Labour Law & Compliance

Six countries, six labour codes, and a habit of amending them without much warning. GCC labour law shares a family resemblance across the region, but the details that matter to employers differ everywhere: notice periods, probation limits, overtime multipliers, what counts as arbitrary dismissal and how much it costs.

These guides cover the rules you have to apply rather than the ones that sound interesting. Contracts and what must be in writing. Fixed-term against unlimited terms. Working hours, Ramadan hours and rest days. Termination, notice and severance. Non-competes and whether they are enforceable in practice.

Compliance sits alongside the law itself. Contracts usually have to be registered with a ministry or labour authority, not merely signed. Wages have to move through an approved payment system. Nationalisation quotas and social insurance registrations are audited. Employment records must be produced on request, sometimes in Arabic.

We also cover what happens when things go wrong: how labour disputes are actually resolved, what a complaint to the ministry involves, how quickly matters escalate, and why the employer who documented everything usually wins. Fines in the region tend to be charged per employee and per month, so small oversights compound quickly.

Because GCC labour law is jurisdictional, most articles are written country by country, with clear notes on where free zone regimes such as the DIFC and ADGM depart from the federal position.

If you employ people in the Gulf, or plan to, read this section before you write a contract.