Kuwait labour law termination rules are set by Articles 41 to 53 of Private Sector Labour Law No. 6 of 2010. An open-ended contract ends on three months' notice for a monthly-paid worker and one month for anyone else (Article 44). An employer can dismiss without paying the end-of-service indemnity in only three situations, listed in Article 41(a); the five grounds in Article 41(b) allow dismissal without notice but the worker keeps the indemnity. A worker can leave without notice and still take the full indemnity in six situations (Article 48), and no one may be dismissed while on leave (Article 45) or without a justified reason (Article 46).
How the contract ends decides what you are paid: notice or pay in lieu of it, a full, reduced or nil indemnity, and any compensation on top. Put your own figures in below, then find the rule that applies to you.
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Based on Kuwait Private Sector Labour Law No. 6 of 2010, Articles 51, 53 & 55
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Kuwait labour law termination at a glance: who ends it and why
| How the contract ends | Notice | End-of-service indemnity | On top |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer ends an open-ended contract | 3 months (monthly-paid) or 1 month, or pay in lieu (Art. 44) | Full (Art. 52(a)) | Ending it without a justified reason is unlawful (Art. 46) |
| Dismissal under Article 41(a) | None | None | — |
| Dismissal under Article 41(b) | None | Full | — |
| Court rules the dismissal arbitrary (Art. 41(c)) | — | Full | Compensation for material and moral damage |
| Worker resigns an open-ended contract | Worker owes notice or pay in lieu (Art. 44) | None under 3 years, then ½, ⅔, full from 10 (Art. 53) | — |
| Worker leaves under Article 48 | None | Full (Art. 52(c)) | — |
| 7 days' absence in a row, or 20 in a year (Art. 42) | — | Treated as a resignation (Art. 53) | — |
| Fixed-term contract expires without renewal | — | Full (Art. 52(b)) | — |
| Fixed-term contract ended early without right | — | Depends on who ended it and why | Compensation up to the wage for the rest of the term (Art. 47) |
| Death, disability, sick leave exhausted (Art. 49); bankruptcy or closure (Art. 50) | — | Full (Art. 52(c)) | — |
| Woman resigns because of her marriage, within a year of it | — | Full (Art. 52(d)) | — |
| Ended during probation (Art. 32) | None | Paid if the employer ended it | — |
Every amount in this table can be worked out with the calculator above, or the indemnity alone with the Kuwait indemnity calculator.
Article 41: when you can be dismissed without your indemnity
Most guides say a dismissal under Article 41 costs you your indemnity. That is half the article, and the half usually left out is the one most workers need. Article 41 has three paragraphs.
Paragraph (a) lets the employer dismiss "without notice, compensation or indemnity" in three situations only:
- an error by the worker that caused the employer a serious loss
- getting the job through cheating or fraud
- disclosing the business's secrets, where that caused or could cause it an actual loss
Paragraph (b) lets the employer dismiss a worker who has a final conviction for a crime involving honour, honesty or morals; who commits an act against public morality at the workplace; who assaults a colleague, the employer or their representative during or because of work; who breaches or neglects obligations under the contract or the law; or whose repeated disobedience of the employer's instructions is proved. In these cases the dismissal does not deprive the worker of the end-of-service indemnity.
Paragraph (c) gives a worker dismissed on any of these grounds the right to challenge it before the labour circuit of the court. If a final judgment finds the dismissal arbitrary, the worker is owed the indemnity plus compensation for material and moral damage. Either way, the employer must report the dismissal and its reasons to the Ministry.
The article opens "subject to Article 37", so a disciplinary dismissal can only follow written notice of the allegation and a hearing. How the indemnity itself is calculated is in our guide to Kuwait indemnity rules.
Notice periods under Article 44
Either side can end an open-ended contract after giving notice:
- at least three months for a worker on a monthly wage
- at least one month for any other worker
Notice depends on how you are paid, not on how long you have worked. The party that does not give it owes the other "notice pay equal to the worker's wage for the same period", so three months' notice means three months' full wage. Our Kuwait notice period calculator works out notice pay for your wage.
When the employer gives notice, the worker may take one full day a week, or eight hours across the week, to look for another job, on full pay, choosing the time and telling the employer a day ahead. The employer may also release the worker from working the notice; the service then still runs to the end of the notice period, with everything that follows from that, including the wage for the period and the extra service it adds to the indemnity.
Leaving without notice and keeping your indemnity: Article 48
A worker can end the contract without notice and still receive the end-of-service indemnity in six situations:
- the employer does not comply with the contract or the law
- the worker is assaulted by the employer or their representative, or at their instigation
- continuing to work threatens the worker's safety or health, by decision of the Ministry of Health's medical arbitration committee
- the employer or their representative used cheating or fraud about the terms of work when the contract was made
- the employer accused the worker of a criminal offence and a final judgment acquitted the worker
- the employer or their representative committed an indecent act towards the worker
Article 52(c) makes the indemnity full in all six cases, not the reduced resignation amount in Article 53. A worker who walks out because their wages have not been paid is not treated as having resigned.
Absence and deemed resignation: Article 42
If a worker is absent without an acceptable excuse for seven days in a row or twenty days in total within a year, the employer may treat them as having resigned, and the Article 53 resignation scale then applies to the indemnity. On an open-ended contract with under three years' service, that can mean no indemnity at all.
A worker held in custody on the employer's accusation is treated as suspended, and the contract cannot be ended unless they are convicted by a final judgment. If they are acquitted, the employer owes the wage for the suspension and fair compensation set by the court (Article 43).
The penalties regulation (Articles 35 to 40)
Before dismissal there is the penalties ladder, and the law sets out how it must work:
| Rule | Article |
|---|---|
| The employer posts its penalties regulation where workers can see it, listing offences and graduated penalties | 35 |
| Only one penalty for each offence | 35 |
| No penalty for an act once 15 days have passed since it was proved | 35 |
| No penalty for something done outside the workplace unless it relates to the work | 35 |
| The Ministry approves the regulation before it is applied, and may change it | 36 |
| No penalty without written notice of the allegation, a hearing and a written record; the penalty and its reason are then notified in writing | 37 |
| Wage deductions are capped at five days' wage a month; the excess carries into later months | 38 |
| Suspension for an investigation lasts at most ten days, and is paid if the worker is cleared | 39 |
| Deductions go into a fund for the workers' benefit and are entered in a register | 40 |
A penalty imposed without a written investigation, more than 15 days after the offence was proved, or under a regulation the Ministry has not approved, does not comply with the law.
Protection: no dismissal during leave, and none without reason
Article 45: the employer cannot use its Article 44 right to end the contract while the worker is on any leave provided by the law. The leave types it covers are set out in our guide to Kuwait labour law annual leave.
Article 46: a worker cannot be dismissed without a justified reason, for union activity, for claiming or exercising their legal rights, or because of sex, origin or religion.
Article 24: a woman cannot be dismissed during maternity leave, or while absent with an illness certified as caused by the pregnancy or birth.
Article 32: probation lasts at most 100 working days, and either side may end the contract during it without notice. If the employer ends it, the employer must pay the indemnity for the time worked. A worker cannot be put on probation with the same employer twice.
Worked example: KWD 800 wage after four years
The daily wage under Article 67 is 800 ÷ 26 = KWD 30.77. The full indemnity for four years is 15 days × 4 = 60 days, or KWD 1,846.15.
| How the contract ended | Indemnity | Notice pay |
|---|---|---|
| Employer gives three months' notice and the worker works it | KWD 1,846.15 | None (notice worked) |
| Employer ends it without notice | KWD 1,846.15 | KWD 2,400.00 (3 months' wage) |
| Dismissal under Article 41(b) | KWD 1,846.15 | None |
| Dismissal under Article 41(a) | KWD 0 | None |
| Worker leaves under Article 48 | KWD 1,846.15 | None |
| Worker resigns an open-ended contract | KWD 923.08 (half) | Worker owes notice |
| Worker resigns a fixed-term contract | KWD 1,846.15 | Per the contract |
If the employer ends the contract without notice and the worker still has 20 days of annual leave (KWD 615.38), the settlement is KWD 4,861.53: indemnity 1,846.15, leave 615.38 and notice pay 2,400. Had the same employer ended the contract during probation after three months, the worker would be owed KWD 113.80 of indemnity for that period under Article 32. Our Kuwait final settlement calculator adds these lines up for your own dates.
Kuwait Labour Law No. 6 of 2010: where to read it
The full name is the Private Sector Labour Law, Law No. 6 of 2010. It covers private-sector workers (Article 2), not government employees, and Article 5 excludes domestic workers, who have their own law and indemnity rules. It has been amended since 2010, including by Law No. 85 of 2017, which replaced Articles 51 and 70. The Public Authority for Manpower publishes an English translation that predates the 2017 changes, so the rules above were checked against the Arabic text in force.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Kuwait labour law say about termination?
Either side can end an open-ended contract with three months' notice for a monthly-paid worker or one month for others (Article 44). Article 41 lists the grounds for dismissal without notice, Article 48 lets the worker leave without notice and keep the indemnity, and Articles 45 and 46 ban dismissal during leave or without a justified reason.
Can my employer dismiss me without paying my indemnity in Kuwait?
Only in the three situations in Article 41(a): an error that caused a serious loss, getting the job by fraud, or disclosing business secrets. The grounds in Article 41(b), such as breaching your obligations or assaulting a colleague, allow dismissal without notice but you keep the indemnity.
How long is the notice period in Kuwait?
At least three months for a monthly-paid worker and at least one month for other workers, on an open-ended contract (Article 44). The party that does not give notice owes the worker's wage for the notice period instead.
How many days of absence count as resignation in Kuwait?
Seven days in a row, or twenty days in total within a year, without an acceptable excuse. The employer may then treat you as having resigned (Article 42), and the Article 53 resignation scale applies to your indemnity.
Can I resign in Kuwait without notice?
Yes, without losing your indemnity, in the six situations in Article 48, including the employer not paying you or breaking the contract, assault, or a risk to your health certified by the medical arbitration committee. Otherwise you must give notice or pay the employer your wage for the notice period.
What is the penalties regulation in Kuwait labour law?
The employer's list of offences and graduated penalties, which must be posted at the workplace and approved by the Ministry (Articles 35 and 36). Only one penalty per offence, none after 15 days from proof, none without a written investigation, and deductions of no more than five days' wage a month (Articles 35, 37 and 38).
Can I be dismissed while on leave in Kuwait?
No. The employer cannot use its Article 44 right to end the contract during any leave the law provides (Article 45), and cannot dismiss a woman during maternity leave (Article 24).
What am I owed if my fixed-term contract is ended early?
If the employer ends it without right, compensation for the damage you suffer, capped at your wage for the rest of the term, less any debts you owe (Article 47). The same rule applies the other way if you are the one who breaks the contract.
Work out what you are owed before you sign
Before signing a final clearance, check the indemnity with the Kuwait indemnity calculator, notice pay with the notice period calculator, and the total with the final settlement calculator. If you dispute the dismissal or the amount, the first step is an application to the competent labour department, which refers the dispute to the court if it cannot settle it within a month (Article 146). This guide is an estimate for orientation, not legal advice, and an unusual case is worth taking to a qualified Kuwaiti lawyer.