Guides / Work & jobs / Your contract & rights
Injured at work in Qatar: treatment, pay and compensation
If your job hurts you, Qatar's Labour Law makes your employer pay for treatment, keep paying your wage while you recover, and pay compensation for a permanent disability or a death. Here is how to report it, protect your claim and get paid.
Last reviewed: 13 October 2026
- Treatment
- Paid by the employer (Article 109)
- Pay while treated
- Full wage up to 6 months, then half wage until recovery or a disability decision
- Compensation
- For permanent disability or death, based on Sharia rules and the Labour Law's disability table
- Deadline to claim
- 1 year from the final medical report or the death (Article 113)
This guide is for private-sector workers in Qatar who are hurt, or made ill, by their work: a fall on a building site, a cut in a kitchen, a crash while delivering, heat illness on an outdoor job, or a disease caused by the work itself. Qatar's Labour Law (Law No. 14 of 2004, Articles 108 to 115) gives you more than ordinary sick leave: the employer pays your treatment, pays your full wage for up to 6 months while you are treated, then half wage until you recover or a permanent disability is confirmed, and pays compensation if the injury leaves you permanently disabled or kills you. The order of things is simple: get treated first, make sure the injury is reported and recorded as a work injury, keep every paper, get your disability assessed when treatment ends, then claim. If the employer refuses to pay, you complain to the Ministry of Labour, and a labour committee can order payment. Time matters, because the right to claim disability or death compensation ends one year after the final medical report or the death.
Before you start
- Your Qatar ID (QID) and a copy of your passport
- Your employment contract and your last few payslips or WPS bank statements, which show your full wage
- Names and phone numbers of co-workers who saw the accident
- Photos of the place where it happened and of the injury, if you can take them safely
- Every hospital paper: emergency report, X-rays and scans, discharge summary, sick leave certificates and follow-up appointments
- The police report number or a copy of the report, if the police attended
- Any message or letter from your employer or supervisor about the accident
- A simple diary: dates off work, what was paid, and what you spent on medicine or transport
Step by step
Get treatment first
Your health comes before any paperwork. For a serious injury call 999 or go straight to the nearest emergency department; Hamad General Hospital and the other Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) emergency departments treat urgent cases first. For a minor injury, use the site first aid and then see a doctor the same day, even if you feel fine, because some injuries show later. Tell the doctor clearly that the injury happened at work and how, so it is written in your medical record. Treatment of a work injury is the employer's cost under Article 109, so do not let a supervisor tell you to wait or go home without care.
Read guide: Emergencies in Qatar: who to call and where to go →Tell your employer in writing
Tell your supervisor and HR as soon as you can, and follow it with a short written message (email or WhatsApp) giving the date, time, place, what happened and who saw it. A written message protects you if the employer later says it never knew, or that it happened outside work. Keep the reply. If you were sent home or to hospital by your supervisor, mention that too.
Make sure it is reported
Article 108 of the Labour Law says the employer must report a work injury or death to the police and to the Ministry of Labour, and the police investigate how it happened and send a copy of their findings to the Ministry and the employer. Ask your employer, politely and in writing, whether the report was made and for the reference. For a serious accident the police may come to the site or the hospital; give a calm, honest statement and ask for the report number. Since July 2025 employers must also send the Ministry injury statistics every six months, which is another reason the company should have a record of your case.
Keep your evidence together
Start one folder (paper and a photo copy on your phone) with everything listed above, and add to it after every appointment. Get copies of scans and reports from the hospital before you leave, because getting them later can take time. Write down witness names and numbers early, before co-workers change jobs or leave Qatar. If the injury came from equipment, heat or a missing safety measure, note that too, because Article 111 lets the employer argue you broke safety rules.
Know what pay you are owed
While you are being treated and cannot work, the employer must pay your full wage for the treatment period or 6 months, whichever is shorter. If treatment goes beyond 6 months, you get half your wage until you recover, a permanent disability is confirmed, or death. This is separate from, and better than, ordinary sick leave, so these days should not be taken from your sick leave or annual leave balance. Check each payslip or WPS deposit and write down any shortfall.
Read guide: Sick leave in Qatar: how many days, how it's paid, and the certificate →Follow the treatment plan
Go to every appointment and physiotherapy session, and keep the attendance slips. Article 111 says you lose compensation if you refuse a medical examination or the prescribed treatment without a good reason, if you hurt yourself on purpose, if you were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or if you seriously or deliberately broke the safety instructions. If you cannot attend, for example because the employer will not provide transport, tell the hospital and your employer in writing.
Get the disability assessed
When treatment ends, ask the treating doctor for a final medical report that states whether any permanent disability remains. Disagreements about your fitness to work or the medical facts go to the competent medical authority set by the health ministry, and Article 112 makes its decision final on those medical questions. The disability is expressed as a percentage, using the table attached to the Labour Law (Schedule 2). Ask your employer or the Ministry of Labour how to have your case assessed, and keep a copy of the decision.
Understand how compensation is worked out
Article 110 says compensation for a death caused by work is calculated under Islamic Sharia rules, and Qatari courts have ordered QAR 200,000 (the diya, or blood money) in reported death cases. A total permanent disability is treated the same as a death. A partial permanent disability is paid as a share of that amount, using the percentage from Schedule 2: for example, a 20% disability on a QAR 200,000 basis would be QAR 40,000. The employer must pay disability compensation within 15 days of the disability being proven (Article 114). Ask a lawyer if the amount offered seems low or no percentage is given.
Read guide: Finding a lawyer and legal help in Qatar →Complain if the employer will not pay
If the employer refuses to pay for treatment, cuts your wage while you are off, or will not pay compensation, file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry first tries to settle it; if that fails, it goes to a Labour Dispute Settlement Committee, whose decision can be enforced. Attach your medical reports, the police report, payslips and your written messages. The complaint is free, and you do not need your employer's permission to file it.
Read guide: Filing a labour complaint in Qatar: unpaid salary and other disputes →Use the Workers' Fund if the company cannot pay
If a committee or court has awarded you money and the company still does not pay, for example because it has closed, the Workers' Support and Insurance Fund (set up in 2018) can pay amounts the committee awarded and then recover them from the employer. You normally reach the Fund through your labour complaint, not by applying separately. Payouts are capped, so the Fund may not cover a large compensation award in full; ask the Ministry about your case.
Read guide: Employer closed or won't renew your QID: your options in Qatar →Watch the one-year deadline
Article 113 says the right to claim disability or death compensation ends one year after the final medical report, the confirmed diagnosis of an occupational disease, or the date of death. Do not wait for a promised payment that never comes: if nothing is paid within a few weeks of the final report, file your complaint. If you plan to leave Qatar, settle your claim or file it first, and give someone you trust a power of attorney so the case can continue.
Read guide: Making a power of attorney in Qatar →If a worker dies
Compensation for a death at work goes to the worker's heirs. The employer must deposit it with the competent court's treasury within 15 days, and the court pays it to the heirs; money no one claims passes to the State after three years. The family usually acts through their embassy and a lawyer or an agent with power of attorney. For repatriation, death certificates and the rest of the practical steps, see the guide on the death of a family member.
Read guide: When a family member dies in Qatar: certificates, repatriation and next steps →
What it costs
| Treatment of a work injury | QAR 0 to you; the employer pays (Article 109) |
| Wage while treated, first 6 months | Full wage |
| Wage while treated, after 6 months | Half wage until recovery, disability decision or death |
| Death compensation (diya) ordered in reported Qatari court cases | QAR 200,000 |
| Filing a Ministry of Labour complaint | Free |
Official fees at the time of review. Fees change, so confirm before paying.
Common mistakes
- Not saying at the hospital that the injury happened at work, so the record shows an ordinary illness or a home accident.
- Accepting that the days off come out of your sick leave or annual leave; work-injury pay is separate.
- Signing a settlement or a 'full and final' paper while still in treatment, before your disability percentage is known.
- Losing the hospital reports, or never getting a final medical report that states the disability.
- Missing appointments or physiotherapy, which can be used to refuse compensation under Article 111.
- Waiting more than a year after the final medical report to claim.
- Leaving Qatar with the claim unfiled and no one holding a power of attorney.
Questions people ask
My employer says the injury is my fault. Do I still get anything?
Treatment and pay during treatment do not depend on blame in the Labour Law. Compensation can be refused only in the cases in Article 111: a deliberate self-injury, being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a serious or deliberate breach of safety instructions, or refusing examination or treatment without good reason. The employer has to prove it; an ordinary mistake or accident is not enough.
Can the company deduct my days off from my sick leave or salary?
No. Article 109 says you get your full wage during treatment, for up to 6 months, and half wage after that until you recover or a disability is decided. Ordinary sick leave under Article 82 is for illness not caused by work. If your wage is cut, keep the payslips and complain to the Ministry of Labour.
How much compensation will I get for a permanent injury?
It depends on the disability percentage set by the medical authority using the Labour Law's table (Schedule 2), applied to the death compensation amount. Qatari courts have ordered QAR 200,000 for a death, so, as an example, a 20% disability on that basis would be QAR 40,000. A total permanent disability is treated like a death. Get the exact percentage in writing and ask a lawyer to check the figure.
I was hurt in a road accident on the company bus or while delivering. Is that a work injury?
An injury while making deliveries or doing any job for your employer is a work injury. The law defines it as an injury that happens while carrying out work for the employer, so a crash on company transport to or from site is often argued as work-related, but it can depend on the facts. Report it to the police and your employer as a work accident and keep the traffic report.
Is heat stroke or an illness caused by my job covered?
Yes. The definition of a work injury covers the occupational diseases listed in Schedule 1 of the Labour Law as well as accidents at work, and heat illness on an outdoor job should be reported as a work injury. Qatar also limits outdoor work in the summer heat. Tell the doctor about your work conditions so the cause is recorded.
Can my employer cancel my visa or send me home while I am being treated?
Your rights to treatment, pay and compensation do not end because the employer wants you gone. If you are threatened with cancellation, file a Ministry of Labour complaint quickly, before your residence permit is cancelled, and keep your medical evidence. A committee can still order the money even if the employment ends.
What if the company closes or simply does not pay the award?
Take the committee decision back to the Ministry of Labour. The Workers' Support and Insurance Fund can pay awards the employer has not paid and recover them from the company, though its payouts are capped. A lawyer can advise on enforcing the rest through the courts.
Does this apply to housemaids and family drivers?
No. Domestic workers are covered by their own law (Law No. 15 of 2017), not the Labour Law, and the employer must provide their medical care. See the domestic worker rights guide for what applies.
Official sources
- Qatar Labour Law No. 14 of 2004, English text (Articles 1 and 108 to 115) ↗
- Gulf Times legal helpline: Work injury compensation (Articles 109 and 111) ↗
- Gulf Times: Firm ordered to pay QR200,000 blood money for worker's death ↗
- Qureos: Work injuries in Qatar under the Labour Law ↗
- Envoy Global: Qatar introduces six-monthly occupational injury reporting (July 2025) ↗
- FIFA: Assurances on Qatar's Workers' Support and Insurance Fund (2022) ↗
Always check the official source before acting. QatarSteps is independent and not a government website.