The Public Authority for Manpower issued a decision to amend some provisions of Administrative Decision No. (842) of 2015 regarding the conditions for transferring workers from one employer to another.

According to the decision published in the official gazette “Kuwait Today,” issued today, Sunday, a final paragraph is added to Article Seven of Decision No. (842) of 2015, which reads as follows: Notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph of this article, and taking into account the provisions of Article (6) of Law No. (6) of 2010 referred to, and Article (51) of the regulations of rules and procedures for granting work permits referred to, the Authority may, based on a labor complaint submitted by the worker, open and examine the complaint related to the request to transfer the work permit to another employer before the expiry of one year, provided that one of the following conditions is met:- Proof that it is impossible to issue a work permit or obtain a worker’s residence permit or complete its procedures for a reason that is not due to him, but rather due to the negligent employer.

- The existence of a suspension or restriction on the employer's file prevents the completion of residency procedures.

- Proof of filing a malicious job termination report against the worker, or using the reporting procedures in a manner that contradicts the truth or with the intention of harming the worker or preventing him from claiming his rights or transferring his work permit.

- Proof that the employer has violated any of the cases or provisions stipulated in Article (48) of Law No. (6) of 2010 referred to above. (Article 48 stipulates the cases in which the worker is entitled to terminate the employment contract without notice while being entitled to the end-of-service gratuity, which are: if the employer does not comply with the terms of the contract or the provisions of the law, or if he is subjected to an assault by the employer or his representative or at the instigation of either of them, or if his continued employment threatens his safety or health according to a decision of the Medical Arbitration Committee of the Ministry of Health, or if the employer or his representative introduces fraud or misrepresentation at the time of contracting with regard to the terms of employment, or if the employer accuses him of committing an act punishable by criminal penalties and a final judgment of acquittal is issued against him, or if the employer or his representative commits an act that violates public morals towards the worker).

-One of the two cases stipulated in Article (50) of Law No. (6) of 2010 referred to above is realized. (Article 50 stipulates that the employment contract ends in the event of a final judgment declaring the employer bankrupt, or in the event of the establishment being permanently closed).

Article Two of the new decision clarified who the “defaulting employer” is, and defined him as “any employer who brought in a worker under a work permit, or the worker moved to work for him and did not complete the year period, and then failed, refused, or delayed without a justification accepted by the Authority to complete the procedures for issuing a work permit for him or obtaining his residence, or his file was suspended or restricted in a way that prevents the completion of those procedures, as long as that is not due to the worker.”

Article Three stipulates that “without prejudice to any other penalty or procedure prescribed by law, the Authority may, when the case of the defaulting employer is proven, take whatever administrative measures it deems appropriate against him, including suspending or restricting the issuance of new work permits or authorizations on his file, or temporarily suspending recruitment, or not accepting applications to recruit new workers, until the reasons for the violation are removed and the situation of the affected workers is settled.”