Everything You Need to Know About Statutory Compliance of HR Software in Qatar

Every business understands the significance of legal compliance. So they spend hours, money, and resources auditing to ensure they are following the rules. However, you must exercise extreme caution because minor errors can result in severe penalties such as heavy fines and imprisonment. 

So, how can you ensure that your company is legally compliant?

The best place to begin is to know the basics of statutory compliance and the legal requirements for HR Software in Qatar.

What is Statutory Compliance?

Simply put, statutory compliance means following the rules and regulations. Every country has its own set of laws and regulations, and Qatar has its own set of rules and regulations that all businesses in Qatar must follow. These rules and regulations include professional taxes and employee minimum wages among others.

If a company fails to follow these rules and regulations, it may face severe consequences, including the permanent closure of the company. As a result, businesses hire legal experts to audit and ensure that they follow the law.

Benefits for employees from statutory compliance:

  • Such compliances ensure that employees working in an organization are treated fairly. It confirmed that the employees were not treated as enslaved people.
  • Legal requirements ensured that employees were paid wages based on the hours they worked. To that end, the government establishes minimum wages for all employees.
  • It prevents employers from exploiting employees by forcing them to work longer shifts.

Benefits for companies from statutory compliance:

  • It helps businesses save money by paying taxes and other bills on time. Companies that fail to pay their taxes will face severe consequences in Qatar sooner or later.
  • Aids businesses by adhering to a structured pay scale that benefits both employees and employers. This prevents employees and their unions from making unreasonable wage demands.
  • Assists in protecting the company from all potential legal issues that many other companies in the industry face.
  • Increases awareness of the legal aspects of the company among all employees, stakeholders, and managers. This contributes to the creation of a positive work environment.

The dangers of non-compliance:

What if a company fails to follow the country’s law due to ignorance or negligence? Can the company function generally if a fine is paid?

  • The company’s course of action and the nature of the offense committed determine the penalty and fine. It may be a minor loss for the company in some cases, but it may have a financial impact on the company for at least the next five years.
  • Everyone is aware of the consequences of their legal actions, such as imprisonment, which impact their social and private lives.
  • People negatively perceive a company whose name appears in the newspaper in such cases. And in the age of social media, such cases will not help you.
  • Even your most loyal customers will lose interest in you, and your competitors will try to take advantage of the situation. Everyone understands how difficult it is to build a loyal customer base from the ground up.

So you are now aware of the advantages and disadvantages of statutory compliance. Following that, you should be mindful of the standard legal compliances for organizations in Qatar. Here are the few laws every business should abide by in Qatar.

Civil Human Resources Law:

Appointment:

According to the terms of the Law, Qatari citizens are given preference in nominations for government and public sector posts. Suppose a Qatari national is not available for a specific position. In that case, the following non-Qatari personnel will be considered: children of Qatari women married to non-Qataris, non-Qataris married to Qatari nationals, Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) nationals, Arab ex-pats, and other nations. The minimum age for employment is 18 years.

Training:

The government entity shall devise its human resources and provide adequate opportunities for training, development, and qualification to its employees to foster and enhance their capacities and provide them with new skills to improve their performance, and qualify them to assume other responsibilities.

Performance management:

The government body shall establish a performance management system based on employee and administrative unit performance to motivate individual achievements and boost team spirit.

After getting a copy of the approved performance evaluation report, the employee is notified of their assessment. They have 15 days from the date of notification to appeal the performance rating, to which the employer must answer within 30 days.

Sickness, maternity, and vacation:

Working pregnant women in Qatar are eligible for 50 days of paid maternity leave if employed for at least a year. A maximum of 15 of the 50 days can be taken before the birth, with a minimum of 35 days required afterward. Women must provide a signed medical certificate from their doctor detailing their child’s expected due date. Mothers are also entitled to one hour of ‘nursing’ time per working day for the first year after their child is born.

Employees with at least three months of service are eligible for paid sick leave. However, a medical certificate signed by a doctor is required. Lawfully, sick leave will only be paid when an employee needs a minimum of two weeks.

Termination:

Employees in Qatar must be given three written warnings before they can be terminated unless there is criminal behavior, in which case they can be fired immediately.

Artify HCM – #1 HR Software in Qatar with Statutory Compliance 

Artify HCM is the top HRMS software used by Qatar’s fast-growing businesses. It complies with all Qatari government legislation and regulations. Additionally, the built-in features of storing employee data, legal papers, and accurate payroll calculations that comply with the law assist businesses in protecting themselves against legal action.