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Satyendra Pathak
Doha
Companies in Qatar will have the right to stop their employees from joining direct competitors in the country even after the completion of their job contract, an official at the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA) has said.
"Under the new labour law, an employer will have the right to enforce a restrictive covenant that seeks to prevent a former employee from working for a direct competitor," the official said.
The official, however, said that the companies will have to let their prospective employees know about it by adding the particular clause in the job contract.
If an employee agrees to it and signs the contract, the official said, he or she cannot join direct competitors as mentioned in the contract. Such employees, however, can take up jobs in companies that are not direct competitors.
"If this particular clause is not mentioned in a job contact signed by an employee, then the employer cannot stop former staff member from joining even a competitor," the official said.
A grace period of three months will be given to expatriate workers who want to change jobs after completing the contract period, the official said.
Within this grace period, the official said, expatriate workers will have to complete all formalities for changing the job.
The official also revealed that the ministry has abolished special visa restrictions, allowing expatriates to take up new jobs when the special projects for which they were hired are complete.
He explained,"Earlier expatriates hired for special projects were not allowed to take up another job in the country once the particular project was over. They had no option but to leave the country after the project was complete. Now there is no such restriction. Expatriates with such special visas are now allowed to work for new employers once the projects for which they were hired are over."
The official said that no expatriate worker will be allowed to enter Qatar for work without a job contract.
"Job contract will now be signed in the source country itself. A Swiss company hired by the ministry will facilitate job contract signing online between an employer and an employee. Once the employee gets the contract at his end, he will be allowed to enter Qatar," the official said.
Job contracts can be signed in 10 different languages depending on the nationality of the employee."It will ensure expatriates know the contents of the agreement in their own languages," he said.
