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The Gulf Expat

Fixed-term or open-ended contract in Kuwait: what is the difference?

A fixed-term contract that runs out pays the full indemnity (Art. 52). Resigning from an open-ended one pays a share that grows with your service (Art. 53).

Checked 21 October 2026

Kuwait's Labour Law calls them limited and unlimited period contracts. The difference shows up when the job ends.

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

What to do now

  1. Find the words limited or unlimited period, or an end date, in your contract.
  2. If it is fixed-term, note the end date and whether it renews.
  3. If it is open-ended, note the notice period you will owe.
  4. When a job ends, build your leaving plan for the dates that follow.

What to ask HR

  1. Is my contract for a limited or an unlimited period?
  2. Which allowances are part of my wage for the indemnity?
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Open-ended contract

  • Either side can end it with written notice (Art. 44).
  • Notice is at least 3 months if you are paid monthly, and at least 1 month otherwise.
  • Whoever skips the notice pays the other side the wage for that period.
  • If your employer ends it, you get the full indemnity (Art. 52).

If you resign, your indemnity depends on your service (Art. 53):

  • Under 3 years: no indemnity.
  • 3 years and under 5: half.
  • 5 years and under 10: two thirds.
  • 10 years or more: all of it.

Fixed-term contract

  • When the term runs out and the contract is not renewed, you get the full indemnity (Art. 52).
  • If either side ends it early without a right to do so, it pays the other side for the harm (Art. 47).
  • That payment is capped at your wage for the rest of the term.

So leaving a fixed-term contract early can cost you. Being let go early can pay you, up to the wage for the months left.

Leaving early with your full indemnity

On either contract, you can leave without notice and keep the full indemnity in the cases in Article 48. They include your employer breaking the contract or the law, an assault, and fraud when you were hired.

The same on both

  • Probation of up to 100 working days, which either side can end without notice (Art. 32).
  • The indemnity rate: 15 days' pay a year for the first 5 years, then a month a year (Art. 51). The cap is 18 months' pay.
  • Regular allowances and commissions count as wage (Art. 55).

Before you sign

  • Check which contract type is written in your offer.
  • On a fixed term, check the end date and what happens when it is reached.