Are you getting paid on public holidays?

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: The labor law says employees should be paid during all public holidays. They should also be paid double if they work during these holidays and get an extra day off in compensation. But many companies are not complying with the law, based on complaints by some employees randomly questioned by Kuwait […]

The post Are you getting paid on public holidays? appeared first on Kuwait Times.

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: The labor law says employees should be paid during all public holidays. They should also be paid double if they work during these holidays and get an extra day off in compensation. But many companies are not complying with the law, based on complaints by some employees randomly questioned by Kuwait Times.

“We are not paid – they only give us an extra day off. They do not want to pay because they say the company is in trouble and barely makes enough to pay the employees. This is the case of many companies, especially during the pandemic,” said Melanie, a cashier at a supermarket in Kuwait City. “For many years we haven’t seen any extra money for working during holidays. I hope they pay us, as it will help our families, since earning extra money now is really hard,” said Mansour, a Pakistani office worker in Mirqab.

The Kuwait labor law mandates that before the 7th of each month, the salaries of all employees must be sent to the bank. All employees are also entitled to paid leave on all official holidays, a day off every week, and an annual leave of 30 days even during the first year of work.

Meanwhile, payment for each day of leave is equivalent to the employee’s basic daily pay, and must be given to them before going on leave. If the employee is terminated, they are entitled to full payment of their accumulated leave days regardless of years of service. This is also equivalent to the basic pay per day.

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