Gulf Desi Hub

When we wrote about end of service gratuity in the Gulf, we covered Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, and left Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain out because we had not checked their rules properly. Guessing at somebody’s gratuity is worse than saying nothing. So here they are, checked.

Read the Bahrain section carefully even if you think you know how gratuity works. Bahrain changed the whole system in 2024, and a lot of workers there are still expecting a lump sum from their employer that will not come from their employer at all.

Oman: one month per year now, less for older service

Oman replaced its labour law in 2023 (Royal Decree 53/2023), and the gratuity rate went up. Under the new law, a non-Omani worker gets not less than one month’s basic salary for each year of service, with fractions of a year paid in proportion. That applies to service from 1 August 2023 onwards.

For service before that date, the old rate still applies: 15 days’ basic salary for each of the first three years, and one month for each year after that. The Ministry of Labour has confirmed that employers must split the calculation — old rate for the old years, new rate for the new years — rather than applying one rate to your whole service.

So if you joined in 2019 and leave this year, your settlement should have two parts in it. If the paper your employer hands you shows a single rate across seven years, ask which years were calculated at which rate.

One more thing worth knowing: Oman has legislated a savings scheme for expatriate workers that will eventually replace the lump-sum gratuity with monthly employer contributions to a fund. Its start date has been pushed back to 19 July 2027. Until then, the gratuity described above is what applies. Do not let anyone tell you the scheme has already replaced your gratuity. The one-year delay comes from Royal Decree 60/2025; confirm the date at mol.gov.om before you rely on it.

Kuwait: 15 days, then a month, capped at 18 months

Kuwait’s private sector labour law (Law No. 6 of 2010, Article 51) splits workers into two groups, and the rate depends on which group you are in.

• If you are paid monthly: 15 days’ pay for each of the first five years, then one month’s pay for each year after that. The total cannot exceed one and a half years’ pay (18 months).
• If you are paid daily, weekly, hourly or by the piece: 10 days’ pay for each of the first five years, then 15 days for each year after that. The total cannot exceed one year’s pay.

That second category matters. Many construction and contracting workers are on daily or piece rates, and their gratuity accrues at a lower rate and a lower ceiling. If you are unsure which category you fall into, your registered contract will say how your pay is calculated.

Resignation reduces the amount, on a scale much like Saudi Arabia’s. For a worker resigning from an unlimited-period contract: nothing below three years, half from three to five years, two-thirds from five to ten years, and the full amount at ten years or more.

One point we could not settle: sources disagree on whether Kuwait’s calculation runs on basic salary alone or on the wage including regular allowances. The law speaks of “wage”, and in practice employers apply it differently. We are not going to guess on a number that decides thousands of dinars. Ask your employer for the calculation in writing, showing which figure they used, and check it against your registered contract with the Public Authority for Manpower at manpower.gov.kw.

Bahrain: your gratuity is no longer with your employer

This is the one that surprises people. Since 1 March 2024, gratuity for expatriate private sector workers in Bahrain is not saved up by the employer and handed over at the end. The employer now pays a monthly contribution to the Social Insurance Organisation (SIO), and when your job ends you claim from SIO, not from your employer.

The contribution rates are 4.2% of your monthly wage for each of your first three years of service, and 8.4% after that. Anyone who already had more than three years of service on 1 March 2024 was placed at the 8.4% rate straight away. Employers must pay within the first 15 days of each month, and there are penalties for paying late or not at all.

For service before 1 March 2024, the old system still applies and your employer owes that part directly: half a month’s wage for each of the first three years, and one month’s wage for each year after that, under Article 116 of the Labour Law.

Here is why this change is good news for workers, if you use it. Under the old system you had no way of knowing whether your employer had the money until the day you left. Now the contributions are recorded month by month with a government body, so a shortfall shows up while you are still working and can still do something about it. Check your record with SIO at sio.gov.bh rather than waiting until your last week.

What to do in all three countries

• Get your registered contract, not the office copy. The pay figure that counts is the one filed with the authorities. Our guide to checking your status and papers online in every Gulf country shows where to look.
• Write down your exact dates. Joining date and last working day, to the day. In Oman and Bahrain the date your service crosses a rule change decides which rate applies to which years.
• Ask for the calculation in writing before you sign anything, showing the wage figure used, the years counted and the rate applied to each block of years.
• Do not sign a settlement you disagree with. Once you sign a full and final release, arguing later becomes very hard.
• If it is short, complain. Filing a labour complaint is free in all three countries. Our step-by-step guide to filing a labour complaint walks through it.

Check before you rely on it

All three of these countries changed their rules within the last three years, and two of them have further changes already scheduled. Old figures circulate online long after they stop being true. Before you use a number in a real dispute, confirm the current rule at the source: the Ministry of Labour in Oman (mol.gov.om), the Public Authority for Manpower in Kuwait (manpower.gov.kw), and the Social Insurance Organisation (sio.gov.bh) and LMRA (lmra.gov.bh) in Bahrain.

Gratuity is not a gift for good behaviour. It is money you earned by the year, and the formula is written in law. Know your number before the conversation starts.

Leaving the Gulf for good? Your gratuity is only one line of the final settlement — the final exit checklist covers the clearance form, travel bans and the documents you cannot get back once your visa is cancelled.

Also in Hindi: ओमान, कुवैत और बहरीन में ग्रेच्युटी: नौकरी छोड़ने पर अब कितना पैसा मिलता है — this article, translated for Hindi readers.