Yes, Qatar has a minimum wage. Since 20 March 2021 every worker and domestic worker must receive at least QAR 1,000 a month in basic wage. An employer that does not provide adequate housing or food must also pay at least QAR 500 a month for housing and QAR 300 for food, so the floor can reach QAR 1,800.
The minimum wage in Qatar per month
- Basic wage a month, for every worker
- QAR 1,000
- Housing allowance a month, if no adequate housing is provided
- QAR 500
- Food allowance a month, if no food is provided
- QAR 300
- In force since
- 20 Mar 2021
From Ministerial Decision No. 25 of 2020, Articles 1 and 2 (Arabic text on Al Meezan), checked 26 Oct 2026.
The decision sets three separate rates: the basic wage, food and adequate housing. The basic wage is owed in every case. The two allowances depend on what the employer provides in kind, so the total floor changes with the arrangement.
| What the employer provides | Least monthly pay |
|---|---|
| Adequate housing and food | QAR 1,000 basic wage |
| Housing only | QAR 1,000 basic wage + QAR 300 for food = QAR 1,300 |
| Food only | QAR 1,000 basic wage + QAR 500 for housing = QAR 1,500 |
| Neither | QAR 1,000 basic wage + QAR 500 + QAR 300 = QAR 1,800 |
These are floors. A contract may pay more, and Article 3 of Law No. 17 of 2020 voids any agreement to pay less.
Where the rule comes from
Two texts work together. Law No. 17 of 2020 creates the minimum wage, says no worker may be paid below it and tells employers to raise any wage that falls short. The amounts themselves are in a ministerial decision, so they can change without a new law.
The law asks the Minister to review the minimum wage at least once a year, weighing economic growth, competitiveness, productivity and the needs of workers and their families. A Minimum Wage Committee in the ministry studies it and recommends changes, and the ministry prepares a yearly report for the committee.
Dates and status
Law No. 17 of 2020 was published in the Official Gazette on 8 September 2020 and took effect the next day. Ministerial Decision No. 25 of 2020 was published on 20 September 2020 and took effect six months later, on 20 March 2021.
On 26 October 2026 Al Meezan, the Ministry of Justice’s legal portal, lists both texts as in force, and shows no later decision changing the amounts. Both name the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs; since Law No. 9 of 2026 the Labour Law speaks of the Ministry of Labour.
The two texts
- The law
- Law No. 17 of 2020
- The amounts
- Ministerial Decision No. 25 of 2020
- Review
- At least once a year (Law, Art. 2)
- Below the floor
- The agreement is void (Law, Art. 3)
Who the minimum wage covers
Law No. 17 of 2020 has its own definitions. A worker is anyone who works for a wage under an employer’s management or supervision. A domestic worker is someone doing household work, such as a driver, nanny, cook or gardener. The minimum is the lowest total that may be paid, whatever the worker’s skill, earnings level or tasks.
The ministry’s 2020 statement described the law as covering all private-sector workers, domestic workers included, and the Government Communications Office calls it non-discriminatory. Nationality, job title and sector make no difference to the amounts.
Basic wage, allowances and pay that varies
Basic wage is its own line
The Labour Law defines the basic wage as the rate paid for the work, with only the annual increment added. Allowances and bonuses sit in the wider wage, so a large housing allowance cannot make up for a basic wage below QAR 1,000.
Normal hours only
The minimum is worked out on normal working hours, up to 48 a week. Overtime is paid on top, at the basic hourly wage plus at least 25%.
Commission or piece rates
Where pay is not fixed and a month’s total comes in below the minimum, the employer pays the difference as an additional wage (Law No. 17 of 2020, Article 4).
Housing given in kind
Housing you provide must meet the conditions the Minister sets by decision (Labour Law, Article 106 bis). Put what you provide, and what you pay instead, in the contract.
The basic wage also drives other sums. End-of-service gratuity and the compensation for missed notice are both worked out on the basic wage, so raising it to the minimum raises those too.
Paying it through WPS, and what happens if you do not
The minimum wage is paid like any other wage. Article 66 of the Labour Law requires Qatari riyals and a transfer to the worker’s account at a financial institution in Qatar; cash does not discharge the employer. Monthly wages fall due on the 1st and go through the Wage Protection System within seven days, under Decision No. 50 of 2026.
| If wages are below the floor or late | Under |
|---|---|
| The ministry may suspend the employer’s related transactions | Law No. 17 of 2020, Article 7 |
| Up to one year in prison, a fine of QAR 2,000 to 10,000, or both | Labour Law, Article 145 bis, as replaced by Law No. 9 of 2026 |
| The worker may ask to change employer or end the contract, with the return journey at the employer’s cost | Labour Law, Article 146 bis |
| Repeat breaches may be published on the ministry’s website | Labour Law, Article 146 bis/1 |
A different number: the salary for family residence
Some posts describe a “minimum salary” a foreign worker must earn in Qatar. That is a residence rule, not the minimum wage. Article 58 of the residence regulations lets a worker on a work residence sponsor a spouse and children if the monthly salary is at least QAR 10,000, or at least QAR 6,000 when the employer provides family housing, as shown in the employment contract.
The Ministry of Interior’s page adds that a private-sector sponsor needs a technical or specialised profession. Paying the minimum wage is the law for every worker; the family threshold matters only for staff who want to bring family.
How we help
We check each worker’s basic wage, housing and food against the floor, mark any contract that falls short, and prepare the payroll and the salary file in your bank’s format. You or your bank send it through WPS. When the amounts change, we update the check and tell you which contracts need a new figure.
