Qatar & Oman Labor Rights Desk
The rules that actually protect your wages, contract and gratuity in Qatar and Oman — minimum wage and WPS in Doha, labour cards and the new 2025 Labour Law in Muscat — written for Bangladeshi workers, in plain language.
Qatar: wages, contracts and mobility
Minimum wage of QAR 1,000 plus allowances
Since March 2021 Qatar enforces a non-discriminatory basic minimum wage of QAR 1,000 per month, plus QAR 300 for food and QAR 500 for accommodation if the employer does not provide them. It applies to all nationalities and all sectors, including domestic workers.
WPS: your salary must land in a bank account
The Wage Protection System requires employers to pay salaries through approved banks within scheduled days each month. If your salary is late or paid in cash to dodge WPS, the Ministry of Labour (ADLSA) can fine the employer and freeze work permits — file a complaint with your Qatar ID and contract.
Changing jobs: no employer NOC needed
Law No. 18 of 2020 abolished the exit and transfer NOC system. After completing your contract or notice period you can change employers without the old employer's permission, following the notice rules in your contract — and the employer cannot legally hold your passport to stop you.
Oman: labour cards and the new Labour Law
Your labour card is your work permit
Every expatriate worker in Oman needs a labour card issued through the Royal Oman Police after the employer registers the contract with the Ministry of Labour. Check the expiry date regularly — working on an expired card brings fines for both you and the employer, and renewal is the employer's legal duty.
The 2025 Labour Law changed the essentials
Royal Decree 53/2023, in force from February 2025, raised the end-of-service gratuity to at least one month's basic wage per year, allows job changes after notice instead of blanket bans, and makes health insurance mandatory. Outdoor work still pauses for the midday break from mid-June to the end of August.
Gratuity: the formulas side by side
Qatar pays at least three weeks' basic wage per completed year (Law 14/2004, from one year of service). Oman's new law pays at least one month's basic wage per year; pre-2025 contracts follow the old 15-days-for-the-first-three-years formula. Run your own numbers in the gratuity calculator, and convert the result to taka with the 2.5% incentive.