The Health and Social Affairs Committee of the Kuwait National Assembly approved a draft law increasing the annual leave allotment from 30 days to 35 days of paid leave per year. This change applies to private sector employees, both Kuwaitis and expatriates. The bill, which amends article 70 of Private Sector Law No 6/2010, is currently pending its second reading by the Kuwait National Assembly.
Employees are entitled to this paid annual leave after completing six months of service.
The new 35-day paid annual leave amounts to a total of seven weeks, which doesn’t include official holidays, weekends or sick days.
Next steps
Employers should budget for an increase in costs resulting from five additional days of paid leave per employee. Employers should also monitor the implementation timeline of the amendment. The government of Kuwait is brainstorming additional amendments to the national labor law. The timeline and additional changes are yet to be determined.
