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Employ Candidates Compliantly in Bahrain

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  1. Overview: Bahrain
  2. Expand without a company set up
  3. Global PEO and payroll
  4. Global HR Compliance
  5. Work permit for hiring expats via PEO
  6. Contractor vs. employee: which is better?
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Global HR Compliance in Bahrain

The war for global talent has never been tougher. Attracting and keeping sought-after international employees requires knowledge. Whether your company is already engaging or planning to engage global workforce in Bahrain, you need to trust that your operations are executed without flaw and without any unnecessary risks.

Businesses of all sizes face a devastating lack of information and support on global employment, taxation, and immigration in Bahrain. There’s a common and significant gap between what’s required to be 100% compliant and what most organizations actually have at their disposal.

Acumen International can fill the gap in fragmented Global HR Compliance knowledge

We are experts in global workforce employment in Bahrain, and our goal is to become your single provider. Instead of working with numerous local staffing agencies and legal advisors, Acumen International can solve your global business challenges and save you time, costs, and resources.

We act as an information service for corporate clients, agencies, and independent contractors and freelancers. Our Global HR Compliance service in Bahrain will help you:

  1. Navigate legislation and local nuances of Bahrain. You need to know what is acceptable and what can expose you to employment litigation as well as employee / independent contractor misclassification risk in Bahrain.
  2. Avoid areas of possible risk. Certain areas and activities can create unnecessary risk, such as employer-employee relations. We can help you with worker classification, payroll and tax calculations, and social cost contributions.
  3. Handle currency exchanges and local invoicing in Bahrain. We save you time and effort, freeing you from having to understand complicated regulations and tax calculations written in the local language and subject to frequent changes.
  4. Create employment contracts and handle compliant engagements. Our objective is to assist you with international HR compliance issues and offer you the best payment and taxation options in Bahrain.
  5. Manage expatriate immigration and visa support nuances in Bahrain. Acumen International provides information about the best scenarios of expat immigration and employment.
  6. Handle global recruitment issues. We can help you select the person and then employ him with our help. We advise you on local employment laws and implied compliance risks to determine the most cost-effective, compliant, and risk-free solution for you.
  7. Withdraw from the region in the least risky and most cost-effective way. If you choose to do so, we can help you withdraw from the region as simply as possible.

Our team of English-speaking professionals frees you from working through language nuances. Acumen International works 24/7 and can assist you whenever you need, regardless of time zones. Our goal is to create tailored labor solutions for you that are managed legally and in full compliance with the local employment laws.

With our knowledge and deep understanding of local nuances, you easily satisfy your need for skilled professionals in your global industry. With our qualified local partners, you can trust that your global workforce satisfies all local tax, social security, and immigration requirements in Bahrain.

Hiring and Firing Workforce in Bahrain Guide

# Employment Contracts

Contracts of employment may be concluded for a fixed term, or for an indefinite term. Contracts of employment shall be provided in writing and must not contain terms and conditions that do not conform to the Bahrain Labor Law. Contracts of employment shall be drawn up in Arabic (and in any other language if necessary) and in duplicate to be signed by both parties.

# Minimum statutory employment rights

# Hours of work
Employees have the right to up to 8 hours of work a day or up to 48 hours a week. Employees are entitled to a reduced working time of up to 6 hours per day and up to 36 hours per week during Ramadan for Muslim employees. Employees must be allowed to take at least one-hour break after every 6 consecutive hours of work. Employees are entitled to a weekly rest period usually on Friday. Nightworks are considered as works done between the hours of 7 pm and 7 am.

# Probation period
Employees may be employed on probation for up to 3 months to test and make sure they are suitable for the job. This period may be increased up to six months, if determined by the Ministry of Labour. The probationary condition may only be retained if specified in the contract. According to the law, employees cannot be employed on probation for more than once by the same employer.

# Annual leave
The worker who spent in the service of the employer at least one year shall be entitled to a paid annual leave not less than thirty days, with an average of two and a half day for each month.
If the period spent in the service of the employer is less than one year, the worker shall be entitled to a leave corresponding to the period of his work.
The Muslim worker who spent in the service of his employer five consecutive years shall be entitled to a fourteen day leave with full pay to perform his Hajj (Pilgrimage) obligation. This leave shall be granted once to the worker during his period of service unless he benefited from it from during his service for another employer.

# Parental leave
Working mothers shall be granted 60 days of paid leave and 15 days of unpaid leave for their maternity.
The female worker shall be entitled after the end of her maternity leave and until her child reaches six month of age to two breastfeeding periods of not less than one hour each. The female worker shall also be entitled to two period of half an hour to provide care for her child each until her child reaches one year of age. The female worker shall be entitled to join these two periods and these two additional periods shall be deemed part of the working hours and shall not entail any wage deduction. The employer shall determine the timing of the above mentioned period the female worker takes to provide care for her child in accordance with the female worker’s circumstances and the interest of the work.
The female worker shall be entitled to an unpaid leave for taking care of her child not exceeding six years of age, of maximum six month each time and for three times throughout the period of her service.

# Sick leave
From the completion of probationary period, employees shall have the right to paid sick leave yearly which may be taken as follows:

  • First 15 days’ leave at full pay;
  • The following 20 days’ leave at half pay;
  • Last 20 days’ leave with no pay.

Employees can only have the right to use their sick leave entitlement after they have been certified by a recognizable doctor/hospital. The employer may not terminate the labour contract due to the worker’s sickness unless the worker exhausts all of the balance of his sick or annual leaves. The employer must inform him in writing of his wish to terminate the contract fifteen days before the date on which the worker would have exhausted all of his leaves. If the worker is cured before the expiry of this time-limit, the employer shall refrain from terminating the contract due to the worker’s sickness.

# Overtime
Employees may be allowed to work overtime if it is for reasons that are stipulated in the Labor Law. Employees must be paid at 25% increase of normal wage in respect of an overtime worked during a workday, at 50% increase of normal wage in respect of that worked at night. Employees must be compensated with 150% of normal wage or a day of in lieu if they work on official holiday or weekly rest day. It is important to note that employees are not permitted to work more than 2 successive times on their weekly rest days.

# State minimum salary
There is no national minimum wage in Bahrain. However, Bahraini nationals in the public sector are entitled to a minimum wage of 300 BHD, effective from Jan 1, 2015.

# Employment termination
Contracts of employment may be terminated at any time during the probationary period. In this case, the concerned party should notify the other party at least one day before the date of termination. Definite term contracts may terminate naturally at the end of the agreed period or at the completion of the project for which an employee was employed. Definite term contracts shall be considered to have translated into indefinite term contracts if the holders continue to work with their employers after their contracts have expired. Indefinite term contracts may be terminated by any of the employment parties with a written notice of a minimum of 30 days. En employee shall be entitled to compensation for termination by the employer unless the termination of the contract is for a legitimate reason. Employees who are terminated unlawfully are entitled to indemnity.

If the employer terminates the indefinite labour contract within the first three month as of the start of work, the worker shall not be entitled to any compensation, unless the termination is an arbitrary dismissal and in this case the worker shall be entitled to a compensation equivalent to a one month wage.

If the employer terminates the indefinite labour contract for no reason or for an illegitimate reason following the expiry of three month as of the date of start of work, he shall undertake to compensate the worker with a compensation equivalent to the wage of two working days per each month of service, with a minimum of one month wage and a maximum of twelve months wage.

If the employer terminates the definite labour contract for no reason or for an illegitimate reason, he shall undertake to compensate the worker with a compensation equivalent to the wage of the remaining period of the labour contract, unless the parties agree on a lesser compensation provided the compensation agreed upon does not fall below the wage of three months or the wage for the remaining period whichever is lesser.

If the employer terminates the labour contract concluded for the performance of a specific work for no reason or for an illegitimate reason, he shall undertake to compensate the worker with a compensation equivalent to the wage of the remaining period of the labour contract necessary for the completion of the work agreed upon according to the nature of the work, unless the parties agree on a lesser compensation provided the compensation agreed upon does not fall below the wage of three months or the wage for the remaining period necessary for the completion of the work agreed upon whichever is lesser.

The employer may terminate the labour contract without compensation when the worker reaches sixty years of age, unless otherwise agreed upon between the parties.

Acumen International can help you fast-track your possibilities of entering and expanding your business in Bahrain by providing you with our Employer of Record services. Our unique mix of PEO/EOR solutions will enable you to jumpstart your global operations almost immediately, cost-effectively and compliantly without any need to set up a legal entity first or afterwards.

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