Kuwait Indemnity on a Fixed-Term Contract

If your fixed-term contract in Kuwait runs to its end and is not renewed, you get the full indemnity, however long you worked (Article 52). There is no 3-year minimum and no cut, unlike a resignation from an open-ended contract.

If either side ends the contract before its end date without a right to, it owes the other side compensation for the damage, up to the worker's wage for the rest of the term (Article 47).

The full indemnity is 15 days' wage for each of your first 5 years, then a month's wage for each year after, capped at 18 months for monthly-paid workers (Article 51). Wage means your basic pay plus the allowances and commissions you receive regularly (Article 55).

The table compares a fixed-term contract that ends on time with a resignation from an open-ended contract, for a wage of KWD 600 a month:

On a wage of KWD 600 a month, a 2-year fixed-term contract that ends on time pays KWD 600. Resigning from an open-ended contract after 2 years pays nothing (Article 53).

Article 47 covers a fixed-term contract ended before its end date by either side without a right to end it. The side that ends it pays the other compensation for the damage, and that compensation is capped at the worker's wage for the remaining period of the contract.

• Your employer ends it early: Article 52 also gives the full indemnity when the employer ends the contract, unless it dismissed you for one of the three acts in Article 41(a) (a fault that caused a gross loss, getting the job by fraud, or disclosing secrets). If it had no right to end the contract early, Article 47 can add compensation for the damage, up to your wage for the rest of the term.
• You leave early: you may owe your employer compensation under Article 47. The law's resignation shares (Article 53) are written for open-ended contracts, so ask the PAM labour department what indemnity applies before you leave.
• You leave for a reason in Article 48, such as your employer breaking the contract or the law: Article 52 gives the full indemnity. It does the same for a woman who ends the contract within a year of her marriage.

The written notice rule in Article 44 (at least 3 months for monthly-paid workers) is for open-ended contracts. A fixed-term contract normally ends on its own date, so check what your contract says about ending it before then.

Probation can last up to 100 working days, and either side may end the contract during it without notice. If your employer ends it, your employer pays the indemnity (Article 32).

Apply first to the PAM labour department. If it cannot settle the dispute, it sends the case to the Court of First Instance within one month (Article 146). Where your employer denies the claim, it is not heard after one year from the end of the contract (Article 144). The Kuwait complaint guide takes you through it, and the Kuwait calculator gives your own figure.