within seven days before the Labour Dispute Settlement Committee hears it (Article 115 bis).
How we help
We help you write a leave policy in Arabic and English that starts from the Labour Law minimums, set up leave records for the workers’ register, and work out leave balances and the cash due when someone leaves. A labour lawyer advises on contested cases; the labour department and its committees decide disputes.
