Qatar Wage Protection System 101
Safe, lucrative, and full of budding opportunities for the hopeful employee, the professional career landscape in Qatar makes the country one of the most sought-after places to work in the whole world. Hundreds of attractive opportunities are readily available for applicants the world over, and the chances to land the job of your dreams is high, with success just within reach—ripe and ready for the taking.
To make sure that employees coming into the country are fully protected, and to further increase the appeal of working in the country, the Qatari government has put plenty of safety measures in place. These strict implementations not only protect the welfare of foreign workers, but also the working conditions of local workers as well. Hence, the Wage Protection System (WPS) was born.
The WPS is an invaluable system that makes sure employees duly receive their salaries via an electronic salary transfer system. This e-system lets various institutions and companies pay their employees via banks. These banks must also be pre-approved and appropriately authorized by the government to provide the said service for companies.
Developed by the Qatar Central Bank, the system records proper salary payments in the private sector as maintained by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (MADLSA). With this fool-proof system in place, companies can guarantee employees that wage payments are made promptly and in full. As long as the institution is registered with the Ministry, it is covered under the WPS regardless of sector or industry to ensure a safe work environment across the board.
Inevitably, before the WPS was implemented, there had been numerous instances of worker exploitation especially with sub-contractors and smaller companies. Now that the WPS has been put in place, there are strict penalties for companies who violate the law. Fines can be duly imposed, but an institution can request for an extension to catch up with penalties as given. The Minister has the decision to grant or deny the extension.
Violation of Article 66 of the Qatar Labour Law can even result to imprisonment of up to one month. Penalties may also be a fine of QR 2,000 and QR 6,000 for every employee. The worker can raise his issue and make an official claim with the Labor Court, and if the company is unable to transfer the necessary payments within a week of the due date, issuance of new work permits can be suspended among others. The company may also lose the support and interaction with the Ministry regarding visa changes and other important services.
To keep from running the risk of violating these laws, it helps to have a trusted business consultancy partner to help you with the scheduling and the timely payment of wages, especially if your consultancy partner has dedicated in-house wage payment system for your convenience.
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Afreno is a Business Consultancy that draws on its long presence, over 10 years in fact, in the field of forming companies, while capitalizing on its impressive know-how at both local and international levels. This endeavor also extends to developing local partnerships and offering excellent opportunities in real estate.
Unlike any other Business Consultancy company in the State of Qatar, Afreno includes under its umbrella three closely-linked comprehensive services: business advice, legal negotiation and real estate possibilities. This means that any project, however complex, can be dealt with in all its aspects. Added to this is our wide range of reliable clients and trusted business contacts, plus our up to the minute awareness of what is going on in the markets, whether GCC or local. Your business venture will be backed by our in-depth knowledge, the valuable connections we have built over time, and our solid reputation, ensuring that you succeed quickly, whatever enterprise you are involved in. All this will be achieved with the minimum of stress; unsurprisingly Afreno has become the point of reference for anyone wishing to incorporate or grow their business in the local market.
