UTC + 03:00

Undoubtedly, payroll is a critical process for any organization. The pay cycle in Bahrain refers to the period for which an organization pays its employees, and this can vary depending on the pay frequency that the organization chooses to adopt.

Typically, salaried employees are paid at least once a month.

Bahrain does not require employers to pay a 13th-month salary.

There is no minimum wage in Bahrain.

The employer may employ the employee for additional hours beyond the regular hours if required. Overtime hours should not exceed 2 hours per day.

Pay – The employee shall receive for each additional working hour a wage equivalent to his due wage plus at least 25% for hours worked during the day and at least 50% for hours worked during the night.

In Bahrain, data protection and retention policies are governed by the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), which came into effect on August 1, 2019. This law regulates how personal data should be collected, processed, stored, and retained. Here are key points regarding data retention under Bahrain’s PDPL:

Purpose Limitation: Personal data must be retained only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected. Once the purpose is achieved, data should be deleted or anonymized.

Data Minimization: Organizations should ensure that only data necessary for the specified purposes is collected and retained.

Accuracy and Up-to-Date Data: Organizations are required to keep personal data accurate and up-to-date. Any inaccuracies should be corrected or deleted.

Employers are not prohibited from carrying out background checks, and these can be done at any stage in the hiring process.

Foreign nationals are required to have a work permit sponsored by an employer in Bahrain. The application for the work permit must be submitted to the Labour Market Regulatory Authority ('LMRA') using the online Expat Management System ('EMS'). The following documents must be submitted with the application:

Required documents

• Copy of the applicant's passport
• Copy of the latest paid electricity bill of the employer
• Applicant's ID card
• Copy of the offer letter or work contract between the employer and the applicant employee pages.
• Copy of medical check-up report
• Copy of the residence permit if the applicant works in any of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Once the LMRA approves the application, the employer must pay the work permit fees through the EMS system. The permit must then be printed from the EMS system and taken to the Immigration Office to be stamped into the individual's passport.

After arriving in Bahrain, the employee will need a further medical check and have their photograph and fingerprints taken to be issued the Central Population Registry ('CPR') identity card

Bahrain labor law allows employers to have a probationary period, which is expressly stated in the employment contract. Probation can be used only once during the period of employment. The probationary period can last up to three months and, in certain professions, up to six months.

The public holidays for Bahrain for the year 2025 are:

• January 1: New Year's Day
• March 30: Eid al-Fitr (Tentative Date)
• March 31: Eid al-Fitr Holiday (Tentative Date)
• April 1: Eid al-Fitr Holiday (Tentative Date)
• May 1: Labour Day
• June 6: Eid al-Adha (Tentative Date)
• June 7: Eid al-Adha Holiday (Tentative Date)
• June 8: Eid al-Adha Holiday (Tentative Date)
• June 26: Islamic New Year
• July 5: Ashura (Tentative Date)
• July 6: Ashura (Tentative Date)
• September 4: Prophet Muhammad's Birthday
• December 16: National Day
• December 17: National Day Holiday

Paid leave is granted to workers who have completed at least six months of service with the same employer for over 12 months. Its length depends on the worker's seniority. It is 14 calendar days when the worker has less than five years of service, 21 calendar days from 5 to 10 years of service, 28 calendar days from 10 to 20 years of service, and 35 calendar days when the worker's length of service is 20 years or more.

Employees with at least one year of service are entitled to 30 paid days of yearly leave, divided into 2.5 days every month.

An employee completing three consecutive months in the employer's service, whose sickness and entitlement to sick leave by providing a certificate issued by any of the Government Medical Centers or any of the clinics retained by the employer, shall be entitled to the following sick leaves during the same year:

Employees receive 55 days of sick leave. The first 15 days are fully paid, the 16th to the 35th days are half-pay, and the 36th to 55th are unpaid.

A female employee shall be entitled to maternity leave. On full pay for 60 days, including the period before and after delivery, provided she produces a medical certificate retained by one of the governmental health centers or one of the clinics retained by the employer, indicating the expected delivery date.

The female employee may obtain an unpaid maternity leave for 15 days in addition to the above-mentioned leave. The female employee shall not be employed during the forty days following the delivery.

The employer shall not dismiss or terminate the labor contract of the female employee as a result of her marriage or during her maternity leave. Art 32-33 of Labor Law.

The worker shall be entitled to a three-day leave on full pay in the following cases:

• In the event of his marriage for one time;
• In the event of the death of his/her spouse or any of his/her relatives to the fourth degree of kin;
• In the case of death of his/her spouse's relatives to the second degree of kin.

Male employees shall be entitled to one day's leave on full pay upon the birth of their child. The Muslim female employee shall be entitled to one month of paid leave in the event of the death of her spouse. She also has the right to complete the death waiting period from her annual leave for a period of three months and ten days, and if she does not have a balance from her annual leave, she has the right to leave without pay. Art 63 of Labor Law.

A Muslim employee who has worked with the employer for five consecutive years shall be entitled to a 14-day leave with full pay to perform his Hajj (Pilgrimage) obligation. This leave shall be granted once to the employee during his period of service unless he benefited from it during his service for another employer.

The employer shall determine the number of employees to be granted such a leave of absence each year in accordance with working requirements, provided priority is given to the employee who has achieved the longest period of continuous employment. Art 67 of Labor Law

Child Care Leave:

Female employees are entitled to unpaid leave for taking care of their child not exceeding six years of age, of a maximum of six months each time, and for three times throughout her service.

The minimum notice period is 30 days. The minimum notice period may be increased contractually when the employment relationship is terminated by the employer. The Labour Law is silent as to whether the notice period can be increased if the employment relationship is terminated by the employee.

Employees shall receive the following:

• First three years: 15 days' salary for each year
• From the fourth year: 30 days' salary for each year

Foreign employees will all need work visas if they take up any employment. This permit is valid for one to two years and entitles your workers to residency. You will arrange most of the paperwork.

An employer or Bahraini national needs to sponsor anyone seeking a Bahrain working visa. The number of visas a company can sponsor depends on two factors: The physical size of the office and the limit set forth by national regulations. The employer handles the process on behalf of the employee and must show a letter of employment, commercial registration number, the employee's capacity, the contract duration, and more.

Other requirements include the following:

• A completed visa application form
• The employee's passport
• A passport-size photo
• Copy of the contract with the employee's name, birth date, and nationality
• Health record from an authorized clinic
• Proof of payment of BHD 100 fee

Employers are not prohibited from carrying out background checks, and these can be done at any stage in the hiring process. Nevertheless, it is recommended that checks should only be carried out where they are proportionate and necessary and following an offer of employment. Applicants should be notified beforehand that their application will be conditional on background checks being carried out.

Expatriate job candidates must also complete satisfactory medical and police clearance checks.

Checks on social media are not regulated, and employers are free to use them to perform background checks on an applicant. However, it is recommended that these checks be confined to professional sites (e.g., LinkedIn) and carried out after the interview process to avoid any suggestion that candidates were selected or not selected because of their characteristics.