Kuwait: The Kuwait court of appeal on Wednesday stated that domestic helpers cannot be forced to stay for two years until their agreement expiry, local media reported.
The court’s announcement came after the employer forced a domestic worker to resign before the end of the agreement. The court dismissed the case.
The court pointed that under the labor recruitment law if a domestic worker wants to leave before the contract expires, her employer is entitled to compensation but cannot force her to continue the contract, as it is a form of ‘modern-day slavery’.
Regarding domestic workers, according to law no. 68 of 2015, the court said that it does not mention that the employer is not required to obtain completion after the expiry of the six-month guarantee period or the workers need to pay their own travel expenses, Gulf News reported.
Article 23 of the domestic workers’ law states that “allocation of end of the service benefit for the domestic worker after the completion of the contract period (must be) equivalent to one month’s wage for each year.”
“There is a balance between the duties of the employer and the employee,” the court stated.