Legal Clinic

I would like you to compute my indemnity. I am planning to finish my work contract in April 2017. I have been working for 18 years in a private company and my basic salary is KD 435 only and I have a housing allowance of KD 50 only. I just want to know if my housing allowance will be included in the computation of my indemnity.

Name withheld

Answer: The Kuwait Labor Law clearly mentions that the calculation of indemnity will be made on the “last remuneration”. The stress is on the word remuneration. The law, in this connection, doesn’t use words like basic salary, salary or pay.

Now the word “remuneration”, as defined by the Labor Law, includes the basic salary plus all the allowances paid to an employee regularly. As such, for the calculation of indemnity the figure of KD 485 will be used i.e. the basic salary plus the allowance.

This is how your indemnity will be calculated:

Total salary: KD 485 Service: 18 years

For the first five years service you get 15 days pay for each year = 75 days

But these 75 days have to be divided by 26 (working days in a month) = 2.88 months salary

For the remaining 13 years service you get one month’s salary for each year = 13 months salary

Total = 13 + 2.88 = 15.88 months salary = 15.88 x KD 485 = KD 7,701.800

As you have completed over 10 years service, you will get the full above amount regardless whether you resign or your services are terminated.

Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I am living in a 2-bedroom apartment. My contract was signed on Nov 1, 2015. My monthly rent is KD 300 but now I want to move to another apartment. I informed the landlord on Sept 3, 2016 that I would vacate this apartment before Sept 25, 2016.

I was told that as per contract I have to inform the landlord 1 month in advance otherwise I have to pay the next month’s rent (ie October 2016). I was also told that the contract period is 1 year and I must pay for the whole year.

Elaborating on the issue I was told that I have to pay for another month since I had paid the rent for 11 months only.

I have already paid the rent for September 2016 for both the apartments (where I am living currently and where I am moving). I am attaching the the rental contract, the last two months rent receipts and a copy of the written notice which I gave to the landlord.

Please advise on what my position is according to the Kuwaiti Rents Law and what legal action can be taken against me if I do not pay my current landlord the rent for October 2016.

Name withheld
Answer: As per your contract you are required to give a month’s notice before vacating your apartment. So, you have no option but to pay the rent for October. Talking about the rent for the whole year, that situation doesn’t come into play now because with the payment of the rent for October you will have paid the rent for the whole year.

If you don’t pay for the month of October, you could land in court … you have no way out But for the information of our other readers we need to discuss the issue of the year contract as this point is very important.

All our readers must ensure, when they rent a flat, that they clear this issue with their landlords because they could end paying rent for the unused part of the contract.

Normally, the landlords just ignore the one year part and just accept the one-month notice but then there are some who stick to the letter of the contract and try to get all the money they can. So, get this point cleared.

Send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

First of all thanks a lot for guiding expatriates with your legal advice service through the Legal Clinic column — I am seeking your clarification for my issue, please help.

I am working in the Human Resources Department of my company and have been in charge of payroll process for a period of time.

During my experience in that field, with that company and some others, I found many way of calculating the payroll.

I regularly read your legal responses which has inspired me to contact you as I have found no other channel to give me advice on my case.

Therefore, I am attaching an excel file which shows the different methods of calculation of the payroll. I am seeking your comments and advice which is suitable for both employees and company in according with the Kuwait Labor Law.

Your assistance on this issue will be very much appreciated as it will be very helpful to me.

Name withheld

Answer: If you are in the Human Resources Department of your company and are connected with preparation of the company’s payroll, then the first thing you need to do is get a good translated copy of the Kuwait Labor Law.

We say this because once you make the correct calculations, your company will want proof that you are using the correct method for calculation of the payroll … because most companies (even some of the good ones) have shut their eyes to the correct method and are using a method which benefits them financially … well, which company owner wouldn’t but then there is only one way to make the payrolls — “the correct way” — although we are sure that even if you give proof of the correct method most companies won’t use it.

But before we go on, we must stress that Articles 55 to 62, plus the second paragraph of Article 67 are very important in the calculation of the dues of an employee.

While it is obligatory to follow the rules laid down in the Kuwait Labor Law, not everything is contained in these laws, especially the ministerial decisions and explanation of various laws by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.

So, here is the correct method (after including all the explanations and various decisions of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor) of making the payrolls and also the salary to be used in the calculation of both the indemnity and leave salary of the employees.

Before we detail the procedure, we like to make it clear that you can always (officially through the company) approach the Legal Department of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.

We will not, however, individually discuss the various copies of the payroll you sent and only detail the correct procedure.

For calculating the monthly salary of the employees, you must include every day of the month. For example, if a month is of 28, 30 or 31 days then the total salary of the individual must be divided by those number of days to get the daily wage. The issue of subtracting the weekends is not considered during the preparation of the normal monthly payrolls.

In the preparation of these payrolls the total days of the month are considered and not only the working days. So, if a month is of 30 days and a person’s monthly salary is KD 300 his daily wage will be considered as KD 10.

In such a case — for example — if a person is absent for three days KD 30 will be deducted from his salary. But things are different in the calculation of the daily overtime, annual leave salary and indemnity.

Since, you have months of both 30 and 31 days and also one of either 28 or 29 days (February) every month is considered to have 26 working days.

This is important because some months have 5 Fridays (weekends off) like in this year we find 5 Fridays in January, April, July, September and December. For uniformity the working days are taken to be 26.

So, while calculating overtime, annual leave and indemnity we take the working days as 26. So, if an employee has 30 working days paid leave a year the salary is first divided by 26 and only then multiplied by 30 to arrive at the leave salary.

For example, if an employee is earning KD 300 monthly you need to divide this first by 26 = KD 11.540.

You then multiply this figure by 30 = 11.540 x 30 = KD 346.200.

So, this will be his annual leave salary for the 30 working days.

Now, in case of indemnity, a person gets 15 days salary for each of the first five years of service for a total of 75 days.

These 75 days are first divided by 26 and then multiplied by the salary = 75 / 26 = 2.88 months salary for these five years and not 2.5 months salary as some companies calculate.

We hope that you are now clear on the issue but you are welcome to send any number of questions to the Arab Times Legal Clinic if doubts persist.

For your queries email it to [email protected] or [email protected]

My driving license was issued on Dec 18, 2012 for 10 years with designation “Driver” and salary KD 400. But now my designation in my new company is being changed to Technical Assistant with the salary KD 400.

Please advise whether after my designation change my driving license will get cancelled or not? I have heard somewhere that this rule is implemented for the licenses issued after April 2013. I always see you give the correct answer, so awaiting for your valuable reply

Name withheld
Answer: A very senior Kuwait Traffic Department clarified this issue not very long ago when he said that the decision on change of designations would affect only those licenses which were issue after April 1, 2013.

He added that all the licenses issued before this date would be renewed automatically. The designations affected are driver, housewife, Mandoub (company representative) and student.

If you have obtained a driving license — after April 1, 2013 — for the above four designations you will lose your license if you change the designation on the work permit.

But as you got the driving license before the above date, your driving license “should not “ be cancelled if you change your designation.

Kindly send your query to [email protected] or [email protected]

First of all I would like to thank you to this amazing “Legal Clinic” department for their services, which are very helpful to all of us … and I am a regular reader of the very popular “Arab Times” since 2004. I have a problem which has become very critical now as I am having a “mismatch” on my passport & academic certificates as I will attempt to explain below. I will be very grateful if you can guide me on how to make the corrections on the Kuwait documents, since I can make the correction on my passport as per my academic certificate from my home country (Bangladesh). I am holding a Bangladeshi passport and have been living & working in Kuwait since October 2003.

My problems are following:

On passport: Name: Ahammad Ullah Motayed

Father’s name: Nur Ullah Mottled Date of birth: Dec 7, 1978

On certificate: Name: Ahammad Ullah Mooted

Father’s name: Nurulla Motaed

Date of birth: Dec 7, 1982

Note: My certificate and passport copy are attached for reference.

The above mistakes happened because we didn’t have any mandatory birth certificate before 2008.

Name withheld
Answer: We are not worried what difference there is between your passport details and the details on your certificates. Because those are the corrections you have to get done from your embassy or your country. We are concerned with correcting the details on your Kuwait documents and matching them with your passport details.

This is not too difficult.You have to approach the Immigration Department in your area first.You will have to fill a form with the details you want corrected. You will then be directed to the Fingerprints Department to confirm that you are the “same person” with “different names”.

Once you get the security report , you have to go back to the Immigration Department which will make the corrections in its computer system.To this computer system are connected all the important departments of Kuwait.

The Immigration Department will also put a new residence sticker in your passport. This means the required corrections have been made .You can now approach all the departments — for Civil ID and driving license — to have all the details on these documents corrected. You won’t face any problems.

Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I am working in a contracting company running governmental projects. I was recently hired for one project and unfortunately the current news is that this project has been cancelled. I was hired locally and the current company is my 3rd employer. I am a graduate degree holder with attested certificates. I have two queries.

1. Will I be able to get a release & transfer my residence if the company terminates my employment before the completion of one year. If not, can I apply legally for the release?

2. Will I be able to get a release and transfer my residence if I resign before 1 year; If not, can I apply legally for the release? If required to apply legally whom should I approach.

Name withheld

Answer: As you were a local hire you will be able to transfer to another firm, regardless of whether you get a release or not, if your services are terminated.

You will, however, not be entitled to any release if you resign before completion of one year. So, in case of resignation, you must wait for the completion of the year.

In case of any problems, if you are denied your rights, you should file a complaint with the Labor Office in you area.

Send your legal queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I am now living in Kuwait. My husband and I are divorced and I would like to bring my 2 children to Kuwait, ages 4 and 7. He has given me his consent. I am a teacher and my salary is KD 650 per month. Can I bring them in on a visitor’s visa and convert it to a residency permit? If so, how can I bring them into Kuwait to live with me and attend school?

Name withheld

Answer: You shouldn’t have any difficulty in getting your children to Kuwait and also sponsor them as your dependents. Although women are not allowed to sponsor their children as dependents, exceptions have been made in the law for widows and divorcees.

All you need is the divorce certificate, attested by the foreign ministry of your country, followed by attestation of the same by your embassy in Kuwait and the Kuwait Foreign Ministry in Shuwaikh.

Your salary is more than enough but the same should be mentioned on your work permit to make your case strong.

You should also have your own accommodation, with the rental contract preferably in your name.

All you need are the photocopies of the passports of your children, the divorce certificate, copies of the work permit, Civil ID, rental contract and the permission from your ex-husband (attested by the foreign ministry in your country, your embassy in Kuwait and the Kuwait Foreign Ministry in Shuwaikh).

Attach all these to an application and submit the same to the Immigration Department in your area. You should not have any difficulty in getting the dependent visas.

Please, however, don’t get them here on visit visas because you can’t convert these to dependent visas. This is not allowed, with the only exception being infants (children two years old and under).

Send your legal queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I would like to ask for help for my problem. I am joining a new company and I have submitted my current working permit but the company which I am joining requires the old working permit which was issued 7 years back. I went to the company where I worked 7 years ago and asked for a copy of my work permit but unfortunately my file has already been disposed off. Where can I get the copy of the work permit.

Name withheld

Answer: First of all we don’t understand why your company needs the old work permit. There is no requirement for it. In case, for some reason, it continues to stress the issue it can obtain the work permit plus all other records related to your residence from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. The ministry will make this records accessible to the company if required but not to you. So, ask your company to approach the ministry.

Send your legal queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I have driving license issued in 2003 when my position was that of a driver. The license will expire in January 2017. My current position is merchandizer. Can I renew my license without any issue?

Name withheld

Answer: No, unfortunately, you will not be able to renew your license because of the change in your job status. All expatriates, who got their driving licenses when their job status was “driver”, lose these licenses when there is a change in their job designations on the work permits. The law is very strict on the issue.

Send your legal queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

Can you please let me how to calculate my service indemnity.

■ Salary – KD 450.

■ Car allowance – KD75.

■ Petrol – they give me a card twice a month (KD 15 each).

■ Having been working for more then 13 years.

■ We get a bonus every year but not a fixed amount.

Can you please help me in calculating my indemnity, according to the Kuwait Labor Law.

Name withheld
Answer: According to the Kuwait Labor Law the indemnity should be calculated by using the latest remuneration (although most companies are in violation of the Kuwait Labor Law by using the basic salary) which includes the basic salary plus all the allowances given at regular intervals.

In fact, the latest bonus is also included in the remuneration.

This is added to the monthly salary after dividing it by 12 (number of months).

So, all the allowances you are getting will be added to your salary to arrive at the remuneration.

We, however, can’t calculate your indemnity as you have not mentioned how much bonus you got this year.

Send your legal queries to [email protected] or [email protected]