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The Gulf Expat

How is end of service indemnity calculated in Kuwait?

You get 15 days' pay for each of your first 5 years, then a month's pay a year (Art. 51). The total is capped at 18 months' pay.

Checked 22 October 2026

Get your datesEvery deadline as a date, from your last working day.

What to do now

  1. Gather your contract, your last payslip and your start date.
  2. Work out the figure on basic pay in the leaving plan, then ask PAM which allowances to add.
  3. Ask PAM when your final pay is due.
See an example plan
Example only: an expat whose employer ended the job, with a last working day of 7 Nov 2026. Tap it to build your own.

What to ask HR

  1. Which pay items do you include as wage?
  2. Can I have the figure, and how you worked it out, in writing?
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The steps

  1. Take half a month's pay (15 days) for each of your first 5 years.
  2. Add a month's pay for each year after 5.
  3. Add any part year in proportion.
  4. If you are paid monthly, cap the total at 18 months' pay.

If your pay is not monthly, ask PAM how your days are counted.

A worked example

Say your monthly pay is KWD 600 and your employer ends the contract after 8 years.

Your first 5 years give 5 half-months, or KWD 1,500. The next 3 years give 3 months, or KWD 1,800. That is KWD 3,300.

The cap here is 18 x KWD 600, which is KWD 10,800, so it does not bite.

If you had resigned after those 8 years instead, you would get two thirds: KWD 2,200 (Art. 53).

What counts as wage

Article 55 counts your basic salary plus allowances, commissions and similar payments you receive regularly. So your indemnity may be higher than a figure on basic pay alone.

Debts or loans you owe your employer can be deducted from it. Ask for a written list of any deductions before you sign.

Who gets the full amount

  • Your employer ended the contract.
  • Your fixed-term contract ran out and was not renewed.
  • You left for one of the reasons in Articles 48 to 50.
  • A woman resigns within 1 year of getting married (Art. 52).

If you resign, the Article 53 shares apply. That is nothing under 3 years, then half, two thirds or all of it.

Article 41(a) lists three acts that end the job with no indemnity. They are a fault causing heavy loss, cheating to get the job, and giving away work secrets. For the other acts in Article 41(b), you keep it.

Probation lasts up to 100 working days. If your employer ends the contract during it, the indemnity is still due (Art. 32).

If your employer pays late

Ask PAM when your final pay is due. If you are not paid, claim soon. Claims your employer denies are not heard 1 year after your contract ends (Art. 144).

Keep your contract and payslips, because they show your start date and your pay.