Weekly Rest Day and Public Holidays in Qatar: What Private Sector Workers Get

Most questions about rest days and holidays in Qatar come down to two things: how many paid days off you get, and what you are owed when your employer asks you to work. This guide follows Articles 73 to 78 of the Labour Law as shown in English on Al Meezan, Qatar's official legal portal. It covers workers under the Labour Law, not public sector staff.

Your weekly rest day

Article 75 says every worker must get a paid weekly rest of not less than 24 consecutive hours. Friday is the usual weekly rest day for all workers except shift workers. The article also says that, with the exception of shift workers, a worker may not be employed on two Fridays in a row.

If you work on your rest day

If the circumstances of the work make it necessary to work on the weekly rest day, Article 75 says the worker must be compensated with another day off, and must be paid what is payable for the rest day or the basic wage plus an increase of at least 150 percent of it. The English text of this sentence is not easy to read, so check the figure with the Ministry or your contract before you rely on it.

Working hours around the rest day

Article 73 sets the ordinary working hours at 48 hours a week, eight a day, and 36 hours a week, six a day, in Ramadan. Article 74 allows extra hours up to ten actual hours a day, paid at the basic wage plus at least 25 percent, and at least 50 percent for work between 9 pm and 6 am, except for shift workers. Our overtime guide goes through these numbers, and the summer midday work ban explains the extra outdoor limits.

Who is not covered

Article 76 says Articles 73, 74 and 75 do not apply to people in senior positions that give them the employer's authority over workers. Article 73 also does not apply to workers doing preparatory or complementary work before or after hours, or to guards and cleaners, and other groups the Minister may decide. If you are in one of these groups, your rest and hours may follow an order of the Minister, which we did not read.

Public holidays with pay

Article 78 says a worker is entitled each year to leave with full pay for: three working days for Eid Al-Fitr, three working days for Eid Al-Adha, one working day for Independence Day, and three working days specified by the employer.

That is ten paid days a year in the text we read. If the work makes it necessary to employ the worker on any of these days, Article 78 says Article 75 applies, so the rest day rules above apply to holiday work too. In plain terms, you should get another day off and the extra pay.

What your employer must display

Article 77 says the employer must put up, at the main gates the workers use and in a visible place in the workplace, a table showing the closing or weekly rest day, the working hours and the rest breaks for each group of workers, and must give the Department a copy. If you have never seen one, you can ask HR for it.

If your employer does not follow the rules

• Ask HR in writing for the rest day or holiday you were owed, and keep the reply.
• Keep a record of the days you worked and any pay slips.
• If it is not fixed, use our guide to filing a labor complaint.
• For related leave rights, see annual leave and sick leave.

What we could not verify

• Which date counts as Independence Day today. The article uses that name, and Qatar also marks National Day, so ask HR which dates your employer follows.
• Whether later amendments or Council of Ministers decisions changed Articles 73 to 78, and the dates the government sets for Eid holidays in a given year.
• The exact reading of the pay sentence in Article 75, which is not clear in English.
• How shift workers are treated, because the rest day rule for them depends on their schedule and was not in the text we read.
• How the rules apply to public sector staff, domestic workers and free zone employees.