Under Article 49 of Qatar’s Labour Law, either side may end an employment contract after probation without giving a reason, on written notice of one month in the first two years of service and two months after that. Ending it without notice costs the basic wage for the period. Probation, of up to six months, has its own notice rules.
Notice periods under the Labour Law
- Notice in the first and second years of service
- 1 month
- Notice after the second year
- 2 months
- Longest probation, once per employer
- 6 months
- Deadline for wages and all dues
- Next working day
Labour Law Articles 39, 49 and 67 as amended in 2020 (Arabic text on Al Meezan), checked 26 Oct 2026.
Article 49 gives the same right to both parties. Once probation is over, or where the contract has none, either side may end the contract without stating a reason, on written notice whose length depends on service.
Whoever skips the notice, or cuts it short, owes the other side the worker’s basic wage for the period not given. An expatriate worker who leaves Qatar without respecting the article cannot get a work permit for one year from departure.
Through the notice period the worker keeps working on full wage (Article 50). A month is 30 days (Article 8). Law No. 9 of 2026 left Articles 39, 49 and 50 as they were.
Probation: up to six months, once
Probation exists only if the contract provides for it. Article 39 caps it at six months from the first day of work, once with the same employer.
| Who ends the contract in probation | Notice | What else applies |
|---|---|---|
| The employer | At least one month | Allowed when the worker proves unsuitable for the work |
| The worker, to join another employer in Qatar | At least one month, in writing | The new employer pays the current one the ticket and recruitment fees, if any, capped at two months’ basic wage |
| The worker, to leave Qatar | The notice agreed in the contract, in writing, no more than two months | Leaving without it bars a new work permit for one year |
Either side that skips this notice pays the basic wage for the notice period or what is left of it. Breaking these rules also carries a fine of QAR 2,000 to 5,000 (Article 144, as replaced in 2026), and a non-compete clause is void if the contract ends in probation (Article 43).
Resignation and changing employer
A worker who resigns after probation gives the Article 49 notice. No permission from the employer is needed: the Government Communications Office records that the No-Objection Certificate was abolished, and since 2020 the residence law leaves moves between employers to the labour ministry’s rules.
- Written notice
The worker gives written notice of the right length and works through it.
- Change-of-employer request
The new employer and the worker apply on the Ministry of Labour’s service, through the Establishments Portal, with no fee. The current employer cannot file it.
National addresses registered for both employers and the worker; a work residence; the worker’s mobile number in their own name; no other change request in progress.
No ban on the worker or the new establishment, whose ID must be active and whose authorised signatory logs in with the smart card. The ministry approves or rejects each request.
- End-of-contract notification
For final leave, a disciplinary dismissal or leaving in probation, each side can notify the other on the ministry’s free notification service, attaching the notice form, the contract and the establishment ID.
In five cases a worker may leave at once and keep the full gratuity (Article 51).
The five cases in Article 51
The employer breaks its duties under the contract or the law.
The employer or manager assaults the worker or a family member, or commits an indecent act against them.
The employer misled the worker about the terms when contracting.
A serious danger to the worker’s safety or health that the employer knows of and has not removed.
A final decision of a labour dispute committee in the worker’s favour (added in 2020).
Fixed-term contracts: leaving before the end date
A fixed-term contract may run for up to five years and be renewed by agreement (Article 40). If both sides simply carry on after the end date, it becomes open-ended and service still counts from the first day.
Can a worker resign six months into a two-year contract? The texts give part of the answer. Article 49 speaks of “each party to the employment contract” and does not say open-ended or fixed-term. Article 51 separately lists the cases in which a worker may end a fixed-term contract before its end and keep the full gratuity.
When the employer ends the contract
After probation the employer may also end the contract without a reason on Article 49 notice, but not at any moment. Article 85 bars ending a contract or giving notice during leave the Labour Law grants, or notice that would run out during it; Article 98 protects a woman on maternity leave the same way.
Dismissal without notice and without gratuity is allowed only in the cases Article 61 lists. Law No. 9 of 2026 added an eleventh: inciting an unlawful strike that disrupts the business.
The cases in Article 61
False identity or nationality, or forged documents.
An error causing serious material loss, reported to the labour department by the end of the next working day.
Repeated breach of posted safety instructions, or of an essential duty, after a written warning.
Disclosing the establishment’s secrets.
Being drunk or under the influence of drugs at work.
Assaulting the employer or a manager, or repeatedly assaulting colleagues after a written warning.
Absence without a lawful reason for over seven days in a row or fifteen days in a year.
A final conviction for a crime against honour or trust.
Inciting an unlawful strike that disrupts the business (Law No. 9 of 2026).
Procedure counts too. An offence known for more than 15 days cannot be charged, crimes aside, and the worker is told in writing and investigated first (Article 62). A dismissal can be taken to the Labour Dispute Settlement Committee, which can order reinstatement or compensation.
Restructuring or cost cuts
Tell the Ministry in writing at least 15 days before ending contracts for economic or structural reasons, with the reasons, the number and groups of workers and the timing (Article 52 bis). Missing it carries a QAR 2,000 to 5,000 fine; each worker’s notice is still due.
Sale or merger
Contracts carry on; the new owner is jointly liable for the workers’ rights (Article 52).
Long sick leave
After the 12th week of sick leave, the employer may end the contract on a specialist’s report (Article 82).
What is owed when the contract ends
| Item | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Wages and all dues | Paid before the end of the working day after the contract ends; within seven days of leaving if the worker left without Article 49 notice (Article 67) |
| End-of-service gratuity | At least three weeks’ basic wage per year of service after one full year, except an Article 61 dismissal |
| Unused annual leave | Paid in cash (Article 81) |
| Return journey | At the employer’s cost; for a non-Qatari, arranged within two weeks of the end of the contract (Article 57) |
| Service certificate | Free on request, with the dates, the work and the wage; the worker’s own documents handed back (Article 53) |
| Residence | The employer notifies the authority within 14 days of the date the expatriate leaves the job (Law No. 21 of 2015, Article 19) |
Late final pay is an offence under Article 145. Record the date, reason and amounts in the end-of-service register, and keep the worker’s file for a year after they leave.
How we help
We help you write probation, notice and early-exit clauses into your contracts in Arabic and English, and prepare notice letters that match Articles 39 and 49. When a worker leaves, we prepare the final settlement and its deadlines and guide you through the ministry’s notification service. A labour lawyer advises on a disputed dismissal; the Ministry of Labour and its committees decide disputes.
