Sick Leave in Qatar: Pay, Medical Reports and Your Job

Sick leave is one of the most searched worker questions, and the Labour Law gives a fairly specific answer. This guide follows Articles 72, 82, 84 and 85 of Labour Law No. 14 of 2004 as shown on Al Meezan, Qatar's official legal portal, which we read in October 2026. It covers workers under that law. Public sector staff and domestic workers may follow different rules that we did not check.

When sick leave starts

Article 82 says a worker is entitled to paid sick leave for each year of service, but it is not granted until three months have passed from the date you first started work. After that, you must prove the illness with a medical report issued by the competent physician approved by your employer.

How much you are paid

Article 72 says leave pay is calculated on your Basic Wage on the due date. If you are paid by the piece, it is based on your average pay for the three months before the due date. So allowances beyond the basic wage may not be counted, and it is worth checking your payslip to see what your basic wage is.

An example

This is our own illustration, not an official calculation. Say your basic wage is QR 3,000 a month and your doctor certifies a six week illness after you have worked a year. The first two weeks should be paid in full. For the next four weeks, Article 82 pays half. If you are still unable to work after week six, the leave continues without pay.

What happens to your job

Article 82 says the employer may terminate your service at the end of the twelfth week of sick leave, but only if a licensed physician's report proves you cannot resume work at that time. Twelve weeks of sick leave do not count as an interruption of your continuous service, so they do not break the period used for your gratuity. The article also says these rules do not affect your right to your end of service gratuity.

Article 85 adds a separate protection. The employer may not terminate your contract, or notify you of termination, during any of your leave periods in the law, and may not send a notice that ends during one. For how notice and dismissal work in general, see our guide to termination rules.

If you resign or die because of sickness

Article 82 says that if a worker resigns because of sickness, with the approval of the licensed physician, before the end of the six paid weeks, the employer must pay the balance of the entitlements. The same applies if the worker dies of sickness before those six weeks end.

Do not work elsewhere while on leave

Article 84 says a worker may not work with another employer during any leave. If the employer proves you did, it may withhold your pay for the leave period and recover what it already paid. Sick leave should be spent resting, not on another job.

What to do

This is our own practical advice, not part of the law.

• Get a written medical report from a physician your employer accepts. Ask HR early which doctors or clinics it approves.
• Send the report to HR in writing and keep a copy with the date you sent it.
• Check your payslip for the basic wage figure, because leave pay is based on it.
• Do not take other work during the leave.
• If pay is wrong or you are told to leave during your leave, see our guide to filing a labor complaint.
• For the wider rules on hours, annual leave and probation, see our Qatar labor law guide.

Common mistakes

• Taking sick leave before completing three months and expecting it to be paid.
• Not getting the report from a physician the employer approves.
• Assuming full pay lasts the whole leave. Only the first two weeks are full pay.
• Working for someone else during the leave.

What we could not verify

• Whether the employer's approved physician rule is applied the same way for every employer, and how clinics issue certificates today.
• Whether later amendments changed Articles 82 or 85. Al Meezan showed the 2005 text with no amendment notice when we read it.
• Sick leave rules for public sector employees and domestic workers.