Law issued to localize private sector jobs in Qatar; effective six months after it is published in official gazette

On Sunday, HH The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani signed Law No. 12 of 2024, aiming to localize employment in the private sector within the nation. 

The Ministry of Labor listed the following as the main goals of the law: 

- To increase the labor market's appeal to the country's workforce 

- Boost businesses' capacity to draw in and integrate citizens 

- Promoting Qatari involvement in the private sector 

- Ensure national cadres have stable employment

- Enhance the workforce's professional abilities nationally 

- Fulfill the need for qualified workers on the labor market 

- Provide incentives to private sector businesses and establishments to boost national workforce participation 

The companies or organizations that would be required to hire citizens... 

- Employers who are individuals overseeing privately owned businesses listed in the commercial register 

- Businesses engaged in commerce in Qatar, whether privately held, state-owned, or state-participated 

- Associations, sporting facilities, and other private non-profit organizations

The following are some of the law's main features: 

- Offering financial incentives to recipients, such as Qataris and the children of Qatari women 

- Providing different facilities, advantages, and benefits to enterprises that are legally covered by the nationalization scheme 

- Hiring, educating, and certifying Qataris as well as the offspring of Qatari women looking for work in compliance with the policies, plans, and initiatives set forth by the ministry

The law also gives MoL the authority to sponsor citizens to finish their university education in collaboration with the appropriate authorities and to offer incentives, facilities, and advantages. 

The law mandates the issue of standard employment contracts for job nationalization, which will be obligatory on enterprises subject to the law's provisions.