Kuwait, officially known as the State of Kuwait, is a country in Western Asia that is bordered by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Persian Gulf. Of its 5 million population, 2.9 million people make up the Kawaiti workforce (2023), and Kawait has a GDP of 163.7 billion US dollars.

The economy of Kuwait is high-income, being one of the world’s largest oil producers, with significant foreign assets and low inflation levels over recent years. However, with its reliance on the oil and gas sector, Kuwait faces challenges regarding fluctuations in global oil prices and is under pressure to diversify to reduce its dependence on the hydrocarbon industry.

Employee benefits in Kuwait are of high importance to ensure that workers are protected from exploitation and receive the correct rights relating to working hours, access to healthcare, overtime compensation, and paid leave. This help guide will provide all the information you need to successfully hire in Kuwait, including an overview of Kuwaiti labor law, mandatory and supplementary benefits, plus an overview of how RemotePeople can help simplify hiring in Kuwait.

Kuwaiti Employment Laws

Kuwait introduced its first comprehensive labor law in 1959 in response to a series of worker strikes. After gaining independence in 1961, it adopted a French-based civil law system, before ratifying new laws dictating updated labor laws, such as the following:

  • Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1961)
  • Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (2007)
  • New Labour Code (2010)

In modern times, Kuwaiti labor law is largely governed by Law No.6 of the new Labour Code of 2010. These laws detail the rights and obligations of both employers and employees to ensure a safe, fair workplace and the right to basic employee benefits. 

It’s strongly advised that companies looking to employ in Kuwait seek guidance from legal professionals to ensure that all Kuwaiti labor laws are strictly adhered to.

Mandatory Employee Benefits in Kuwait

There are various mandatory employee benefits in Kuwait – these are detailed as follows:

Social Security Contributions

Kuwait operates under a social security system called the Public Institution for Social Security. Employers must register their employees as insured in the social security system, granting them access to specific benefits from the following departments:

  • Old-age pension
  • Disability
  • Sickness
  • Death

Social security contributions are payable by both employers and employees in Kuwait, with the employer paying 11.5% and employees paying 8% of the employee’s monthly salary.

Contributions have a ceiling payment of 2,750 KWD per month.

Annual Paid Leave

Workers in Kuwait are entitled to 30 days of paid leave per year after they have completed 9 months of continuous service with the same employer.

Employees who have worked for the same employer for a minimum of 2 consecutive years can apply to take 21 days of paid leave for Al-Hajj, a religious pilgrimage. This paid leave can only be taken once in an employee’s service.

Public holidays and sick leave do not count as part of an employee’s allocated annual leave.

Working Hours

Working hours in Kuwait are typically 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week spread over 6 days. Employees must receive a rest break of no less than 1 hour after working for 5 continuous hours.

Friday is the typical rest day for Kuwaiti employees, and they may reduce their working time to 36 hours per week during Ramadan.

Employees between the ages of 15 – 18 can work a maximum of 6 hours per day, provided that they do not work for more than 4 hours continuously. After 4 hours of work, they must be provided with a 1-hour rest break. These employees shouldn’t work extra hours, work on weekly rest days, or work between the hours of 7 pm – 6 am.

National Minimum Wage

Kuwait follows a minimum wage determined by Kuwait’s employment law, which currently stands at the following rates as of 2025:

Worker Type
Minimum Wage
Domestic Workers
60,000 KWD per month
Private Sector Workers
75,000 KWD per month

These rates apply to both Kuwaiti nationals and expatriate workers.

Overtime Pay

Hours that are worked by an employee over their contracted hours count as overtime and must be compensated accordingly.

Overtime is paid at the rate of 125% of an employee’s regular hourly rate or 150% if overtime hours are carried out on a weekly rest day. These hours must not exceed 2 hours per day, 6 hours per week, or 180 hours per year.

Public Holiday Leave

Public holidays in Kuwait are considered paid days off. If an employee works on a public holiday, they must be paid double their typical hourly rate and may also receive a compensatory rest day.

The public holidays in Kuwait are as follows:

  • New Year’s Day (January 1)
  • Isra and Miraj Holiday (January 16) (date varies)
  • National Day (February 25)
  • Liberation Day (February 26)
  • Eid al-Fitr (March 20) (date varies)
  • Eid al-Fitr Holiday (March 21 – March 22) (date varies)
  • Waqfat Arafat Day (May 26) (date varies)
  • Eid al-Adha Holiday (May 27–29) (date varies)
  • Islamic New Year (June 16) (date varies)
  • The Prophet’s Birthday (August 27) (date varies)

Sick Leave

Employees in Kuwait are entitled to 75 days of sick leave per year. These days are paid as per the following rates of pay:

Duration
Pay Rate
15 days
Full wages
10 days
75% of wages
10 days
50% of wages
10 days
25% of wages
30 days
Without wages

To qualify for sick leave, employees must obtain a certificate from a physician designated by their employer or the doctor in charge of a regulated government health center.

Maternity Leave

Female employees can take a paid maternity leave of 70 days if they have a baby. Maternity leave is usually split as 30 days before the predicted due date and 40 days after birth.

Once maternity leave has expired, employers may allow employees to take 4 months of unpaid leave to take care of their child.

An employee’s job must be protected while she’s on maternity leave.

Female workers may also take 2 hours per day for nursing, and employers must organise a daycare center for children under the age of 4 if they employ over 50 women in their company. This also applies if a company employs over 200 people.

Paternity Leave

There is no statutory right to paternity leave in Kuwait.

Pensions

The social security system in Kuwait provides workers with access to the following pensions:

Benefit Type
Eligibility
Details
Old-age pension
Women: age 50
Men: age 55
Base rate of 65% of last monthly earnings (75% for military). Additional 2% for each year of contributions beyond 15 years.
Sickness pension
15 years of contributions
65% of last monthly earnings. If sickness causes disability of earnings, benefit may reach up to 95%.
Retirement allowance
Varies based on eligibility
Financial allowance payable in installments.

There is also a range of private pension options in Kuwait, primarily focused on self-employed workers. These pension schemes can be set up by employers or individuals to accumulate funds for retirement.

Severance Pay

If an employee’s contract is terminated due to no fault of their own, they are entitled to end-of-service indemnity, otherwise known as severance pay.

This is typically 15 days of pay for each year of service for the first five years after severance, increasing to one month’s pay per year thereafter to a maximum of 1.5 times an employee’s annual salary.

Supplementary Employee Benefits in Kuwait

It’s recommended that employers consider paying supplementary benefits to their employees as part of a strategy to increase staff retention and to increase the chances of applications for job roles.

Some examples of supplementary employee benefits that companies could offer include:

  • Performance bonuses
  • Training courses
  • Healthcare insurance
  • Access to a company car
  • Phone expenses
  • Enhanced maternity/paternity leave
  • Allowances for housing, transport, and food
  • Education opportunities for employees’ children

Optimize Employee Benefits with RemotePeople

RemotePeople offers Employer of Record (EOR) services in Kuwait to help significantly reduce the workload when hiring. Our EOR solution ensures compliance with Kuwaiti labor laws while enabling you to expand your workforce efficiently—without adding unnecessary stress to your business.

We provide full-service PEO in Kuwait, streamlining HR administration, payroll, tax compliance, social security filings, and employment contracts.

If you’re looking for help with recruiting in Kuwait, check out our recruitment services. Our experienced team is fluent in the local language and has a strong understanding of the recruitment space in Kuwait, giving them an advantage when it comes to knowing where to advertise job openings and how to secure the best new talent for your business.

Contact RemotePeople to learn more about how we can help you expand your business into Kuwait so that you can focus on other important elements of your company.