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The Gulf Expat

Does my employer pay my gratuity to SIO in Bahrain?

Yes, if you are an expat and SIO insures you against work injuries. GCC nationals under the joint Gulf insurance rules are outside this. Your employer alone pays SIO 4.2% of your wages a month for the first 3 years of employment, then 8.4% (Decision 109/2023, Regulation Art. 5).

Checked 22 October 2026

This scheme replaced the employer's own end-of-service payment for expats, for service from 1 March 2024. SIO is the Social Insurance Organisation.

Get your datesFor when this job ends: every deadline as a date.

What to do now

  1. Check that your contract shows basic pay and any social allowance on their own.
  2. Ask HR to confirm you are registered with SIO.
  3. Keep your payslips, because the SIO figure follows your wage.
  4. When a job ends, build your leaving plan for the dates that follow.

What to ask HR

  1. Am I registered with SIO for the end-of-service scheme?
  2. What basic pay and social allowance do you report to SIO for me?
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Who it covers

  • Non-Bahraini workers in the private sector who are covered by the work-injury branch of social insurance.
  • Any contract length and any wage.
  • Not GCC nationals covered by the unified GCC insurance rules.

What you pay

Nothing for this scheme. The contribution comes from your employer alone (Regulation Art. 5).

What SIO pays you

  • Half a month's wage for each of the first 3 years of employment (Regulation Art. 9).
  • A month's wage for each year after that.
  • Part years count in proportion.
  • It is paid as one lump sum.

It is worked out on your basic pay plus any social allowance. Other allowances and benefits do not count.

It cannot be more than the contributions paid in for you (Regulation Art. 10).

If you have worked in Bahrain before, ask SIO how it counts the first 3 years for you, both for your employer's rate and for your payout.

If you change employer

You keep your gratuity for the time with your previous employer (SIO). If an employer does not pay, SIO points you to the LMRA Expatriate Protection Centre.

Earlier service

If you already worked in Bahrain before March 2024, that part is paid by your employer under the Labour Law (Regulation Art. 14). You claim it from them after the job ends.

When it is paid

SIO says it pays within 5 working days of a complete application.

Bahrainis and GCC nationals

This scheme is for expats. GCC nationals under the joint Gulf insurance rules are outside it. If you are Bahraini or from another GCC state, ask SIO what applies to you.

Before you sign

  • Check your basic pay and any social allowance, because the SIO figure uses only those.
  • Check your probation, which is at most 3 months, or 6 in jobs the Minister names (Art. 21).
  • Check your notice, which is 30 days in writing on an open-ended contract (Art. 99).