Legal Corner: Change of sponsorship

I am an Arab expatriate working for a real estate firm in Qatar. My wife, also an expatriate, works for an education centre. According to her work contract, she gets a 30 percent share for teaching students at the centre, and a 50 percent share if she conducts tutorials elsewhere.

She later got a job in an Independent school and her sponsor agreed to let her work there. However, he then demanded that she pay him half her salary according to the above contract. When she tried to explain to him that she had been hired temporarily by the school with his permission, and that this did not involve any contractual obligation, he threatened to cancel her residence permit. This made her pay him 50 percent of her salary every month. When the school year ended, she asked him to transfer her sponsorship to her husband, at which he told her to resign from her job and prepare for deportation.

Is there any law that forces a worker to pay half his salary to his sponsor?

How can my wife get back what she has paid to her sponsor? And how can she transfer her sponsorship to her husband?

Name withheld on request

To stop such illegal practices you need to inform the authorities with the required evidence, otherwise any claim will not be considered.

The education centre or your wife’s sponsor has no right to half of her salary, and the employer must return what she has paid.

To get back what she has paid him, she may need to file a complaint. Being under his sponsorship does not prevent her from filing a suit against him.

Otherwise she can file a case in court for transferring her sponsorship, as the labour law stipulates that a dispute under the law can be taken to court within a year of the end of the work contract. She can quit her job and get her residence permit cancelled and return to Qatar on her husband’s sponsorship, as in this case she does not need to stay outside Qatar for two years before returning on a fresh sponsorship. 

If you are not eligible for a family visa, you can sue the education centre for the amount paid to your wife’s sponsor and request the transfer of her sponsorship to any company she is willing to work with. In case of a dispute between a sponsor and a worker, the Ministry of Interior has authority to get a worker’s sponsorship transferred without the consent of the sponsor, according to Law No. 4/2009.

I have filed a case in court against my employer for non-payment of salary and other dues. Initially, I was told that my case, being a labour case, would be decided in six to eight months. It is almost 18 months since the case was filed. Despite having all documents that prove my claim, for the past one and a half years I have only got information about the next date of hearing, which is usually every two months. I approached the human rights department at the Ministry of Interior with all relevant documents and requested them to allow me to change my sponsors in order for me to work and support my family. They said they would consider my request for change of sponsorship after the court gives its verdict. Please advise me as to what are my options. Who should I approach to allow me to work, as I have been staying in Qatar with my wife and children without any source of income for more than one and a half years?

Name withheld on request

Article 10 of Labour Law No. 14/2004 says all suits filed by workers or their heirs to claim rights arising from the provisions of this act or the employment contract will be considered by the court promptly, and they are exempted from judicial fees.

Regarding wages, Article 66 of the Labour Law says wages and other dues owed to the worker should be paid in Qatari Riyals monthly or once every two weeks. 

Article 51 indicates that the worker may terminate the employment contract before its expiry if there is a fixed term, and without notifying the employer if there is no fixed term, while getting all dues, including end of service benefits, if the employer has breached his obligations under the employment contract or the law.

The failure of the employer to pay a worker’s salary is against the terms of the employment contract and the labour law 

Suits filed by workers are considered promptly, however, the verdict is based on the facts and circumstances of each case, which may need further research and investigation. The court may refer a case to experts to examine documents related to it, and such procedures may take time and cause some delay.

Regarding transfer of sponsorship, Law No. 4/2009 states that the Minister of Interior or his deputy may transfer the sponsorship of an expatriate worker temporarily in case of a legal dispute between the sponsor and the worker, or if there is proven abuse by the sponsor, or if public interest requires it. 

In case of lengthy legal processes, the law says that the Ministry of Interior can use its discretion to transfer a worker’s sponsorship without the consent of the sponsor, regardless of whether the relationship between the parties is subject to Labour Law No. 14/2004 or not. The ministry can transfer the sponsorship of an expatriate temporarily until a verdict is issued by the court.

If the court holds that the sponsor has treated the worker arbitrarily, the transfer of sponsorship becomes final and the relationship between the parties ends, but if the allegations against the sponsor are not proved, the worker’s sponsorship can be cancelled and he can be deported.

The questioner is advised to approach the competent authority at the Ministry of Interior to transfer his sponsorship temporarily until the lawsuit is decided.
 

Worker wages