Legal Clinic

I have been working as a registered nurse in a medical clinic for 2 years and 7 months now. My residence was locally transferred from another clinic to this clinic.

I gave my resignation last week with a 3-month notice period, because there is no benefit in any way from this clinic since I joined, and I have received a better offer from another clinic.

The manager refuses to give a reply to my resignation letter, saying that there is a new law which prohibits transfer of residence before 3 years, even though I was locally hired. Is this true? … if not, what is the procedure I should adopt for the manager to accept my resignation and give me the release to transfer my residence?

Name withheld
Answer: The manager is not telling you the truth as there has been change to the law and local transfers are allowed after one year.

If the manager refuses to accept your resignation, send him a copy of the same through registered post and also an e-mail. All you need is a confirmation that he has received the resignation.

You don’t need his permission to leave the clinic. If the manager refuses to let you go, just file a complaint with the Labor Office in your area and this office will sanction your transfer to the company /clinic that you wish to join.

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I am from Bangladesh and I am working in a very big local group as a purchasing assistant …my salary is KD 361. Can I get a family visa for my wife and if “yes” can you detail the procedure to process the application.

Name withheld

Answer: Unfortunately, new visas for Bangladeshis are still banned which means you can’t get a visa for your wife until the restrictions imposed in this regard are waived and the ban lifted.

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I came to Kuwait (in 1998) on a MEW project visa and after that I changed many companies but remained on the same project visa. Last year, however, I changed my company (from a government project to the private sector — industrial) Now I have again got a better offer from a government project/ contracting company.

Please advise me whether my visa can be transferred or not (from the private sector to a government project visa)?

I am asking this question because my new company sponsor’s mandoob (company representative) says that my residence cannot be transferred because when I entered Kuwait for the first time it was on a government project visa.

Name withheld
Answer: No, the company representative is wrong. It’s the other way around because you can transfer at any time to a government project residence.

There is no bar on the time nor are any restrictions as mentioned by the mandoob.

If the mandoob keeps insisting on his stand the best thing would be to get a clarification from the Legal Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.

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I have been working in a company for the last 8 years 9 months (joined Aug 9, 2007) as an engineer but my services were terminated on April 3, 2016.

My salary on my work permit is KD 1,200 and I have 99 days annual leave balance.

My questions are as below :

1. What are my end of service benefits if I am released on April 30, 2016?

2. I have got a job in another company… how many days will it take for me to get a local transfer from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor?

Name withheld
Answer: First of all, we do not understand why you have mentioned the date April 3, 2016 because the company has to give you a three month notice and even if both the parties agree to part ways early, the worker’s service will be counted until the last day of the notice period, which in your case would be July 2, 2016 and as such we will calculate your indemnity until that date.

As such, your service will be 8 years and 11 months and not 8 years and 9 months … so you have to also get the indemnity for these additional two months.

So, here is the calculation for your indemnity: Total service: 8 years 11 months

Salary: KD 1,200

So, you should get 15 days pay for each of the first five years = 75 days pay but these 75 days have to be divided by 26 (working days in a month) = 2.88 months salary

For the remaining period you get one months salary for each year = 3.92 months salary

Total indemnity = 2.88 + 3.92 = 6.8 months salary = 6.8 x KD 1,200 = KD 8,160

As your services were terminated, you are entitled to the full indemnity i.e KD 8,160 regardless of the fact that you have not completed 10 years service.

Second on the issue of annual leave, you say that you have a balance of 99 days but we feel that you should be getting 5 days more in view of the extra two months of the notice that you had not included in your service.

This means your annual leave balance should be 104 days and the amount you should get should be calculated as follows;

Annual leave balance: 104 days

Salary: KD 1,200 The 104 days should first be divided by 26 = 4 months salary = KD 1,200 x 4 = KD 4,800 So, you should be paid KD 4800 in lieu of your balance of leave

Your total dues = KD 8,160 + KD 4,800 = KD 12,960

On the issue of the time that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor will take to transfer your residence, we would like to state that this all depends on efficiency of your new company’s mandoub (company representative).

If the mandoub is good, he will only need just over a week (or a maximum of two weeks) to complete the formalities but if he is slow he will take a minimum of one month.

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I am doing research on Kuwaiti laws regarding the immigration, labor and the country’s penal code. In this regard, I am wondering where I can get books or sources on those issues or are there some links.

Name withheld

Answer: It’s very easy these days to get any information, especially with the Internet services doing wonders. If you are just interested in getting a soft copy, then just search on Google for Kuwait immigration, Kuwait Labor Law or Kuwait Penal Code and you will get scores of sites, including a number of the Arab Times pages, supplying information on the above subjects.

To get hard copies, you have to visit one of the many major translation offices in Kuwait City. Some of these translation offices have done a wonderful job in translating the original Arabic text into English.

You can also visit some of the major book stores in Kuwait City, with the biggest one located in the basement of the Al Muthanna Complex, opposite to the JW Marriott Hotel.

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Under the Kuwait Labor Law, is management eligible for overtime? I work for a company that does not pay managers overtime and the question has come up several times. So, what does the Labor Law say on the issue?

Name withheld
Answer: The Kuwait Labor Law does not differentiate between different categories of employees, be they average workers or managers. The law also doesn’t say that only the ordinary workers should be given overtime, all it says is that all employees who are required to work beyond the required hours set by the Kuwait Labor Law are entitled to overtime.

This means that every employee, regardless of position, is entitled to overtime payment. Having said that, some companies have their own set of rules, your company is not the only one.

In such companies, the management is excluded from the overtime payment. In spite of this, if you as a manager work overtime you must get overtime payment. You can always approach the Labor Office in your area to file a complaint.

In my old Civil ID my name in both Arabic and English is correct. I recently got my new civil ID in which my name in Arabic is correct but in English it is incorrect (it is according to the Arabic pronunciation).

On my driving license my name is according to my old civil ID and my license is expiring very soon. Will there be any problem in the renewal of my license.

Name withheld

Answer: If the name is correct in Arabic it is very unlikely that you could face any problems unless some very alert clerk notes the difference in the way your name is written in English.

Now, as the mistake has been made by the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACI), it is better to approach PACI again to have the mistake corrected so that there is no chance at all to run into any kind of problem in the future, not only at the Kuwait Traffic Department but in other government offices also – especially at the Immigration Department, where there is a very huge possibility of the mistake being noticed.

So, before this mistake is pointed out to you and you have to then run from pillar to post to have it corrected, you should approach PACI immediately.

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First of all, thanks for all the valuable advice — according to the Kuwait Labor Law — that you have been providing to the readers of the Arab Times.

1) I would like to know which of my allowances will be included in the calculation of my indemnity … the details are as below. As per my contract, my basic salary is KD 650, food allowance KD 130 and fixed extra work allowance is KD 200 per month. Accommodation and transport are provided by company.

2) I have resigned after completing 4 years but I have requested the company to let me leave with a two-month notice instead of three months as required by the law. Hence I have to pay one month’s salary to my company. So I have to pay back to company only my basic salary (KD 650) or the basic salary plus the allowances (650 + 130 + 200)?

3) I have 45 days leave balance, so all together how much will I get as the final settlement?

Name withheld

Answer: In the calculation of the indemnity, all the allowances that you receive at regular intervals are counted in the calculation of the indemnity. According to the Kuwait Labor Law, the calculation for indemnity and annual leave is based on the “remuneration” — which includes the basic salary and all the allowances — and not on the basic salary alone.

You will have also add the monthly value for the accommodation and transport, even if it is being provided by the company.

This is part of your salary package. But please remember that the payment for overtime work is not considered in the calculations. As regards your second question, you will have to pay the basic salary and the food allowance plus the cost of the one months accommodation plus transport (KD 650 + KD 130 + the cost of the facilities provided by the company) if you don’t serve one month of the three-month notice period.

Please also remember that you can get away with not serving the whole three-month or a part of it only if the company accepts your request.

If the company decides not to accept your request, then you will have to serve the whole three-month notice period and you can’t get away without their acceptance — even if you pay for the incompleted part of the notice period.

Otherwise, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor will not sanction your transfer. And in reply to your final question, we would like to say that we can’t make the calculations because we don’t have all the figures — cost of the accommodation and transport provided to you by the company.

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I am a Pakistani and in the government sector in Kuwait. Can I get a family visa for my wife. Due to some restrictions it’s very difficult to manage family matters in the country. What can be done by me to get the family visa?

Name withheld

Answer: According to the rules, Pakistanis in government service can get family visas without any problems. Having said that, “restrictions” remain in the issuance of all such visas with most of the requests being rejected until the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior approves individual applications. So, the best thing that can be done in such circumstances is to “test” the system.

Go to the Immigration Department and apply for the family visa. If your application is rejected, although the chances are that it will be accepted, then approach the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior. It is possible that your application will be accepted.

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I have been living in an apartment for over 5 years but 2 weeks ago our ceiling in the bedroom stated dripping water … from a leak from the upper apartment. I informed the harris (caretaker) about the problem and he sent someone to look at the leak but this person could not identify the problem.

To-date the water still leaks from the ceiling onto the floor in our bedroom which is a hazard as I have slipped a couple of times on the water. The harris told me that they can’t solve the problem and I have to take care of it at my own expense.

My question is that if the water leak is due to a firefighting pipe up in the ceiling or due to the bathroom of our neigbour upstairs, am I responsible to fix the problem or is the responsibility of the tenant. What action can I take?

Name withheld
Answer: Tell the harris (caretaker) that it is the responsibility of either the landlord or the tenant upstairs to bear the cost of the repairs in this case although you are the one being affected.

You can also tell him that unless the repairs are carried you will stop paying the rent to him and will instead start depositing it with the Rents Court after filing a case there.

As the conditions are becoming unhygienic for you to stay in the flat you can also file a report with the Kuwait Municipality in your area.

You tell the harris about this also and we are sure that on hearing this the harris will ensure the repairs are carried out …otherwise just file the case with the Rents Court and also lodge a complaint with the Municipality.

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