08/09/2025
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08/09/2025
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KUWAIT CITY, Sept 8: Private school teachers in Kuwait are raising questions over unusual administrative practices related to summer leave and end-of-service gratuity. Some international teachers report being required to submit “Leave Application Forms” for their summer vacation—a procedure typically reserved for Hajj, maternity, or emergency leave. Additionally, discrepancies in the calculation of gratuity for staff with varying lengths of service have sparked concerns about compliance with Kuwait’s labor laws.
Dear Arab Times, I have two questions
Question 1: I work at a private school in Kuwait that requires staff to sign a “Leave Application Form” for our summer break. Summer vacation is determined by the school in accordance with the Ministry of Private Education and is already specified in our contract. The form used is the same as that for Hajj leave, maternity leave, or emergency leave, which are actual leave requests. Since summer leave is a scheduled break, not an application, I am concerned that the school may be using this process to manipulate gratuity calculations.
Do private international teachers in Kuwait actually need to apply for summer leave, or is this an unusual practice?
Question 2: The school has informed staff that anyone who has worked for less than four years is not eligible for gratuity. They also stated that employees who have worked between five and ten years will receive only two-thirds of the calculated gratuity.
Is this correct according to the Kuwait labor law, or are staff entitled to different gratuity terms?
Answer
Summer leave
No. Summer vacation in private schools is determined by the school in accordance with the Ministry of Private Education and is typically included in employment contracts. Unlike Hajj leave, maternity leave, or emergency leave (which require formal applications), summer leave is a scheduled break and does not normally require a “Leave Application Form.” Requiring teachers to apply for summer vacation is unusual and may be a method to affect gratuity calculations.
Gratuity calculation for private school staff in Kuwait
Under the Kuwait labor law (Law No. 6 of 2010 for the Private Sector):
- Employees must complete at least three years of continuous service to be eligible for gratuity.
- Staff with 3–5 years of service receive 50% of the gratuity calculation.
- Staff with 5–10 years of service receive full gratuity if terminated by the employer; if they resign voluntarily, they are entitled to two-thirds of the calculation.
- Employees with more than 10 years of service are entitled to the full gratuity regardless of whether they resign or are terminated.
This means the school’s statements—no gratuity for under 4 years, and only two-thirds for 5–10 years—are partly inaccurate, as the minimum entitlement begins at three years, and the two-thirds rule applies only in the case of voluntary resignation.
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