Qatar presents one of the most distinctive labour markets in the world: more than 90% of the private-sector workforce is made up of expatriates from South Asia, Africa and the Arab world, governed by a labour framework that has undergone sweeping reform since 2020. Managing human resources effectively in Qatar means staying continuously compliant with the Wage Protection System (WPS), the Qatar Labour Law (Law No. 14 of 2004 as amended by Law No. 18 of 2020), GPSSA pension contributions for Qatari nationals, End-of-Service Benefit (EOSB) obligations, and the detailed documentation requirements that come with sponsoring an international workforce.

Mawered is a multi-tenant HR SaaS platform built for the MENA and Gulf markets. Its payroll engine is natively configured for Qatari regulations: GPSSA calculations for nationals, WPS-formatted salary files, real-time EOSB provisioning, and expatriate document tracking with expiry alerts. The platform is available in a genuine trilingual interface — French, English and Arabic — with full right-to-left (RTL) Arabic support, making it the natural choice for Francophone organisations operating in Qatar alongside international and Arab-speaking teams.

Qatar Labour Law: Core Provisions

Qatar Labour Law (Law No. 14 of 2004), last significantly amended by Laws No. 1 of 2015 and No. 18 of 2020, is the primary legal framework governing private-sector employment in Qatar:

Working hours: 8 hours/day, 48 hours/week. Outdoor work is prohibited between 10:00 and 15:30 from 15 June to 15 September — penalties apply for non-compliant employers
Annual leave: minimum 21 calendar days after completing 1 year of service
Minimum wage (since March 2021): QAR 1,800/month total — QAR 1,000 basic + QAR 300 food allowance + QAR 500 housing allowance (where not provided by employer)
Salary payment deadline: wages must be paid within 7 days of the contractual due date
EOSB: 3 weeks of basic salary per year of service (first 5 years), rising to 4 weeks/year thereafter — regardless of termination reason

The Kafala Reform: Workforce Mobility Since 2020

Since October 2020, workers can change employers without their sponsor's permission (subject to notice period). The exit permit requirement has been abolished for most private-sector expatriates. For HR teams: EOSB provisioning is more time-sensitive, document management must be kept current, and WPS compliance is more critical as workers now have clearer legal channels to escalate complaints.

The Wage Protection System (WPS)

The WPS is an electronic salary monitoring system operated by Qatar's Ministry of Labour. All private-sector employers with six or more employees must pay salaries through a WPS-approved financial institution within 7 days of the contractual salary date. Non-compliance means suspension of new work permit applications, Ministry blacklisting, and administrative action.

The Mawered payroll module generates salary transfer files in the exact WPS format required by the Ministry, ready to submit to your partner bank. A dedicated WPS compliance dashboard shows real-time payment status for every employee — days remaining before the deadline and any unconfirmed payments.

GPSSA: Pension Contributions for Qatari Nationals

The General Pension and Social Insurance Authority (GPSSA) administers the compulsory pension scheme for Qatari nationals in the private sector:

Employee contribution: 7% of basic salary
Employer contribution: 14% of basic salary

For expatriate employees: zero GPSSA contributions. Mawered automatically distinguishes Qatari nationals from expatriates at onboarding and applies the correct logic to every payroll run. Monthly GPSSA declarations are generated in the authority-required format.

EOSB: Real-Time Provisioning

Mawered calculates and provisions each employee's EOSB liability in real time using the Qatar Labour Law formula:

Years 1–5: 3 weeks of basic salary per completed year (pro-rated for partial months)
Year 6 onwards: 4 weeks of basic salary per completed year

The EOSB dashboard gives the HR Director and CFO a live view of total outstanding liability — broken down by department, nationality, contract type and seniority. When an employee departs, Mawered calculates the exact settlement amount instantly.

Expatriate Document Tracking

The Mawered employee module stores and tracks all administrative documents for each expatriate: Iqama number and expiry, passport, visa type and validity, work permit reference, and mandatory health insurance. Automated alerts fire 60, 30 and 10 days before each document expires, giving the PRO and HR team sufficient lead time for renewals.

Leave and Absence Management

The Mawered absence module is pre-configured with Qatar Labour Law entitlements:

Annual leave: 21 days minimum after 1 year of service
Sick leave: up to 12 weeks — 2 weeks full pay, 4 weeks half pay, 6 weeks unpaid
Maternity leave: minimum 50 days
Public holidays: Qatar National Day (18 December), Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Islamic New Year, Founding Day — natively integrated

Scheduling: Summer Outdoor Work Ban Enforced

The Mawered planning module natively integrates Qatar's outdoor work prohibition: any schedule assigning outdoor work between 10:00 and 15:30 during the summer protection period (15 June – 15 September) triggers an automatic warning to the scheduling manager. Critical for construction, landscaping, oil and gas field operations, and outdoor facilities — sectors where violations carry significant legal and reputational consequences.

International Recruitment and Onboarding

The Mawered ATS module manages international hiring end-to-end: multilingual job postings (Arabic, English, French), centralised tracking, video interview scheduling, bilingual employment contracts (Arabic and English as required by Qatar Labour Law), e-signature, and a structured onboarding checklist covering visa processing, accommodation, health insurance, and Iqama. The AI-powered OnboardingAgent triggers the full workflow and tracks completion across PRO, IT and line manager tasks.

Trilingual Interface: English, Arabic and French

Mawered offers a genuine trilingual interface in English, Arabic and French with native RTL Arabic rendering. Payslips can be generated in English (most expatriates), Arabic (Qatari nationals), or French (Francophone management). A real differentiator for French-speaking organisations — from France, North Africa or West Africa — operating in Qatar alongside international teams.

Mobile App for Qatar's Field-Based Workforce

The Mawered mobile app (iOS and Android, EN/AR/FR) allows employees on construction sites, hotel operations or offshore platforms to view payslips, submit leave requests, check schedules, access documents (Iqama details, work permit expiry) and clock in via GPS. On large project sites where desktop access is limited, the mobile app is often the primary HR touchpoint for the workforce.

Why Companies in Qatar Choose Mawered

Automated WPS compliance: Ministry-format salary files, real-time payment status dashboard
Accurate GPSSA: 7% employee + 14% employer for Qatari nationals, zero for expatriates — automatic
Real-time EOSB provisioning: live liability dashboard, instant settlement on departure
Expatriate document tracking: Iqama, visa, work permit alerts at 60/30/10 days
Summer outdoor work ban enforced in scheduling (10:00–15:30, 15 Jun – 15 Sep)
Genuine trilingual EN/AR/FR interface with native Arabic RTL
Multi-country architecture: manage Qatar alongside France, Morocco, Tunisia or Saudi Arabia from one login

Request Your Free Demo for Qatar

Our HR specialists will configure a personalised demo using your real parameters: salary structure (basic + allowances), national-to-expatriate ratio, EOSB accrual backlog, WPS bank partner, and summer schedule rules. 30-day free trial, no commitment required, with data migration support from Excel, ERP or another HRMS.

HR Software Qatar: WPS Compliance, Qatar Labour Law and Expatriate Workforce Management