If an employee who is bound by a limited period contract leaves his work before the expiry of the contract period, then he/she shall not be entitled to any end of service benefits.
The Labour Law recognises that certain professionals shall be free to change their employment at any point of time. This is in accordance with Article 2 of the Ministerial Order No (13) of 1991 on 'The organisation of the transfer of sponsorships of non-national labours the rules governing the same' which states:
"Non-national labourers may be allowed to transfer one job to another and hence transfer of their sponsorship if they fall under the following categories:
a) Engineers
b) Doctors, pharmacists and male and female nurses
c) Agricultural guides
d) Qualified accountants and account auditors
e) Qualified administrative officials
f) Technicians operating on electronic equipment and laboratories
g) Drivers who are licensed to drive heavy vehicles and buses,"(in case of transfer of sponsorship from a private firm to another or from a private firm to another or to a government department)."
Further it may be advised that once an employment contract of limited period expires, the employer and the employee upon mutual acceptance may renew the contract for another period of two years. Alternatively, the employer and the employer may by mutual consent decide to change the status of the contract from limited to unlimited, at the time of its renewal.
Further to your last query, it may be advised that an employee who has completed one year of continuous service shall be entitled to end of service benefits or severance pay on the termination of his/her employment. This is in accordance with Article 132 of the Labour Law which states: "A worker who has completed a period of one or more years of continuous service shall be entitled to severance pay on the termination of his employment. The days of absence from work without pay shall not be included in calculating the period of service. The severance pay shall be calculated as follows:
1. 21 days' remuneration for each year of the first 5 years of service.
2. 30 days remuneration for each additional year of service provided that the aggregate amount of severance pay shall not exceed two year's remuneration."
However it may also be noted that if an employee who is bound by a limited period contract leaves his work before the expiry of the contract period, then he/she shall not be entitled to any end of service benefits unless he/she has completed five years of continuous service. This is in accordance with Article 138 of the Labour Law which states: "Where a worker who is bound by a contract for a limited period leaves his work of his own accord before the expiry of his contract period, he shall not be entitled to severance pay unless his continuous period of service exceeds five years."
