Kuwait- Labor law takes precedence over conflicting internal policies

(MENAFN- Arab Times) Most employee and employer relationship disputes arise from unpaid wages. Some employers are using illegal practices to retain large amounts of money from their staff, such as, not paying employees for public holidays, not calculating salary and holiday time accurately and penalizing for tardiness beyond the labor law restrictions. Employers are not allowed to make unjustified deductions from employee salaries. Reasonable deductions from employee salaries are allowed only with justification. Employers should also make it a practice to explain expected deductions with the employee prior to the posting of the salary.

Public Holidays. There is no labor law that states an employer can withhold public holiday pay for an employee, whether or not the employee remains within the country or travels outside during such holiday period.

Calculation. Public Holidays and Paid Vacation time are to be calculated on a daily basis and not monthly.

Therefore, they should not be calculated the same as a monthly salary.

Tardiness and Absence to Work. Penalties for tardiness and absence from work should be visibly posted for all employees to be aware of such penalties.

Employers and employees alike should be aware that the labor law takes precedence over any conflicting internal policies. Employers should make sure to update their internal policies and practices to reflect current law.

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