Most workers are paid for extra hours

WHILE most offices are following the six-hour work day sanctioned by the labour law during Ramadan, certain businesses such as restaurants, gas stations, security companies and the construction industry continue to post normal eight-hour schedule for their employees.

In most cases, it is people who serve 24-hour services such as airport and gas stations that are required to work as usual, but with compensation for the extra hours.

“Although we strictly follow a six-hour work day in Ramadan, the nature of our operations is such that occasionally we end up working beyond the scheduled working hours,” said a regional airline’s station manager in Doha.

According to him, when a flight gets delayed or cancelled, that leads to a chain of events “which would stretch the working hours but that happens once in a while and we are duly compensated as per the laws,” he said.

Some employees – in most cases belonging to the lower income group – actually want to work for more than six hours in Ramadan, hoping to avail of overtime.

“At my gas station, we schedule employees for eight-nine hours a day as usual. They all know about the law, but actually insist to work so they can get extra money. In fact some look forward to Ramadan all year long,” the manager of a busy gas station on C-Ring road said.

The average salary of a gas station worker is QR500-600, while the overtime is calculated as 150%, as per the Qatari Labour Law (14) of 2002.

Article 74 of the law says: “In some cases the workers may be required to work additional hours than normal, provided that the actual working hours per day shall not exceed 10 hours, unless the work is necessary for the prevention of gross loss or dangerous accident or for the repair or alleviation of the consequences of the said loss or accident.”

The employer shall pay to the worker for the additional working hours the rate of not less than the basic wage plus not less than 25% thereof, it added.

“If the circumstances of the work necessitate the employment of the worker during the rest day (or Eid) the worker shall be compensated for the rest day by another day and shall be paid for working that day the wage payable to him for the ordinary weekly rest day or his basic wage plus an increase of not less than 150%,” according to Article 75.

A chef who starts preparing Iftar meals at 4pm and works until after midnight at a Turkish restaurant in Al Saad, said: “I get to make more during Ramadan.”

But it is really some of the contractors in the construction industry that continue to work without a leash.

“This forces me to open my shop and warehouses at times that correspond with the industry – and they are well beyond the six-hour limit. I am not going to earn any money by following the labour laws and closing the shop early,” said the general manager of a hardware company.

“As for my employees, they work in tandem just as well. I don’t think they know about the law to begin with,” he added.

There are also employers who compensate their employees very well for what little inconvenience is caused due to changed work schedule during Ramadan. One leading car distributor in Doha not only implements the six-hour day split shifts, but also pays half a month’s salary extra to their employees, simply because they have to work in the evenings.

From private group holdings to small enterprises that Gulf Times spoke to, most of employers were seen to strictly implement the six-hour rule, even if it’s in split shifts.

“I have a small business with an employee base of five. I allow them to work for six hours at their own discretion and get paid accordingly,” said the general manager of a human resources company.