HR Policies & Procedures

Employees of Al Meera Consumer Goods Company are expected to conduct themselves with personal and professional integrity to ensure the well being of the Al Meera Consumer Goods Company employee, its level of service to the customers, and to protect the organization’s general reputation.

• Al Meera Consumer Goods Company expects its employees to –
  • Perform their duties and responsibilities in a professional, conscientious and effective manner with due regard to the interests of Al Meera Consumer Goods Company, other employees and customers;
  • Adhere to and carry out with all due diligence instructions issued form their direct supervisors/HODs, except whereby the instructions are considered illegal or immoral;\
  • Behave in a manner befitting their positions, which includes socially accepted, professional, and ethically appropriate behavioral standards and modest dress within the company and while on-job and the larger culture, values and norms of Qatar;
  • Maintain high standards of honesty, integrity and respect for property and possessions of the organization and those of other employees and customers.

     

• All employees are expected to abide by QLL where applicable and the organization’s governing policies. With respect to employee rules and regulations, these include –
  • Service and behavior standards;
  • Hours of work and time keeping;
  • Leave application and entitlement;
  • Confidentiality (e.g. of corporate and financial information);
  • Cleanliness and order of Al Meera Consumer Goods Company assets;
  • Security of property;
  • Personal safety and safety of fellow employees and customers.

 

Employee Misconduct

Employee misconduct will be classified into three categories depending on their gravity. Punitive action will be taken as follows:

Minor Violation
First Violation	Verbal Warning
Second Violation	1st Written Warning
Third Violation	2nd Written Warning
Major Violation
First Violation	1st Written Warning
Second Violation	2nd Written Warning
Grave Violation
First Violation	Dismissal

 

 

 

Al Meera Consumer Goods Company wishes to allocate and implement its working hours in a way that it is effective and conducive to its operational requirements, conforms to the provisions of Labour Law and takes into consideration the employees’ need to work in a flexible work environment. Different types of paid and un-paid leaves in conformity with the Qatar Labour Law complement this.

• 6 days a week from Saturday to Thursday for all employees working on Operational function. For the branches, shift hours are necessary due to branch requirement.
• During the holy month of Ramadan, working hours for all employees wil be reduced to six (6) hours per day or as directed by the Qatar Labor Law.
• Unauthorized leave / absence of 7 consecutive days, OR unauthorized leave / absence of 15 days or more in one year, without information and reasonable justification will result in termination without indemnity/End of service gratuity
• The Immediate Supervisor will be responsible for monitoring employee absences, and identifying attendance violations including late arrivals, early leavings and late returns from lunch breaks.
• In the event of an unreasonable absence, the Immediate Supervisor will counsel the employee to determine the reason for the absence. Should the situation re-occur, the immediate supervisor will inform Human Resources Department.

 

Al Meera Consumer Goods Company is committed to providing its employees with sufficient earned annual leave to enable establishing of a reasonable work life balance between personal priorities and organizational responsibilities.

All employees are entitled to annual earned leave according to their grades

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Grade	HO Staff ( 5 working days)	OPS Staff ( 6 working days)
7 – 11	22 working days	25 working days
4-6	25 working days	30 working days
2 & 3	29 working days
U & 1	33 working days

• • Transportation, Accommodation, Mobile and any other allowances continue to be paid during Annual Leave period. Moreover, there will be no leave settlement in advance, employees will receive their full monthly salary at the end of the month.

• • The maximum number of leave that may be carried over by an employee to the following year will not exceed 50% of the annual leave eligibility. Any excess leave available, unless availed during the year, will lapse automatically.

• • Failure to return to duty on the specified date without prior notice and approval will lead to disciplinary action. However, if the delay was for a valid reason, the additional period will be considered an absence.

• • During the Probation Period, Annual Leave is recognised with full pay (with the approval of CEO), but the probation period will be extended by the same number of days that the employee had availed leave.

• • Public holidays are not counted against annual leave entitlements. Should a Public Holiday be declared during the employee’s leave, his/her annual leave entitlement would be credited by the appropriate number of working days, when he/she returns to work.

• • No annual leave will be encashed except in the case of end of service

• • If an employee is hospitalized during his/her annual leave and produces a valid medical certificate, then these days spent in the hospital may count as sick leave and may not be deducted from the annual leave entitlement

Public Holidays

The number of official holidays granted to employees at Al Meera Consumer Goods Company will be determined by what is gazetted by the State of Qatar under the QLL.

These will include:

• ✓ Eid-Al-Adha: 3 working days

• ✓ Eid-Al-Fitr: 3 working days

• ✓ Independence Day: 1 working day

• ✓ Sports Day : 1 working day

Sick Leave Policy

The employee is entitled to sick leave with pay subject to the confirmation by a medical certificate issued from a recognized medical professional/authority after the first day of sickness.

All employees are entitled for sick as per below table:

No. Of days of Illness/year	Paid Leave
First 2 weeks ( 14 calendar days)	Full Pay
Next 4 weeks (28 calendar days)	Half Pay
Any Subsequent days	No Pay

• Sick leaves cannot be accrued or carried over if not taken during the Year.

Casual Leave

All employees are entitled to 3 working days casual leave, irrespective of the grade/level they belong to.

• Casual leave, if not availed during the year, will laps automatically and cannot be transferred to the next year.

Maternity Leave

Female employees, Qatari and non-Qatari, are eligible to apply for maternity leave only after they have completed one year of continuous service.

If the employee has not completed one year’s continuous service, she will be entitled to maternity leave at half pay.

All female employees who have completed one year of continuous service with Al Meera Consumer Goods Company shall be entitled to maternity leave with full pay for a period of fifty (50) days.

Female employees are entitled to one (1) hours time off work daily directly after Maternity leave for nursing infants up to a period of one year for each new born. It is the employee’s decision when to take such time off during the day (morning/afternoon). This will not apply in the month of Ramadan.

Compassionate Leave

Compassionate Leave is granted to employees in case of death of family or relative.

• In the case of death of the employee’s father, mother, spouse, children, brother, sister, the employee may be granted as per below table:

Death of employee’s father, mother, spouse,children brother, sister	7 calendar days Compasionate Leave with pay (death within or outside Qatar)
Death of employee’s grand child/grand parent	3 calendar days Compasionate Leave with pay (death within or outside Qatar)

Widow Hood Leave

Female Muslim married employees may be granted up to four months and ten days paid leave, from the date of husband’s death.

female Muslim married employee under probation period can also avail Widowhood leave.

Haj (Pilgrimage) Leave

a pilgrimage to Mecca, made as an objective of the religious life of a Muslim.

• Muslim employees with a minimum of one year’s service may be granted up to a maximum of 15 calendar days paid leave of absence to go on Pilgrimage (Haj) once during their service with Al Meera Consumer Goods Company, subject to operational requirements and procedures laid out.

• Pilgrimage (Haj) leave is not accumulative from one year to another if not taken in full by the employee in one occasion.

• Official Holidays other than Eid-al-Adha holidays that may fall during that Pilgrimage (Haj) Leave will be added to that leave, or be given at a later date at the discretion of the HOD.

Unauthorized Unpaid Leave

• Leave without pay will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.

• Leave without pay will not exceed 14 days, and is subject to recommendation of the HOD and approval by the HR Manager/CEO (as applicable).

• Basic pay and all cash and non-cash allowance are deducted during the period of unpaid leave.

It is a policy of Al Meera Consumer Goods Company to design and implement a salary scheme that maintains internal equity and external competitiveness to recruit, motivate, and retain effective staff; and also to reflect adequately the differences in the relative importance and value of jobs, their levels, and reward employees for their contribution.

Salary Structure

All employees will be eligible for a basic monthly salary within the ranges specified for the different grades of Al Meera Consumer Goods Company.

The salary structure applies only to full time employees. All employees who completed the Probationary period of employment is considered as full time employees.

Housing Allowance/Company Accommodation

Housing allowance is applicable to all male employees and National female employees based on their marital status, and eligibility grade.

Grade	Housing Allowance (Married)	Housing Allowance (Single)
1	20,000 QAR	12,000 QAR
2	15,000 QAR	10,000 QAR
3	12,000 QAR	8,000 QAR
4	10,000 QAR	6,000 QAR
5	8,000 QAR	4,000 QAR
6	3,500 QAR	2,000 QAR
7	2,500 QAR	1,500 QAR
8	2,200 QAR	1,200 QAR
9	1,000 QAR	1,000 QAR
10	800 QAR	800 QAR

Female expatriate employees are not entitled for this allowance except those who are sponsored by Al Meera Consumer Goods Company.

Employees holding Grade 9-11 are not entitled to housing allowance, They are provided with company accommodation, except a cases to case basis with HR Manager/CEO approval (if applicable).

In the event that both husband and wife work for Almeera, only the husband will be entitled to this allowance.

Transportation Allowance

All employees are covered under either a monthly transportation allowance to travel to and from their place of work or under a car allowance/company car scheme. If the employee is living in a company provided accomodation, the company shall pay 50% of the employee’s entitlement for the transportation allowance.

Grade	Transportation Allowance
1	4,700 QAR
2-3	1,700 QAR
4	1,200 QAR
5	700 QAR
6	500 QAR
7	200 QAR
8-10	100 QAR

Communication/ Mobile Allowance

Eligible employees shall be provided with a mobile allowance as per eligibility grade.

Grade	Mobile Allowance
1	2,000 QAR
2-3	1,000 QAR
4	800 QAR
5	500 QAR
6	300 QAR
7	200 QAR

A written justification by the Head of Department is required in case a company mobile is to be provided to the employee, based on the operational requirements of the position.

Social Allowance

All Qatari nationals who are in employment are entitled to a national allowance, according to their marital status. The allowance for married or single female employees is based on a single status and as per the salary grade.
If both husband and wife work at Al-Meera, the husband shall receive the Married status allowance, while the wife receives the Single status allowance.

Food Allowance

Almeera Consumer Goods Company is giving employees is giving this allowance according to Law No. 17 on Setting Minimum Wage for workers and Domestic workers.

Grades 1-10

300 QAR

as per minimum wage for workers and Domestic workers (Law No. 17)

Contribution towards Child Education

Al Meera Consumer Goods Company will provide child education contribution to its eligible employees’ children upon completion of the probationary period.

• The education contribution shall be paid to eligible employees (entitlement as per their grade) provided the children are residents in Qatar with the employee and are receiving full time education at an approved educational establishment in Qatar.

• This contribution does not provide cover for uniforms, consumables and books but provides cover for school fees and charges including any compulsory capital charges.

• Al Meera Consumer Goods Company will pay the entitlement directly to the school against original invoices or evidence of school fees payable

• In the event an employee pays the education provider directly for the school fees, they shall be entitled to a reimbursement provided it is an approved school according to the list available in the administration.

• Children between the age of 6- and 18-years attending primary through high school, will be eligible.

• The Education contribution shall only cover basic schooling level of an employee child attending primary school including kindergarten through to high school; nursery is not covered.

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Furniture Allowance

According to the employee’s contract of employment and the grade of the position occupied, he/she will be paid a one-off amount to be utilized towards the purchase of furnishing items. The furniture allowance shall be paid only once during employment with Al Meera Consumer Goods Company and shall not be paid on contract renewals

• The furniture allowance will be taken as a lump sum according to the marital status of the Employee and after successfully completing the probationary period. In this case, the furniture shall remain as the property of the employee; however, the depreciation rules shall apply (over a period of 4 years).

• If an employee’s employment ends before completing 4 years of service with Al Meera Consumer Goods Company, the employee will be required to repay a proportion of the furniture allowance for the remaining period

Relocation Allowance

Unaccompanied Airfreight Allowance – The allowance is paid to assist an expatriate employee who travels to Qatar to join Al Meera Consumer Goods Company or returns from Qatar to his/her country of origin and can be used for the transportation of furniture and personal goods. It is paid upon joining and termination of the employment contract.

Acting Allowance

Acting Allowances is paid to employees who are required to take on the additional responsibilities of their immediate supervisor, parallel, higher position, on the recommendation of the Department Manager/Director and a written approval of the CEO.

Minimum period for this allowance to apply is for the employee to ba acting for a position for more than two (2) months to be paid monthly upon completion of the first two (2) months.

Acting Allowance is not applicable for the following instances: –

• Acting for an employee who, normally occupies a vacant post is on vacation or any type of leaves including maternity.

• The allowance shall not be considered a base for any other current or end of service financial benefits.

• This allowance should not be paid for a time when the acting employee is on any leave.

• The acting allowance is payable per month on the basis of 25% of the basic salary of the position a staff is assigned to subject to a maximum of 5,000 per month.

Ticket Entitlement

Employee of Almeera Consumer Goods Company is eleigible to recived air ticket entitlement as per grade of eligibility.

• Grade 1-6 are entitled for air ticket allowance equivalent to 1.5 of basic salary, irrespective of marital status and gender.

• Grade 7-11 are entitled for air ticket allowance based on fixed air ticket rate by Continent.

Medical Insurance

All active employees and their eligible family members will be covered under the medical insurance policy.

Medical coverage commences on the employee’s first day of employment and concludes at close of business on the last day of employment.

Medical coverage is as per the grade and aligibility of the employee.

Business Trip

It is Al Meera Consumer Goods Company’s policy to provide requisite compensation to an employee who undertakes travel for business purposes for necessary expenses, either short or long term, subject to limits as set by management from time to time.

End of Service Benefit 

Al Meera Consumer Goods Company endeavours to make every case of end of service as amicable as possible for both the employee and the organization. In the process it wishes to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the applicable employment contract, Labour Laws and industry best practices.

All Qatari and Non-Qatari employees are entitled to receive a payment of gratuity at the end of their service, based on the duration of their employment in accordance with the relevant Qatari Labour Law

End of Service/Gratuity will be calculated as follows:

Period of Service	Entitlement
Less than 1 year of continuous service with Al Meera Consumer Goods Co.	NIL
More than 1 year of continuous service with Al Meera Consumer Goods Co.	30 days of basic salary (for each year of service)

Employees shall be entitled to their full compensation, benefits and entitlements during the resignation period, except when the employee is dismissed due to fraud or any violation asper labor law that is not eligible for Gratuity Payment.

 

 

Separation of Employment

Employee of Almeera Consumer Goods Company can be separated of employment through:

• Resignation

• Retirement

• Death or Disability

Notice period will be as per below for Resignation and Retirement:

Years of Service	Notice Period
Less than 2 years	1 month
More than 2 years	2 months

 

Termination

An employee’s service may be terminated for any one or more of the following reasons:

• • As a result of disciplinary action;
  • Gross Misconduct;
  • Poor Performance;
  • Redundancy of position held;
  • Contract Expiration;
  • Being deemed medically unfit for service;
  • Unsuccessful Probation Period;
  • Dismissal by Emiri resolution for reasons related to public interest;
  • Inability to renew or obtain an employment visa;
  • Any other reasons(s) determined by the Chairman/Board as warranting

•  No termination shall take place while the employee is on vacation/leave.