New amendments to DWL

On May 15th 2022, new amendments were put into force regarding the Domestic Workers Law issued in 2015. These amendments were issued by Jamal Al-Jalawi, the Minister of Justice. The amendments of articles and addition of new ones, impact domestic workers’ livelihood and employment conditions. The changes affect 3 parties: the domestic worker, the employer, and recruitment agencies. Here is an overview of the changes made, as summarized by this article in the Arab Times:

• On the transfer of contract from one employer to another: these reasons include: death of the employer, divorced employers, losing eligibility conditions for the employer, act/statement/or gesture of sexual connotation by the employer or people in the household. 

• On issuing licenses for recruitment agencies: in order to obtain a license, there are further steps needed to prove financial guarantee and valid payment, from 40,000 KWD for offices and institutions, and 100,000 KWD for companies.  

• On requirements by the employer: to fulfill the needs of the employee, such as food, clothing, and medical treatment. As well as preventing the domestic worker from paying any financial fees.

• On the minimum wage: there is now an increase of the minimum wage to 75 KWD per month. 

• On delayed salary: the employer will pay a fine of 10 KWD for each month that the salary is 7 days late, in addition to the monthly salary. 

• On filing absconding cases: it is now prohibited to file an absconding report “after submitting a complaint to the competent department, provided that he/she is registered with the migrant worker shelter center, and the ban is considered to be lifted after the complaint is settled or referred to the competent judiciary.’’

• On annual leave, overtime, and work hours: annual leave not less than 30 days with pay after spending 11 months at work, paid weekly day off (24 hours), and overtime hours to not exceed 2 hours per day, alongside overtime wage. 

For more information on these changes, please visit the original article via the source below. 

Sources:

Arab Times, May 16 2022. ‘Sponsor’s duty to provide food, clothing for worker’; PAM nods new rules.