15- To what extent the specialized local (Qatari) employees are entitled to get the bonus for their work in computing, reckoning and classification of the Soil Project whose  contract has been concluded between the Ministry of the Municipalities and Environmental Consultants?

Finding:

The Qatari Employees are entitled to get the bonus payment which has been stipulated in the terms of the contract after having the previous consent of the concerned Minister.

Reasoning:

Both Articles (4/1, 79) of the law No., (1) 2001, which has catered for the issuance of the law of the Civil Service and its bylaw, that the salary is always paid in consideration to the services rendered by the employee to the benefit of the State. Therefore the department or the Agency for which these services are rendered shall pay the salary of the employee in consideration for the services which has been rendered. Thus the salary is paid in consideration for the work done, and the work done shall be the hours of performance of the duties during the official working time that has already been determined by the Administration. Usually some employees may be commissioned or entrusted with some other over and above duties to be performed by them after the end of the official working time. Those incumbents are entitled to be compensated for their performance or be paid a bonus money consideration in consideration to the services that has been rendered by them.

The employee is always obligated by the law to discharge his office duties during the determined hours, but if he is designated to or has been commissioned with an overtime working hours over and above his official working time, then he cannot refuse the designation or the commission. It is therefore, and for this particular clear reason the law has stipulated that the employee should be rewarded by payment or other suitable compensation in consideration for the work done or services that have been rendered by them to the benefit of the institution.

It is clearly evident from the documents that on the day 31/3/2003, a contract has been concluded between the Ministry of Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs and a private company to incorporate the aforementioned company to carry out the execution of the computing, reckoning and classification of soil Project and determine the land use thereof. The contract has been signed by H.E the concerned Minister in his representative capacity being the Minister of the Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs.

It appeared from the perusal of the addendum No., (6) of the contract abovementioned, that among the predetermined requirements of this Project is to have the personnel assistance from the human resource of the Ministry of the Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs. It is agreed that the Company shall defray the expenses by payment of their bonus consideration for the services rendered by them. In order for the employees to do these added overtime jobs, they have been selected and named out of the technical and administrative cadres of the Ministry of the Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs. This has been considered a plain and an explicit consent by the Minister for the employees to work in the execution of the project. Therefore, in execution of the addendum No., (6) of the same contract, the employees are entitled to be paid the bonus allowance that has been allotted for them in consideration of their performance of the extra overtime duties. Their being the employees of the Ministry and they are paid their salaries then and there shall not jeopardize their right to receive the bonus payment, because it cannot be said that they are double satisfying their salary and their bonus payment simultaneously. The bonus is not a salary and it can never be. Moreover, the additional job that the employees were commissioned to perform is not in the official time but it is in the over time span. It is also to be noticed that the Project in question is tied to the Ministry of the Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs and it is ultimately to its benefit without any doubt whatsoever.

Therefore, the Fatwa and Contract Administration has decided that the Qatari employees are entitled to be paid the bonus allowance as according to what has been stipulated by the contract after they had the consent of the Minister of the Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs.

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Please don’t take this statement of advisory opinion for an official statement of the law.

Al – Meezan/ Qatar Legal Portal

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