BD500 Settlement for Hiring Workers Without Permits

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Employers who hire foreign workers without valid permits face a BD500 settlement payment, rising to BD1,000 for repeat breaches, under Bahrain’s labour market law.

Lawyer Jassim Al Essa told The Daily Tribune the rules were aimed at cutting the hiring of expatriate workers where there was no real need for them and tackling irregular labour and sham businesses.

‘The recruitment of foreign workers without an actual need for them is one of the main causes behind the spread of irregular labour,’ he said.

The penalties were introduced under Decree-Law No. 12 of 2024, which amended Article 40 of Law No. 19 of 2006 regulating the labour market.

The law bars an employer from hiring a foreign worker unless a work permit has been issued in line with the law. Employers are also barred from using workers in breach of permit terms.

An employer caught doing so can settle the offence by paying BD500. For a repeat breach, the sum rises to BD1,000.

Al Essa said the law was also meant to deal with workers who end up ‘in the streets seeking work’ after being brought into Bahrain without a genuine job waiting for them.

He said it also placed legal responsibility on those behind ‘irregular labour and fictitious establishments’.

Smaller settlement sums apply where a worker stays on after a permit expires.

The amount is BD100 if the breach is found within the first 10 days, BD200 after 10 days but before 20 days have passed, and BD300 after 20 days but within the first 30 days.

Once 30 days have passed, the settlement rises to the minimum fine laid down for the offence.

Foreign workers also face action if they work in Bahrain without a valid permit. A worker caught for the first time can settle the case by paying BD500.

Al Essa said the scale of expatriate labour in Bahrain made stricter rules necessary.

‘The numbers are huge and continue to rise in a way that catches the attention of anyone who sees them,’ he said.

He added that the changes sought to deal with practices that had caused concern among the public and to curb the recruitment of workers without real jobs.

Where settlement is allowed, the person recording the offence must tell the alleged offender of the breach and offer settlement, with this recorded in the case file.

Those who accept have 14 working days from the date of the offer to pay the full sum.

Once payment is made in full, the criminal case and all its legal effects end.

The Labour Market Regulatory Authority’s board is tasked with issuing the rules and procedures governing the settlement process.