Bahrain Introduces New Labour Law

On July 26, 2012, the King of Bahrain issued new labour Law No. 36 of 2012 (the New Law). The New Law repeals and replaces the old labour law (No. 23 of 1976).

The New Law underpins Bahrain's efforts to come in line with international standards, and it has aligned Bahrain's domestic law with several of the Arab and international labour treaties and conventions to which it is a signatory and which have come into effect over the last 36 years (since the enactment of the old labour law). Implementing regulations will be brought into force within six months of the date of the new Law.

It is expected that the New Law's pro-employee approach will help to increase salaries and improve working conditions, and generally help to create a better investment environment in Bahrain by aligning the practices and benefits for private-sector employment with Bahrain's public sector. Furthermore, Bahrain has now become the first GCC country to scrap the sponsorship system, as under