Legal matters / Employment disputes FAQ & Police clearance certificate

Edit Feb '20:  Merged the police clearance sticky & comments into this one to reduce the number of stickies on the forum.  Name of this thread changed accordingly

Over the last couple of years, most of the posts that I have responded to have been about employment disputes, visa legalities, passport confiscation and the resulting trouble on visas etc.   So I thought to create a consolidated thread on most of the frequently asked questions so that people can refer to it - will try to keep it updated by adding new topics as and when required.   

The older thread with just the contact details of the lawyers and PROs has been amended accordingly.

Some common myths / clarifications:

1) You DON'T have to pay your employer for any visa or recruitment costs if you resign.  This is against Bahrain labor law even if it is a part of the contract that you signed.  In case of any legal dispute, it is the labor law that will be upheld.  Most people end up paying because they don't take it through legal channels
2) NO ONE has the right to retain your passport for WHATEVER reason
3) In the majority of the cases, you can resign at ANY TIME during the contract period through written resignation with the applicable notice period
4) For visa transfer without consent of the current employer, you MUST have worked with them for a year.  In this case, you don't need their permission to change your job but must resign with proof and then go to LMRA.  If you worked for the employer for less than a year, then you need their permission to transfer.  However, if they cancel your visa, you have 30 days from cancellation date to have your new employer apply for a visa for you.  The stay period can be extended for another 30 days and in some cases up to 3 months by LMRA if you approach them
5) Lastly, DO NOT EVER: Start work for anyone without being on their visa or work for an employer other then the one who sponsored your visa.  There is NO such thing as "Free Visa" in Bahrain and anyone who tells you that is lying.  If you are ever caught in these scenarios, you have ZERO legal protection and would face fines / deportation and blacklisting

Role of different agencies in disputes:

LMRA: WILL NOT help you in disputes with your employer like unpaid wages etc.  They only help with transfer or visa cancellation in certain situation.
Ministry of Labor:  The ONLY source to approach for filing a case related to employment disputes
Police: The source to go to for filing a case to get your passport back.
Courts: The last point of recourse when MOL mediation or similar situations have not resulted in any outcome.

General processes to follow for standard issues:

These are some of the general things to do in case of the standard issues that people face.  You may want to involve a lawyer in some cases e.g. absconding, where you are scared that you will be arrested if you go before the authorities. 

I would STRONGLY advise you to consult with a lawyer initially in EVERY case and not just rely on advice from the forums.  A lawyer would see the suitability of your case in person and provide you with a good way forward.  Yes, it will cost 30-40 BD for the first consultation only but it is worth it.

If employer is not allowing you to leave: Resign via registered mail and retain the pink slip.  Go to LMRA and get mobility without consent if you have worked with the current employer for more than 1 year.  If less than one year, you can still use this notice to push for visa cancellation through coordination with LMRA and MOL.
Some examples/cases:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=831069

Mobility without consent process: https://lmra.bh/portal/en/page/show/194

If employer is not paying your dues or salary or has terminated contract without due case: Go to the Ministry of Labor and file a case.  Do it in person or through a lawyer.
Some examples/cases:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=867286https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=853492https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=826347

If employer is not returning your passport:  Go to the police.  In more complicated cases, it might need to go to court.
Some examples/cases:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=824072

If employer is not respecting MOL judgement or any court judgement in your favor: File a case at execution courts.  They will block employer CR, bank accounts etc etc.

Removing fake absconding / absent from work notifications: Go to LMRA with all the necessary proof.  You might also need to remove the status from immigration separately depending on the situation.
Some examples/cases:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=824682https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=844127https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=760909https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=826170https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=820736

Travel ban removal: Comply with the execution court judgement and go back with the proof of having done so to get this removed.  Or prove through an associated case that the order was based on incorrect information in the first instance.  Requires a lawyer as heavy court involvement is needed here.
Some examples/cases:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=868711

Blacklist removal: Not possible in most cases especially those involving criminal convictions or security related matters.  For the rest, you must have a strong lawyer and connected PRO.
Some examples/cases:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=864815https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=843345https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=844239https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=823425

Resigning during probation period:

As per the Labour law "The worker may be employed under a probation period if expressly specified in the labour contract, provided said period does not exceed three months. Nevertheless, the probation period may be increased in the occupations to be determined by virtue of the Minister's decision, provided said period does not exceed six month. The probation condition shall only be retained if expressly specified in the labour contract".

In these cases, you can resign with 1 day notice.

Some examples/cases:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=829180https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=791318https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=743397

Indemnity & associated calculations:

Most employees except those that are excluded by Article 2 of the Labor Law, are entitled to indemnity (end of service benefits) along with other benefits on the end of their employment (irrespective of who ends the employment).

Article 47 of the Labor Law - Definition of indemnity calculation.

" A worker's entitlements related to his leaving indemnity, amounts due for balance of annual leave provided for in Article (59) and the compensation due according to the provisions of Article (99) (b) and Article (111) of this Law shall be calculated on the basis of the worker's most recent basic wage in addition to the social allowance, if any.

If a worker is employed on a piece-rate or production basis or receives a fixed wage in addition to a commission or percentage, the calculation of such entitlements shall be on the basis of the average wage of the worker during the last three months".

To make it simple, indemnity is on basic salary and allowances won't be considered for expats.  The ambiguity in the wording leads employees to think that they can ask for allowances in the calculation as well since in article 116, it refers to wages vs. basic salary.  However, from employer side of things, I have been part of many cases where the indemnity paid to the worker on basic salary was accepted by the courts.

Article 116  - The how?

"A worker who is not subject to the provisions of the Social Insurance Law shall be entitled upon the termination of his employment to a leaving indemnity at the rate of half month's wage for each of the first three years of employment and one month's wage for each of the following years in service. A worker shall be entitled to receive his leaving indemnity for fractions of the year in proportion to the period spent in the employer's service".

It is your RIGHT to get indemnity and if the employer is not paying you, you need to follow the general processes as listed above.

Some examples/cases:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=751777https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=826347

Overtime pay

With regard to overtime, a worker may be employed for extra hours if this is required for in the interest of business, provided that the basic and extra hours or work shall not exceed sixty hours per week unless the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs shall have granted permission for a long period. Payment for each extra hour equivalent to hours wages entitlement increased by a minimum of twenty five percent thereof for hours worked during the day, and by a minimum of fifty percent thereof for hours worked during the night which shall be deemed to being from seven o'clock in the evening until seven o'clock in the morning.

When conditions of work require the worker to work on any official holidays, he shall be paid 150% of his normal wage or, he shall be granted another day in lieu thereof.

Now the tricky bit is that you cannot force your employer to comply with either the hours or the pay without going to the Ministry of Labour and filing a case against him.

Some examples/cases:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=778593

Indefinite term vs. Definite term contracts:

An indefinite contract is for a duration which is not time bound but a definite one expires on a certain date.

The biggest difference is in compensation entitlement if the dismissal of the employee was unfair / unlawful.  In a definite contract, it is possible for the employee to get full compensation for the remaining duration of the contract.  For an indefinite contract, this is limited to one months wages in the first three months of dismissal and after 3 months, 2 days wages for each month of service with minimum compensation of a month and maximum of 12 months.  Additional compensation can also be given if the termination is deemed to legally unfair.

So simply, you make more money on a definite contract if you are with a company less than 3 months and are fired unfairly.  If you are with the company for years and are dismissed unfairly, an indefinite contract gets you more money.

This is for UNFAIR dismissals only - the law allows an employer to terminate for poor performance and / or redundancies by following the process.

Overstaying your visa:

You can stay 30 days from the date of cancellation of your Bahrain work/dependent/investor visas.  After that you have to leave or get another visa.  In some cases, LMRA / Immigration can give you a further extension for 30 days upon application to them.  In few cases, they have even extended this to 3 months.

For visit visas, you have to leave before the expiry period or days granted for stay, whichever is earlier.

Overstaying is illegal. You could be subject to fines, deportation, jail and / or blacklist depending on the severity of the case and time period of overstay.  So simply, just don't do it.

Some examples/cases:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=598789https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=824847

Working for an employer without a work visa or working for another employer vs. the one that sponsored your visa:

To work for any employer in Bahrain, you MUST have a work visa....no matter what profession, sector or job you are working in - No matter what anyone tells you otherwise.

Some examples/cases of this: 
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=869756https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=863415

To do so otherwise is highly illegal.  If caught, it leads to jail, deportation, fine and / or blacklist.  So just don't do it.

Contacts for Lawyers & PROs:

For additional contacts that you may have, you can either send their numbers to me via PM and then I can share those back with the members as and when required.  Or you can share with the members directly.

LAWYERS

1) Khalid Khan (Facebook and website available)
http://www.khalidkhanblog.com/ 
RECOMMENDED as I know him personally and have seen first hand, the results he has been able to deliver.

Some threads by Khalid Khan on these forums:

Forged employment contracts: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=873869
What to do before filing a labor case: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=868246
Why you should not resign at the request of an employer? :  https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=849044

2) Citizens Advice (Facebook presence - 24 hour contact) - https://www.facebook.com/citizensadvicebahrain2018/

There are other much bigger law firms but they would cost a LOT more than the contacts listed above - and also, they are not as accessible to or accepting of normal individuals as the ones listed here.  You may also find cheaper lawyers advertising on social media but those are not recommended.

CLEARING AGENCIES / PROs

Shahico:  https://shahico.com/
Diplomat: http://www.diplomatmanpower.com/services.asp

HOW TO GET A POLICE CLEARANCE / GOOD CONDUCT CERTIFICATE? :

I was in need of one recently and looked around the internet and found out that most of the information was either out dated or was conflicting.  So I am reproducing my own experience of getting this recently i.e. last week.

There are two types of clearance certificates given.  One is a generic good conduct certificate which is given for immigration purpose and the second is for employment.

The information given here is for the former and is for people who are based in Bahrain / present in Bahrain and can go get this done themselves.

Where do you need to go:
The CID office in Adilya.  Not the main one but the one directly opposite the Alumni club.  Generally there are no parking issues and you can find a spot.

EDIT Jul'19:  This office has shifted to the General Directorate of Traffic area in Isa Town. Thanks to d3ns06 for providing this information.

What you need to take with you:
Copy of latest passport
Copy of first residence permit for Bahrain
Copy of last (and sometimes asked, all others) residence permit for Bahrain
Copy of CPR
Filled out form (this you can also get and fill at the CID office.  Make sure to have all necessary information to fill it.  The tricky bit is employer details where you need to have their CR number as well as full address. A lot of people may not have it available with themselves readily)
One passport size photograph - either white or grey background
Request letter - Generally not asked for.  Except for some countries like Canada where the process requires it (from Canadian side). For others, there is no need or you can provide a handwritten request

What is the process:
The timings are between 730 and 130.  You need to go to the second floor.  There is a seperate section for ladies.  Go in, take the token and wait for your number to be called.

When the number comes up, the officer will take your documents and check if they are in order.  He will attach the application and ask you to pay 1 BD and hand over a receipt.  You will then be referred for finger prints.  This takes time as they fingerpint every finger/thumb as well as palms and side of hands. If it's done once; will not be needed for subsequent certificates. 

For people outside Bahrain, you will need to provide fingerprints on the form which are done by the police in your current country, attested by Ministry of foreign affairs in that country and then the subsequent Bahrain embassy in that country.  Very cumbersome so it's advised to get this done when you are based here so that in the future for any certificate, you can easily engage an agent to do this on your behalf when you are not here without resorting to the whole fingerprint documentation.

After fingerprints, you are done.  An sms will be sent to you once the certificate is ready.  It usually takes one week.  Once you get the sms, go back, go to the first floor, present the receipt and collect the certificate.

Update - Dec'19 from one of our members, Osama Hafeez:

1.    Take with you a debit card along with you, If you have a card with you, you can pay it there and then at the counter. Because If you take cash with you, you have to deposit the cash in a kiosk and provide that receipt to the Customer representative handling your case, which takes much more time.

2.    If you have gaps in your stay within Bahrain, possibilities are you will end up paying more. I paid 2 BHD for my wife because while switching jobs I sent her back and she had a gap of more than 6 months.  ( so she will get two certificates, one the first term when she was in Bahrain, and other one for the recent term.

3.    Once you park the car in the parking go towards the Vehicle violation department (entrance near the mosque, once you enter take a left and keep walking till you see the vending machine, next to the vending machine is the gate of CID office ( See picture attached ). https://ibb.co/zh8R0T3